Kilts from J Higgins

[Mr. Woolery]

My "tank" and my argyle jacket are both from Higgins. Our local pipe band is suited with Higgins kilts and there have been no problems. I bought my pipes through Higgins, too. He had better prices than anyone else and was willing to set them up the way I specified, which was outside of the current norm.

My experiences: John Higgins has always been courteous and helpful when I have talked on the phone or e-mailed him. The only other person I have talked with there was from the Middle East (can't remember his name) and he knows the product line, but can get confused about details on bagpipes. No problems with kilts. The one problem with the pipes (wrong reeds) he resolved quickly and with no problems.

My kilt: My "tank" is a MacLeod Hunting tartan in ancient colors. Higgins got the material from a mill in Scotland and I have no complaints. It is beautiful. The workmanship is above reproach and the size is perfect. If requested, I am sure he'd send you swatches of possible materials. I had him make my wife a skirt and he obtained a couple of swatches of the tartan silk I wanted and sent them to us. I doubt he'd balk at sending a few swatches if you are not quite sure what tartan you want, or whether the modern/ancient colors.

My wife has a silk tartan skirt and a velvet blouse made by Higgins, as well. These are no longer part of his product line, as the mill in Scotland that was making the silk tartans has stopped producing them. My wife's skirt was from the material that was still in stock at the mill.

All in all, I would not hesitate to suggest John Higgins as a source for a good kilt. Expect to wait, unless you have a size that he happens to stock (one of the other pipers in the area wanted a kilt right away and Higgins had one in stock that was her size and a tartan she liked, so it could happen). I had to wait several months, since the material had to be ordered from the mill, then the backlog of orders meant that I had to wait in line. Got it in time, though. All was well.

-Patrick

[pipesndrumsnun]

I have a JHiggins vest (second hand), a JHiggins Argylle (second hand), and have gotten jacket buttons from them...all are high quality and well-constructed. I am quite pleased with JHiggins!