Quote Originally Posted by Nanook View Post
Re: Kinloch Anderson:


Their kilts are "bespoke" as any kilt can be. They just no longer make jackets but source them elsewhere. Their kilts are not generally 100% by hand (few are these days) but the pleats and whatever you can see is hand stitched. Many of the bits that are done by machine are probably best done--- save for a warm fuzzy feeling of being able to think of the item as completely done by hand--- with a machine anyway. Dege & Skinner in Saville Row? They do "bespoke" jackets and sell Kinloch Anderson kilts. Are their jackets completely hand-sewn? No! Its like kilts...
I quite agree but Kinloch Anderson, who used to be one of the bespoke tailors located here in George Street have long since ceased to be that and for this newspaper to describe them as such is misleading, but then that is nothing new for them. It is simply a sign of the times that people generally are not prepared to pay more than a certain amount and they have adapted their production methods accordingly to survive. They will still make a hand-sewn kilt at a price but prefer to guide you in the direction of a machine-sewn one or even one of their cut-down models (what in Glasgow would be described as a "faun doon kilt" - falling down kilt - for wearing when consuming large amounts of alcohol). To compare a kilt with bespoke tailoring is hardly a fair comparison as the two require quite separate levels of skill. A kilt, basically, is just a wrap-around pleated - dare I say it? - skirt, whereas jackets, trousers etc. involve a considerable degree of construction. I know most of this can be industrialised for "off-the-peg" clothing made cheaply in low wage economy countries but for something to fit perfectly it has to be bespoke as mass produced items are a "one size fits all" and do not take account of the slight physical variations we all have from the norm.