A word of caution about Atlanta Kilts

[Nighthawk]

The next time you are in there, you might do what Howie Nicholsby once did to show me the difference between wool and acrylic: pour beer over each. The beer flows off the wool like water off a duck's back. The acrylic...well, not so much.

I used coffee (HOT, fresh coffee!) for that test once. I was so glad that I was wearing wool and not acrylic...

If it had that tag, it's very likely not PV, but an acrylic blend. The PV used by Rocky, MacHummel, and a few others is a far superior product to the rubbish these things are made from.

Agreed!! Give me a PV kilt over acrylic any day, man! I hate acrylic!

On the one had, acrylic is crap. On the other, there are some vendors who make the most of that crap- Stillwater for example. And with a reputable and respecable vendor, you get all the information up front. That's what angers me when I hear things like this. Is honesty and integrity really that unprofitable?

[beloitpiper]

Yeah, notice that they don't lie. It is designed in Scotland (as in, kilts in general were originally designed in Scotland), and it is woven tartan. With what kind of fabric, they don't say. So while it is honest, it is also incredibly deceitful.

The advertising industry does the same thing with "free car giveaways" in shopping malls. They'll have a car sitting in the mall, and slips to sign up for their contest. But next time, look at that paper and the prizes, and you'll notice that there is NO MENTION of that car being the prize. It is a scam used to collect your personal information and sell it.

I really do feel sorry for the gent, hopefully in future his kilt purchases will have a better outcome. One thing I'd like to point out the "Designed in Scotland" tag like this one:


Is not used by StillWaterKilts.

[Colonel MacNeal]

The next time you are in there, you might do what Howie Nicholsby once did to show me the difference between wool and acrylic: pour beer over each. The beer flows off the wool like water off a duck's back. The acrylic...well, not so much.

Or you could start a little fire.

No - not really - not advocating arson - yet

[Tattoo Bradley]

That story makes me sad.

That was my exact reaction/thought as well. Very sad.

[ghostlight]

What an unfortunate story. Thank you for the warning. I hope the fellow sticks with his interest and doesn't let the experience sour his opinions.

[siva011]

Hmm, I will admit that I used this company for my wedding. It was just a PC rental, as the best man in my wedding didn't make getting his a priority, and when he finally went to the local shop they were out (big fest that weekend). They shipped overnight and were super to work with. This was just a PC jacket, not a kilt rental. And honestly, with my wedding I couldn't tell the quality of his from my much more expensive jacket.

They were very great to work with. Too bad it seems they don't know as much about their products.

As for pricing, always watch for upcharges. I've been through a celtic wares shop that sells Stillwater Thrifty kilts (labeled as such) for close to $100. I got mine direct from Stillwater for $29.

[planemaker]

Thanks for the heads up. That is why I only buy from vendors that I hear of on this site.

Paul

[bradpb]

As owner of AtlantaKilts.com, let me rectify the self-serving misinterpreted hearsay that has been posted on this good natured forum. You can not believe as fact what is posted from unsubstantiated hearsay. My company charges $127 USD for a made-to-order kilt (same as Stillwater), and $250 USD for a custom weave. In total, $377 USD for the kilt and weave.

1) The ENTIRE OUTFIT, top-to-bottom, CUSTOM woven and CUSTOM made kilt, good quality belt and buckle, excellent scain dubh, black fur sporran, decent gillie brogues, good hose, imported from Scotland, tux shirt, Prince Charlie jacket and vest, a tartan bow tie and a regular bow tie cost $735 USD plus shipping! Without a custom weave, the whole outfit, brand-new would costs $499 USD, and when lightly used the whole outfit costs $449 USD. These are great values!

2) The vast majority of my customers are thrilled with the quality/value that I supply. See http://atlantakilts.com/Testimonials.htm for actual emails from my customers and take a look at my Photo Gallery to see how our products look. This particular transaction is the very rare exception, which I aim to make right. Also, there was a lot of pressure to supply these custom products quickly, and we bypassed some of our typical quality crosschecks, like checking the length of the custom vest against the length of the jacket, and carefully checking thread count the whole length through. We commit to full quality control from now on, even for rushed orders.

My office staff called me yesterday morning, about this complaint, and I promptly called my customer to begin resolving concerns. I acknowledged that the waistcoat length should never exceed the length of the jacket, and offered to pay to correct this mistake and to pay to have his kilt taken in. If he were in the US, I would have paid for return shipping and used our reasonably priced local tailor to make the adjustments. But shipping anything to or from Canada is costly in customs, so I asked him to try and find a good tailor there in Canada.

And we began a discussion about the value of the kilt. It has SOME value. I committed to refund a portion of what he had paid to offset where our tailors or weavers had erred. So... the final cost is still not determined, because of the yet-to-be determined refund amount that I will send. This was before we had heard anything about the misinformation posted on this forum.

This kilt was made of 16oz acrylic wool, not the cheap 12oz fabric. We could have an intelligent discussion here about the pros and cons of sheep wool versus acrylic wool. I own both kinds of kilts. Acrylic wool is not as soft, but it lasts longer and is much less expensive. Many of the sheep wool items from my father and grandfather have been rendered useless by moths, or smell like moth balls.

I wear what I sell, an acrylic wool kilt, 2 or 3 times a week to piping gigs. And as pipe major of North Atlanta Pipes and Drums (recently taking 2nd at Greenville in G5) I've outfitted the pipe band in the same. The kilts I sell are sturdy and have sturdy straps and buckles, not the stamped metal cheap buckles. They do have 2 to 3 inch hems, so that the kilt hangs heavier. The hem also allows for adjustment, especially for young men that may grow taller, or if you desire to sell or give the kilt to someone taller (like in a pipe band). Nothing wrong with a hem. My kilt, and, in general, the kilts I sell, have deep 3" to 4" deep pleats, with good tight stitching. Of course, the pleat depth varies, because they are pleated to stripe, unless the customer requests pleating to sett. Again, this specific kilt may have gotten by my people, in part due to the rush. It is common for kilts to be wrinkled that have been boxed and shipped, no sin there.

Matching colors exactly is difficult, and from now on, I have corrected my process to require a swatch, if the customer intends the weave to match an existing tie or scarf. We don't always perform perfectly, but we honestly try to supply great value for the kilt outfit buying dollar. I love our music, our culture, and I aim to propagate these to future generations in an honest way. I, and all my 5 sons, play the pipes.

This deal is not done; I am in the midst of making this right with my customer. If you are genuinely curious, call me in a few weeks to learn how this story really ends.

I'd love to serve your kilt outfit needs. This particular transaction is an anomaly that I intend to make right. No company is perfect 100% of the time, but I aim to make every one of our transactions win-win, 100% of the time.

Best Regards,
Brad Beaton
Owner of AtlantaKilts.com
Cell: 678 429 2651
The grand canyon was created when a Scot lost a nickel down a gopher hole.

[Spartan]

I have seen this on Kiltmart kilts, but they are far less expensive than Jerry. They are also less expensive than the 800 price tag he told you.

Me too. I have an acrylic from Kiltmart. That's exactly what the tag says. It's my least expensive kilt for around the house. I didn't get ripped off. I got what I paid for, which wasn't much. ($50)

[RamsayClanCommish]

Wow.

Amazing how fast the vendors are respondig when they learn they are beign questione don this message board.

Another plus for X Marks.