IDEAL v. BUDGET

[triolamj]

Since I came to this as the chairman of the Children's Highland Athletics and part-Irish with not a bit of Scot, my philosophy has been more how can a father outfit his son without beggaring himself and how can the father outfit himself?

1. The kilt itself.
IDEAL: A 16 oz. 8-yard, hand-sewn kilt pleated to the sett in either the main clan tartan or dress tartan by a trustworthy kilt maker.
BUDGET: A 13 oz. 4-yard kilt from Pakistan in Black Watch or one of the other 7 regimental/clan tartans.

2. Shoes, daywear.
IDEAL: Ghillie brogues with ankle laces and Doc Marten soles for marching.
BUDGET: Florsheim or Bass kiltie loafers.

3. Shoes, eveningwear.
IDEAL: Same as above except with smooth leather soles for dancing.
BUDGET: Florsheim or Thom McCann wingtips.

4. Hose, daywear.
IDEAL: Light wool kilt hose in dark colors to match tartan.
BUDGET: Same as above.

5. Hose, eveningwear.
IDEAL: Argyle kilt hose in colors that compliment the tartan, handmade.
BUDGET: Machine-made kilt hose in either off-white. However, my preference is snow white.

6. Sporran, daywear.
IDEAL: Targe sporran with chromed pewter cantle in black or grey fur.
BUDGET: Black leather targe sporran with chromed knotwork cantle.

7. Sporran, eveningwear.
IDEAL: Targe sporran with chromed pewter cantle in white fur and plaque-chain strap.
BUDGET: Targe sporran with chromed cantle in black or grey fur and a chain strap.

8. Jacket and/or waistcoat, daywear.
IDEAL: Charcoal tweed Craill with matching vest.
BUDGET: Denim twill Argyll with matching vest.

9. Jacket and/or waistcoat, eveningwear.
IDEAL: Bonnie Prince Charlie or Brian Boru in black Barathea.
BUDGET: Argyll in denim twill or Spencer tuxedo jacket in wool worsted with cummerbands instead of vests.

10. (Because it has to be a round number), your one other piece of personal advice.
IDEAL and BUDGET Kilt Belt: Once was Craigie's at sporrans.com with laminated layers and velcro closure. Very comfortable and very adjustable.
RUNNER-UP: Celtic belt and buckle from Lee River of Ireland.

And get at least one piece from Art Pewter.

[OC Richard]

I've been at both extremes of the ideal/budget thing. When I got started I wore a kilt my grandmother and myself came up with, having never seen a kilt in person and just going by photos. My father made a rabbit sporran and I made a kilt jacket by modifying a tweed sportcoat I got at Goodwill. Hey, West Virginians are nothing if not pennypinching and resourceful!

Then quite a few years later I worked at a Highland Outfitter and I went out and bought all sorts of bespoke things, like a bespoke tweed day jacket etc etc. At that time I could turn myself out in complete Day Dress, Evening Dress, Full Dress with feather bonnet etc etc.

So here goes:

Ideal

1. The kilt itself: 16oz handsewn kilt by a top maker

2. Shoes, daywear: Ghillie brogues

3. Shoes, eveningwear: fine Mary Jane style buckle brogues with sterling buckles

4. Hose, daywear: handknit in lovely bespoke colour so that you stand out from the crowd!

5. Hose, eveningwear: handmade tartan to match your kilt

6. Sporran, daywear: animal mask

7. Sporran, eveningwear: antique goathair sporran with hand-engraved sterling cantle (hey there's one on Ebay now)

8. Jacket and/or waistcoat, daywear: bespoke Harris tweed windowpane

9. Jacket and/or waistcoat, eveningwear: lovely Burgundy velvet Montrose doublet, or midnight blue velvet Regulation doublet, or anything NOT a black barathea PC.

Budget (and boy have I been here)

1. The kilt itself: if you absolutely cannot afford a handsewn kilt, the closest I've seen are the ones by Skye Highland. But insist on 16oz tartan.

2. Shoes, daywear: nice wingtips, which can be had for around $10 used on Ebay.

3. Shoes, eveningwear: in this case I prefer the budget over the ideal, because I wanted the 19th century "buckle loafer" look, not the modern "Mary Jane" look, and bought some nice wingtip tassel loafers for $15 on Ebay, removed the tassels, and put on buckles (seen in my avatar)

4. Hose, daywear: charcoal piper's socks

5. Hose, eveningwear: the charcoal piper's socks are OK for evening too.

6. Sporran, daywear: short of making your own, which I have done, at this time some of the Middle Eastern sporrans are not too bad. By all means get a quality sporran if you can afford it. If you get an animal mask sporran you can wear it for both Day and Evening.

7. Sporran, eveningwear: well if on a very tight budget some of the Middle Eastern evening sporrans aren't too horrible. But better to get one quality sporran that can serve for both Day and Evening.

8. Jacket and/or waistcoat, daywear: I got a Harris Tweed sportcoat at Goodwill for $10 and made my own Argyll jacket. The fabric trimmed off the bottom was enough for cuffs, pocket flaps, and epaulettes. I also bought an ex-hire Scottish-made black Argyll jacket from a kilt hire shop in Scotland for around $60.

9. Jacket and/or waistcoat, eveningwear: as mentioned above I got an ex-hire black Argyll for around $60 and it was in near new condition. This can serve for Day and Evening. Or, if you're handy with needle and thread, you can get a used tailcoat at Goodwill and turn it into a Prince Charlie style jacket.

Overall advice for budget people: get ONE quality kilt, sporran, and jacket that you can wear anytime. If on a budget get an ex-hire jacket.