Advice on a first kilt?

[Séamus Ua Proinsias]

Thanks so much, everyone. I definitely came to the right place. This weight loss I'm in the middle of is a current and very serious endeavor based in the classic combination of sensible diet and good exercise. Which means, of course, that going from a 42" natural waist (as of about three minutes ago) to something like a 35" (a bit more than the two or three inches well-placed straps give, I'm afraid) will take a jolly good while. But once I'm there and have some new breeks (ought I to bowdlerise that?) and kilts to keep me honest and away from those chocolate-covered digestive biscuits, it'll have been so well worth it.

On that note, I suppose waiting till I lose the weight is the most reasonable and practicable option; designing tartans every night at the Tartans Authority's "Croft Weaver," the new reed I got for my kitchen pipes and being around here must do for the mean time. How long do most kilt queues end up being, from order to shipment? Ten and a half months (or so I estimate) plus the actual jonesing time could add up into quite the number of hours spent daydreaming. But then, never was anything wonderful achieved without commensurate adversity. (Fortunately, I've found that the adversities (such as they are, great or small) are actually always outbalanced by the joys.)

Now, given that, might, as AKScott said, an off-the-rack Stillwater, say, be a good choice to see how I feel in one and to practice wearing? I tend naturally towards the investing in fewer, better clothes side of the matter (the issue, I'm well aware, has come up here now and again, and I don't wish to start anything), but a trial kilt before I buy a treasured heirloom doesn't sound entirely malapropos.

I'm glad to hear that the 13 oz. wool is a viable option, even if it does crease more easily. If I do decide not to get a trial kilt (getting to the assuaging-the-jones-by-proxy), what thoughts have you all on the tank vs. the four-yard box-pleat for one's very first introduction to the kilt? Is there some wisdom or logic to it that you've found, or is it mostly a matter of personal preference?

Y'a bon,

Jake

Ps – Sorry for all the prolixity and questions nested within questions. I'll try to keep it better in check in future.

[MacMillans son]

I commend you commitment to your health sir!

I think a test kilt to ensure you will enjoy the experience is a great idea. Many folks report liking SWK kilts, while others avoid acrylic kilts due to their being flammable, and their tendency to pill over time. A better alternative may be a low cost Poly Viscose kilt that you will be able to keep, after you traditional kilt, for rugged and casual activities. There are a number of 8 yard import versions for around $80 delivered. The imports tend to use eastern PV, which is a bit coarser and heavier than the PV from Great Britain. The benefit is that because the material is heavier, and they are typically made with more yardage, they tend to better approximate a wool kilt experience than the low yardage casual kilts. I have one from these folks in the Scottish National tartan that has served me quite well for casual outdoor activities.

http://buyakilt.com/kilts/budget-kilts

Keep up the good work!

[Whidbey78]

I commend you commitment to your health sir!

I think a test kilt to ensure you will enjoy the experience is a great idea. Many folks report liking SWK kilts, while others avoid acrylic kilts due to their being flammable, and their tendency to pill over time. A better alternative may be a low cost Poly Viscose kilt that you will be able to keep, after you traditional kilt, for rugged and casual activities. There are a number of 8 yard import versions for around $80 delivered. The imports tend to use eastern PV, which is a bit coarser and heavier than the PV from Great Britain. The benefit is that because the material is heavier, and they are typically made with more yardage, they tend to better approximate a wool kilt experience than the low yardage casual kilts. I have one from these folks in the Scottish National tartan that has served me quite well for casual outdoor activities.

http://buyakilt.com/kilts/budget-kilts

I'd second that. Get something along the lines of a SWK, maybe one of their "heavyweight" wool ones. They're pretty inexpensive, good to have around for hiking, camping, etc, and you'll have a kilt to wear until you've achieved your weight-loss goals. If it no longer fits as you lose weight, you can sell it. Then you can order your pricier kilt knowing it will still fit down the road.

[AKScott]

. How long do most kilt queues end up being, from order to shipment?

6-10 weeks should be typical, with the caveat that not everyone has every tartan in stock all the time. If you belong to a wee tiny little clan, and only one wee litle mill way up a glen has the rights to make it, and they are out of yarn, well maybe ten months if they have to wait for the lambs to be shorn again so they can buy some wool....

. I tend naturally towards the investing in fewer, better clothes side of the matter (the issue, I'm well aware, has come up here now and again, and I don't wish to start anything), but a trial kilt before I buy a treasured heirloom doesn't sound entirely malapropos.

If I had a closet full of $300 suits I was wearing everyday, I cold see dropping $600 on a nice suit. I have a collection of kitchen knives at $150 or so each, I could see dropping $600 on really really nice cleaver some day. Dropping $600 on a kilt when I had never ever worn one before didn't seem prudent, so I bought one at $100 on a trial basis. If I hadn't liked it I would be out $100. Since I did like it, I have a spare to wear when shoveling snow or running the BBQ and etc. I'll probably mow the lawn in the inexpensive one a couple times this summer.

I'm glad to hear that the 13 oz. wool is a viable option, even if it does crease more easily ... What thoughts have you all on the tank vs. the four-yard box-pleat for one's very first introduction to the kilt?

This is a kettle of worms of the bottomless type. I have only one comment, and it of tangetial value. At +10°F, when shoveling sixteen inches of snow off the driveway I was quite comfortable in my five yard knife pleat while the order of operations was step, shovel, shovel, shovel, shovel, step. At the far end of the driveway when I returned to the house the order was step, step, step, step, and I was quite cold. If you are too hot in your kilt standing still, walk around some. If you are too hot in your kilt walking around, look for a lighter kilt.

Best of luck to you.