This is my first and only post in this thread.

The original post here talks about saving up to buy the best kilt one can afford and acquiring the "accessories" in the course of time. I would submit that this is probably what most of our ancestors did, unless they were wealthy enough to buy all their "kit" ready-made. I read somewhere that it took at least a year (maybe more) for a Highland family to process the wool from sheep to plaid, and that would have been in a good year. My understanding is that the economic sysytem in the "old days" probably precluded most of our ancestors from buying anything except the necessities of life, again, unless they were in the wealthy minority.

What's that got to do with us?
For those who want a "traditional/classic/textbook" kit, and want it all right now, but don't have the pocketbook to back it up, may I suggest that a "traditional" way of obtaining all this stuff would be to make it, barter for it, save up for it, or do without? For example, I wanted a raccoon sporran, but didn't have the $ to buy one. My father, an avid hunter, had a hide in his freezer. I had it tanned and sewed it up and now I have a raccoon sporran. Is it as nice as a Turpin or Thorfinn? No. Will it serve my "needs" and be something unique? Yes. I recently inquired of a fellow XMarker about a particular item I'd like to have, but when I found out the price, I know I cannot have that particular item. Do I still want it? Yes. Can I afford it? No. I'll have to use something else in its place.

The point is this: the majority of our ancestors acquired things as they could, slowly, one piece at a time. In my opinion, if one wants to be "traditional", then how much more traditional can one get? Just because our cultures have told us that we have to gratify our every desire immediately, and that there's something wrong with having to wait, doesn't mean we have to believe it. It's taken me since '93 (when I started 'piping lessons) to acquire a tank, a few pairs of hose, flashes I made, ghillies, some Wal-Mart walking shoes (that double as work shoes), a half-plaid, a "manufactured" sporran, my handmande 'coon sporran, a navy blazer that I had cut down to make a quasi-Crail, a tweed jacket that's currently being cut down, a kilt belt, a Glengarry (which I don't particularly like) and a Balmoral which will fit my big ol' head. That's less than 1 item per year. I've bought and made things as my finances allowed, and, in my opinion at least, I look fairly respectable when I sally forth. It would have been nice to get a whole load of stuff at once, but I couldn't, and neither could my ancestors. I'm not saying it's bad to get a whole kit all at once, if one can afford it, but if one can't afford it, then one will have to follow the "traditional" method of building a kit.

Now, if one wants a non-traditional kilt, and has no desire for all the trappings and trimmings that go along with the "traditional/classic" look, then that person probably can get a whole "outfit" fairly quickly, because the price probably won't be as high. More power to them.

I've intended this to agree with and support the original post in this thread.