Tartan 'Tat' Empire Spreads Again

[pdcorlis]

I think this conversation is swinging wide a field. Its not really about the value of big box stores or market globalization - its about the proliferation of "tat." Its about stores filled with "jimmy caps" plush scotty dogs and poorly sewn kilts made of inferior material with embarrassingly sewn pleats. Its about a disregard and disrespect for the history and culture that is the royal mile and Scotland.

[arrScott]

I think this conversation is swinging wide a field. Its not really about the value of big box stores or market globalization - its about the proliferation of "tat." Its about stores filled with "jimmy caps" plush scotty dogs and poorly sewn kilts made of inferior material with embarrassingly sewn pleats. Its about a disregard and disrespect for the history and culture that is the royal mile and Scotland.

... And I couldn't agree more. I pretty much skip the Royal Mile these days when I'm in Edinburgh, except to visit specific established shops and to dine at a couple of long-established restaurants. It's a shame to see it become so cheap and kitschy. I seem to recall that in my first visits, before the turn of the century, the cheap kitschy shops were mainly just off the Royal Mile. Now, they seem to dominate the Mile itself, and the best shops are in New Town, down by the University and the museums, or on one's daytrip to Stirling.