Advice Needed For First Kilt.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Go for a traditional, hand stitched, three strap kilt. I just recycled a 40 year old kilt to another X Marker, and by my guess it's got another 25 years left in it if the new owner doesn't set himself on fire. The advantage of a traditional kilt is that it will always look good whether you are in white tie at your daughter's wedding, or sitting around a campfire out in the boondocks with your boys.
A traditional kilt looks fine with a kilt jack or short sleeve shirt. It literally can go anywhere and hold its own with the best of them.
If you find you really like wearing a kilt, then by all means get yourself a casual kilt or two. The size of your wardrobe is up to you.
In my opinion you should always start out with the best, and then branch out if you feel like it.

One last word of advice: Go to the kilt maker and be properly measured for your first kilt.

[Jock Scot]

Very good advice there M of R. Particularly the bit about going to be measured by the kilt maker.

[1oldsarge]

Check this website, and pay attention to the shipping. Still cheaper than most,
http://stores.ebay.com/CARSE-OF-GOWR...QQftidZ2QQtZkm

[RockyR]

I plan on ordering an American Heritage and a US Army kilt from USA kilts if Rocky ever gets back from where ever hes hiding out.LOL
Seems i read they won't be processing orders until after the 25th of January.
I think you can still order,but i'm going to wait untill next month.No hurry anyway,but would like to get them before spring break.

Not to hijack, but to directly address and clarify...

We're still "taking orders" while we're away (through the online store). You can gladly wait until next month if you'd like, but please note that you'll be further back in the "que". We'll be here every day this week getting as much work done as we can so that the backorder won't be TOO bad upon our return. We'll be making kilts up to and including Friday before we leave at 4PM to board our plane to Ireland. Hope that clarifies!

[Tommie]

My thanks to Rocky for clearing that up.
Guess i should have went to USA to make sure the wording.
As i said,im really in no hurry.I plan on using them during spring an summer months.

Good luck an have fun on your trip to Ireland Rocky.

[SteveB]

Angelman,
For the first kilt, you can look at advertisers on this board. Both above and below. My personal recommendation is to have your wife measure you following the instructions on the web site of which ever vendor you should choose. You are fortunate to have many options open to you. I highly recommend USA Kilts for the quality and price point that you are looking to begin with. Rocky has outstanding service. I hope he got my message to go to Ireland first before worrying about my recent order. I am in no hurry. If you are unsure about the kilt undertaking, or the fit concept, a Stillwater Kilts semi-Traditional is very inexpensive, and is useful to find where the kilt really sits on you. As Rocky will tell you, please measure at least twice. The Tartan that I desire to wear is fairly rare and when I am sure of how everything fits, then I intend to commission a real hand sewn Tartan kilt. Due to the limited weaving of the Tartan, I expect the end cost to be about $700.00 or better. There are several on this board. Barbara Tewksbury has written a book The Art of Kilt Making, that covers all the bases and she is an excellent kilt maker as well. I have seen one of her works up close at a recent Festival here in Boston. If it helps, the kilt I am wearing in my Avatar is a Stillwater Irish National Tartan Semi traditional.
Oh from Boston, Massachusetts

Good Luck and welcome to the kilted.
--- Steve Brown

[James MacMillan]

Wow - with that many tartans to choose from, you will have a hard time getting down to one. - Much better to order seven

OK – you are in the U.S., your age and work situation are favorable to wearing kilts a lot. We have many quality kiltmakers in the U.S. and Canada, there is really no need to order from Scotland – you can, but you don’t have to.

Here's what I would do, in your situation. Look at the members and supporters of this forum for ideas. Plan on ordering a custom made kilt (the custom kilt will cost $400 to $700) largely depending on the cost of the fabric. This "tank" will take from 2 to 8 months to get to you, depending on who you choose for a kiltmaker and how busy they are.

While you are waiting for your custom kilt to get to you, order an off-the-rack kilt from somebody like USA or SWK (to name but two). Get a "generic" or universal tartan. Wear this kilt and get used to being seen around in the kilt. Find out the freedom and comfort of the kilt. Assemble from your closet and buy the stuff you need to go with your kilt. Belts, sporran, hose, flashes, kilt pin, hats, jackets, shirts, etc, etc, etc.

Look at the different pictures posted on this forum to come up with the style that you like and are comfortable with. Your comfort (both mental and physical) is of paramount importance!

Once you have the experience of wearing the kilt, you will appreciate your custom, made to order kilt all the more, when it finally gets to you.

[auld argonian]

I'd also suggest that you think about fitting at least a belt and sporran into your kilt budget...these accessories really help to define the look. When I first started wearing a kilt (a SWK Nightstalker), I didn't think to have these accessories and I think that that was what had a few people wondering "what the hell I was doing?".

Best

AA

[davedove]

You listed a lot of names there, so it may be hard to narrow it down to one. Do any of those names match your surname? If so, that would be a great place to start. Otherwise, do any of the names have any particular significance to you, other than just being in your family tree.

A lot of the ones you listed are fairly common, so it should be easy to get a kilt in your chosen tartan.

There are many fine kilt makers around. I personally have knife pleated kilts made by Alexis Malcolm and Kathy Lare, as well as a box pleated kilt from Matt Newsome. All are quality garments and I can recommend any of them. There are of course others, but I don't have kilts from them yet.