Questioning thoughts

[Danwell]

Chas, I think you're being unnecessarily terse here.

SmokinScot.......I think the reason people are "steered toward less than desirable goods and provisioners of those goods" is because some of us recognise that not everyone has the funds to buy a $200 sporran, $200 hose, a $600 kilt, $600 jacket.......all of these things add up to a quite considerable sum very, very quickly.

My thinking is this.......spend the money where it is important - ie, on a kilt, maybe on a jacket. You can spend significantly less on goods that are going to do the job, look good, and still going to of ok quality. If you're looking to put together an outfit quickly, you can buy these without a huge initial outlay, and replace them with higher quality bespoke pieces when the funds are available.

I don't think people should shun these goods simply because of where they're made or the place in the market that they fill........

[Dale Seago]

My thinking is this.......spend the money where it is important - ie, on a kilt, maybe on a jacket. You can spend significantly less on goods that are going to do the job, look good, and still going to of ok quality. If you're looking to put together an outfit quickly, you can buy these without a huge initial outlay, and replace them with higher quality bespoke pieces when the funds are available.

I totally agree with that. While the adage "Buy the best, cry only once" is certainly applicable, it simply makes sound economic sense to "test the waters" first. When you consider that:

- a good kilt will cost as much as a good suit;
- a really nice kilt jacket & waistcoat will cost as much as a good suit;
- a really nice sporran may cost as much as a good suit;
- an accessory like a really nice bespoke sgian dubh that you can actually frakkin' CUT something with may easily cost as much as a good suit;

- Plus all this "day wear vs. evening wear" stuff. . .

Is it any wonder that someone new to wearing kilts and not sure how often he's likely to do it may feel a bit "financially intimidated" and want to go the low-budget route first?

I would go so far as to suggest too that simple cost is the most important difficulty to surmount in getting the kilt accepted once more on a broad scale as "just clothing", as it used to be.

I have no problem with the cost of the basic garment, it's all this Victorian-derived tomfoolery about how to wear it that tends to ensure its relative scarcity. Personally, I'm now in the midst of a buying spree and getting myself more wool kilts and other associated clothing and accessories. . .But to be honest, this is only occurring because a greedy new building owner unlawfully evicted me from the apartment I'd lived in for 14 years and I'm now six figures happier about it than I was at first.

I think the makers of various sorts of "casual" and otherwise less expensive kilts do those with an interest in the garment a great service.