Tartans, companies and Auld Scotland oh my!

[Cowher]

This worked out well! After looking around and seeing the box pleated kilts I have decided to go for that. So I'm thinking of searching around for those. I may just save and spring for the double box from lady Chrystel. It moves really nice (I found a YouTube video showing the double box kilt) but M.A.C. N's four yard box is nice too. Either way if they make a box kilt they will have a searchable reputation on here.

NorCalPiper as you made that kilt can you tell me is it possible to pleat the back to show the darker bits and have the lighter bits inside the pleats (reverse of what you made)

[NorCalPiper]

Hi-
Yes-You can absolutely choose that way as a dominant placing. I wore mine today and am always amazed at how it just seem to change like a chameleon in respect to the weather. On my porch under the gray skye, its gray/blueish. When I was at the park and all the orange and yellow leaves were everywhere, it was the mustard and burgundy...just amazing!

[OC Richard]

...thats not the auld Scotland tartan from Lochcarron is it? I remember it being browns and golds...

I've been noticing that every photo of Auld Scotland renders the colours differently. It's vagaries of photography: each photo shows the same Lochcarron kilt weight fabric.

I've not seen Auld Scotland in person but everyone says that it looks even better in person!

Note how the colours vary from photo to photo:









About your poll, I didn't vote because personally I wouldn't go with any of those choices. I would have an entirely handsewn kilt made by a reliable kiltmaker with whom I've had previous dealings.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Auld Scotland is a trade tartan woven exclusively by Lochcarron so the cloth should look identical no matter who makes the kilt.

Also unless you want something box pleated I would stay away from the lower yardage kilts. Having examined the kiltmaking methods used by all three companies I would suggest that Scotweb's is a better kilt. USAK comes next but the 5 yarder is not made with the internal reinforcement that is crucial to an heirloom garment. B/S' casual is lacking the attention to detail in the pleating and laying out of the garment that Rocky will give it.

I must have missed this comment last time I looked at the thread. But just for the record, if anyone is ever interested in a lower yardage knife pleated kilt that does have internal reinforcement, careful pleat layout, etc., I do make those as well as box pleated kilts. Just be aware that right now I'm working on an approximate 6 month wait time.

http://www.newhousehighland.com

Also, the casual kilts we sell at the Scottish Tartans Museum, while they do not have internal reinforcement, are entirely hand stitched and the pleat layout is very nicely done. And they can be had within two months, usually. :-)
http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org

I'm not trying to deter anyone from any other vendor mentioned in this thread. I'm just responding to the particular points above about lower-yardage kilts.

[RockyR]

My question is what is the reason for the price difference between the $275 8-yd Scotweb kilt and the $495 8-yd USAK kilt? Not casting aspersions and not trying to derail the original question, just something I've been curious about in the past.


EDIT:
Or maybe if I would just use my mouse and my eyes I would see with a little clicking that the Scotweb 8-yd in 16oz is $445...
So never mind.

As a point of clarification (and b/c it's been asked before), not IN ANY WAY putting down Scotweb or Nick (who is a very nice guy), I would offer a further explanation to the differences.

The other main difference is Shipping costs and US Customs (not just between USAK and Scotweb, but ALL UK Vendors).

Shipping from the UK will be roughly $30 to $60 average, depending on weight. US Customs (which will automatically get applied when shipped via DHL, UPS OR Fedex) will be $25 - $35 "processing fee" charged by the shipper + 12% duty on the declared value of the garment ($54 on a $450 kilt). If anyone is curious about the customs stuff, I'm using HTS 6211.39.0551 as my import # on kilts.

Shipping via Royal Mail or Parcel Force (which gets turned over to US Mail on this side of the pond) is a crap shoot. Roughly 2/3 of the time, our packages come through without any problem and don't get hit with customs. Of the remaining third, 1/2 the time they come with a "orange envelope" on the box asking for a check to be cut to the postmaster for the customs due (BEFORE you take posession of the package). The rest of the time, the package gets stopped by Customs and we have to "Declare Formal Entry". What this entails is hiring a Customs Broker (at the cost of $125) to fill out some paperwork and clear the shipment through customs. On top of the $125 is the actual US Customs Duties (again, typically 12% of the declared value on kilts and between 6% and 25% on accessories / material). Typically, the latter example only happens when your package is a declared value over $1000.

USA Kilts has FREE US shipping for any order over $200. Also, any US Customs duties charged on any item is absorbed by USA Kilts (no surprise bills). This alone saves the customer between $60 to $150 or so on a kilt. The price you see in your shopping cart is the price you pay.

As we get packages from Scotland daily and I just went through the entire US Customs tariff code last week (to try to see if there's a way to declare lower % tariff on certain imported goods), I believe I can speak knowledgably on the subject of shipping things from Scotland and what the hidden costs are.

As we have a "horse in this race", I will allow others to speak to quality / pleating / etc.

[Cowher]

Well Rocky, I was in your area the Friday before Christmas and took the trip to your shop. Seeing first hand your work and knowing the abuse your kilts take from Josh (Scruffy) from DKM and knowing James Lynch also from DKM. My next kilted purchase will be a tweed kilt suit from you. Maybe even the Persian lambswool sporran I was asking you about. Anyway I will be posting about my new Auld Scotland Kilt soon once it and my other accessories arrive.
Matt
:-)

[OC Richard]

Shipping via Royal Mail or Parcel Force (which gets turned over to US Mail on this side of the pond) is a crap shoot.

Truer words never spoken!

I've been buying things from the UK for around 30 years and only once has something been stopped by Customs, but ouch! that one time was very pricey. I think I had to pay around $200. (It was a $700 custom weave kilt.)

And I would LOVE the opportunity to see Rocky's shop in person! It's just too far for me, unless I can somehow extend my stay in West Virginia next year and make the long drive.