Where to get family tartan kilt for under $250?

[Ancienne Alliance]

I'll offer some advice here.

My first kilt was a 5 yarder in lightweight wool and I bought it for my wedding. It looked fine in pictures. But, when you boil it down, the kilt is not very good at all. GOOD LUCK!

You boil down your kilts !

[sirdaniel1975]

MacMillan of Rathdown, his waist is a size 34-36. If you have a kilt in the MacMillan modern hunting that you'd be interested in selling please let me know, regardless of size. We have quite a few relatives back East (Virginia & North Carolina) who would love to have one.

Thanks again everyone.

Make sure you measure for his kilt at the naval.....
kilt measuring

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Not to throw cold water on everything, but when I first read this thread, I had to shake my head.

If you are looking for a kilt in your specific family tartan of choice;
and you want it for under $250;
and you want it in less than one month's time;
I'm afraid you will probably be dissapointed.

The only way I can see the above happening is if you get really lucky and happen to find someone on this forum, or elsewhere, that has a second-hand kilt in your tartan and size to sell. Otherwise, you will run into several difficulties.

First of all, most kilts under the $250 range will be fairly limited in what tartans are going to be available. For an example, look at Stillwater kilts. Great prices. Few tartans. People have mentioned USA Kilts, and that's a good recommendation. But again, in that price range, their tartans are limited.

Also, if you are looking to receive this in less than one month, you are also going to be limited on what is available. The only way I can see for you to guarantee delivery in that time frame is to get one of the lesser cost kilts that are available from stock from one of the suppliers mentioned in this thread. And that means (you guessed it) being very limited in your tartan choice.

To have a kilt made for you in your specific tartan of preference would require whomever makes your kilt to order the cloth from the mill, make the kilt for you, and ship it out. And unless you are very lucky, I just don't see that being done in less than 4 weeks. (It often takes me that long just to get the fabric!).

As a traditional kiltmaker who still does most everything by hand, I can tell you that by and large kiltmaking is still a specialty craft and just doesn't fit well with this modern-day "this is what I want, this is when I want it, and this is what I'm willing to pay for it" mentality.

My advise would be, if your husband has to have a kilt to wear in less than a month for a festival, go with what's available. Either buy one of the lesser expensive options already mentioned, or seek out a good second-hand kilt in his size. But be prepared to take what you can get in terms of tartan.

Then, if he enjoys wearing the kilt and thinks it is something he'd like to continue with, save up the pennies towards ordering him a bona fide made-to-measure kilt just for him, in the tartan of his preference. Trust me, it will be worth the wait.

Aye,
Matt

[Tattoo Bradley]

You boil down your kilts !

hahahaha

There's a wise guy in EVERY crowd isn't there?!

[Wife2aScot]

Make sure you measure for his kilt at the naval.....
kilt measuring

Yep, we've measured the correct way. Thanks. ;) If we were to buy a second hand kilt, he could wear a 34-36 inch. Custom ordered it would be 35".

[Wife2aScot]

So we have a couple prospects that we're looking into right now as far getting this kilt on time. We've been really lucky and have been able to find a couple stores who already have the modern hunting MacMillan tartan in stock and have said they could probably make it on time, but are checking to make sure. I appreciate all your help and suggestions. This might just work out after all!

I do understand that kilt-making is usually a long process, as well it should be with all the custom work and sizing that goes into it. When we finally go to order his "premium" kilt in the best quality available, we're going to allow for . . . well, just as long as it takes, I'm assuming several months. We don't plan on making the "I need it within a month" mentality the norm. ;)It just happened to be the case this time.

Thanks again everyone for all your help and suggestions.

[sharpdressedscot]

Not to throw cold water on everything, but when I first read this thread, I had to shake my head.

If you are looking for a kilt in your specific family tartan of choice;
and you want it for under $250;
and you want it in less than one month's time;
I'm afraid you will probably be dissapointed.

The only way I can see the above happening is if you get really lucky and happen to find someone on this forum, or elsewhere, that has a second-hand kilt in your tartan and size to sell. Otherwise, you will run into several difficulties.

First of all, most kilts under the $250 range will be fairly limited in what tartans are going to be available. For an example, look at Stillwater kilts. Great prices. Few tartans. People have mentioned USA Kilts, and that's a good recommendation. But again, in that price range, their tartans are limited.

Also, if you are looking to receive this in less than one month, you are also going to be limited on what is available. The only way I can see for you to guarantee delivery in that time frame is to get one of the lesser cost kilts that are available from stock from one of the suppliers mentioned in this thread. And that means (you guessed it) being very limited in your tartan choice.

To have a kilt made for you in your specific tartan of preference would require whomever makes your kilt to order the cloth from the mill, make the kilt for you, and ship it out. And unless you are very lucky, I just don't see that being done in less than 4 weeks. (It often takes me that long just to get the fabric!).

As a traditional kiltmaker who still does most everything by hand, I can tell you that by and large kiltmaking is still a specialty craft and just doesn't fit well with this modern-day "this is what I want, this is when I want it, and this is what I'm willing to pay for it" mentality.

My advise would be, if your husband has to have a kilt to wear in less than a month for a festival, go with what's available. Either buy one of the lesser expensive options already mentioned, or seek out a good second-hand kilt in his size. But be prepared to take what you can get in terms of tartan.

Then, if he enjoys wearing the kilt and thinks it is something he'd like to continue with, save up the pennies towards ordering him a bona fide made-to-measure kilt just for him, in the tartan of his preference. Trust me, it will be worth the wait.

Aye,
Matt

That's some really good advice, thanks for shedding the light on that.

[fluter]

So we have a couple prospects that we're looking into right now as far getting this kilt on time.

That's great news! Hope that it works out for you. If you have to fall back, you might consider the USA Kilts casual model. It's about half the price of the semi-trad, made with less fabric. That could leave you with a bit of a nest egg in case the addiction takes over.

from central South Carolina

[ForresterModern]

Matt's advice is the full version of the consumer's code for custom order goods. The distilled version: There are three factors in any custom order---quality (or in this case specificity of tartan), price, and delivery speed. Choose any two because you will have to suffer the consequences on the third.

In short, if your needs are specific, and your time frame short, be prepared to pay thru the nose to get what you want, the the way you want it when you want it.