Complete the outfit

[Scotus]

If you are ordering your 8 yard knife pleated kilt through Matt Newsome at the Scottish Tartans Museum (understand he won't be making it for you) I would be very tempted to order a set of Lewis Hose from him as well.

My 8 yard, 16 oz Cumming Hunting was ordered through Matt's shop. It's a good deal, as Matt is an excellent go-between person to have.

[Scotus]

Obviously, I did not make it clear that this is a a very, very, very preliminary budgeting exercise. All of the comments so far are good and valid, but are too far into the process.

Then, I would say your first priority should be a good day sporran; brown, if you're like most people. Mine is black, as the rest of my stuff is also black, but I would suggest a good brown, day sporran. You don't have to go out and spend a lot of money. If the sporran is simple, it should cost too much for a quality one. Along with this, good hose (not white or cream). These would be on top of the list.

Once you have those, you can move on to other items; however, since you're asking about what is next and not what's way down the line, I would say the sporran and hose. I assume you already have good shoes you'd wear with the hose, so that's why I didn't mention those.

[Panache]

I am assuming that you are looking to buy a sporran /sporrans that will last you for the rest of your life.

If you only want to buy one sporran , I believe a full mask sporran can serve you for all levels of formality from polo shirt to white tie.

A good one is going to cost about $400

If a full mask sporran isn't your thing I think you will need to purchase at least two sporrans, a brown daywear one and a black one for evenings and formal wear.

Currently I have 10 sporrans that run the gauntlet from very casual to white tie formal.

They are all great and all have there place in my wardrobe.

However if I were just starting out, with the accumulated knowledge I have gained here at XMTS I would choose to save and purchase two

A brown leather Freelander Sporran for day wear

http://www.freelandersporrans.com/cms/index.php

And a black leather and fur Ferguson Britt for everything else

http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/...%20stripes.JPG

Now I would be looking at better than $600 for both, but between the two I would be able to wear them to anything.

Now if I picked a fur Ferguson Britt sporran that used black leather for the cantle and trim and something like brown beaver fur for the body I could use just the one sporran for everything which would then be about $400.

Since you are looking for a first class traditional outfit it would be worth it to get a sporran that is going to be made to last and l,ook top notch.

Cheers

Jamie

[Highland Logan]

I would second the opinions of Jock, Scotus and McMurdo. The Lovat green hose are good, as well as some plain basic red flashes, a plain black military style day sporran sould be a good low price start. And so long as you have no major events in your future, a nice sweater vest over a **** and tie should keep you going. And as for shoes, untill you can afford to spend a lot, just plain black (my choice) or brown dress shoes would finish off the outfit.

For an even more dressed down look, try a cable knit sweater rather than shirt and tie, and swap out the dress shoes for some low-cut hiking shoes.

Just keep in mind that some acces. are not neeed, such as sgian dhub, kilt pin (I never wear one) and the like. And like Jock says, even flashes can be put on the back burner. Once you have just a few of the acces. here you will be ready for most things other than formal, which can wait as budget requires.

Frank

[Scotus]

a plain black military style day sporran sould be a good low price start.

I agree with Highland Logan here. My first sporran was this. It's a good quality sporran at a reasonable price. I think Jamie is just trying to scare you away by suggesting a full mask sporran as your first sporran. Just so long as you have a sporran that works, worry about getting different, more expensive ones later on.

[Friday]

I am assuming that you are looking to buy a sporran /sporrans that will last you for the rest of your life.

What I am trying to do is put together an initial traditional outfit, as the years go by I would want to increase the quality/price of the items I have.

So far

Kilt $590
Hose 50
sporran 200
Tweed Jacket 450
Vest 175

So far my budget for an initial outfit, based on what has been said is that I will have to save over $1,000 before I can take my wife to dinner. Each of these items are reasonably priced, but, it is going to take over a year for me to save up enough and then I could only afford McDonalds for dinner.

[Friday]

I would second the opinions of Jock, Scotus and McMurdo. The Lovat green hose are good, as well as some plain basic red flashes, a plain black military style day sporran sould be a good low price start. And so long as you have no major events in your future, a nice sweater vest over a **** and tie should keep you going. And as for shoes, untill you can afford to spend a lot, just plain black (my choice) or brown dress shoes would finish off the outfit.

For an even more dressed down look, try a cable knit sweater rather than shirt and tie, and swap out the dress shoes for some low-cut hiking shoes.

Just keep in mind that some acces. are not neeed, such as sgian dhub, kilt pin (I never wear one) and the like. And like Jock says, even flashes can be put on the back burner. Once you have just a few of the acces. here you will be ready for most things other than formal, which can wait as budget requires.

Frank

Frank our posts cross in the web.

Based on this

Kilt $590
Hose 50
Sporran 60
Flashes 24
Shirt 0 White/color to compliment kilt
Shoes 0 color to match sporran

It looks like it will still cost about $650 for the first outfit.

[Highland Logan]

See it is possible.. budget now for what will get you through what you plan to dress for, and the formal can wait. Also you can get hose much less exspensive than $50, and are still of a good quality. Hope this has been of help.

Frank

[The Barry]

I took a similar approach when putting my formal outfit together. This is the result:

Kilt, 8 yard, hand sewn (by our own Barb T)
Argyle (NOT PC!!) jacket and waistcoat in black (more options)
Sporran appropriate for evening wear
Ghillie brogues
Tartan hose (still jonesing!)
Belt + buckle

This list is in order according to my prioritization method.
The kilt is first because, well, it's the kilt.

Then is the Argyle jacket and waistcoat because I found a good deal and they are another large chunk of the outfit. If you want to go less formal, just get the jacket, skip the waistcoat.

Then the sporran. This is the next largest "deal" to get over. Be selective, there are enough people making sporrans that you can get pretty much exactly what you want. Do not, I repeat, do not get a "semi-formal" sporran, if you want to go out to dinner in the evening, get an evening sporran.

I listed ghillies here. I already had a nice pair (piper's with extra cushioning due to my spinal issues). They are ubiquitous, and are thus easy to find. Shop around a bit, you'll find the exact ones you want with a little bit of searching.

Tartan hose. You might want to step down a couple of notches, go with nice (read: hand-knit) colored hose, or maybe even some Lewis hose. Those will work until you start to get fairly formal.

Belt + buckle. These are easy to order, so no hurry. You can get them on sale if you shop around for a bit. The same buckle will be sold by several vendors for several different prices. I say get a belt and buckle because the jacket without the waistcoat paired with a belt and buckle is a very nice, a bit less than formal, look.

That's pretty much what I did. Pay special attention to the sporran and hose, those two items, more than anything else, can make or break an outfit.

Kilt on brother!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

People have been giving some really good advice. I'll add my thoughts for consideration.

Given your stated goal of having something nice enough to go out to dinner, and assuming a tight budget, here is what I would recommend.

I'll also assume, for pricing purposes, that you are purchasing from the Scottish Tartans Museum. As you are planning on ordering the kilt from us, it makes sense, but keep in mind you may find other suitable items elsewhere are various prices.

FOR THE TIGHT BUDGET:
In addition to the kilt, you'll need:
1) a pair of our standard kilt hose. $27.95
2) a pair of garters, either elastic or self-tie. $24
3) a functional day-wear sporran. Our economic models that start at around $60 are nice, but you'll probably want to purchase a better belt than what comes with them, which will run you another $25-$30. Or you can splurge a bit and get one of the nicer day-wear that will run you in the mid-$100s. These will be supplied with a nice belt.

As you plan on having something that can be dressed up a bit to take your wife out to dinner, I'd advise you get a black leather sporran, and if you don't already have a tie that would look nice with your kilt, buy a solid color one, which we sell for $24.95.

As for shoes, you likely have something in your wardrobe that will work. Same thing with the shirt. Unless you plan on taking to wife to a place that requires jacket, you can wait a while on the Argyle jacket. You can always dress the outfit up with a sweater.

IF YOU HAVE A BIT MORE OF A BUDGET:
1) You might want to consider upgrading to the Lewis hose, which are a nicer quality and will give you a wider range of color. $48
2) Definitely get a nice mid-range sporran rather than an economy model.
3) Consider adding a kilt pin, $20 to $25 in most cases.
4) Consider adding a sgian dubh, which come in a very wide range of prices.

Lastly, I would say that eventually you'll probably want a nice Argyle jacket. But this can be something you budget and save for, like the kilt. Unless you know up front that you will be attending a lot of functions that would require a jacket, there is no urgent need, and this is a high price item. So wait till you can save some pennies, and have recovered from the cost of the kilt a bit. :-)