Not real kilts?

[Dakotan]

Hmmm... not wool, not hand-sewn, not made in Scotland.
Hmmm.... 30 pleats pressed to the sett, 3 leather straps, pushing 8 yards of tartan, rides from mid-knee to just over my belly button.

A Real Kilt? Looks like one to me!

[Celt]

Damn...and a pretty good looking one, too. Who made it/how much/all like that....???

[Dakotan]

www.StillwaterKilts.com in Minneapolis sells these. The tartan is a machine-washable acrylic that does a very good worsted wool imitation.
Their sales are mostly limited to eBay, but after I got my Royal Stewart at auction, I e-mailed them and ordered another of their kilts in Black Watch directly. Both cost the princely sum of $75.00 (+ shipping) each. I had to do a little work on the buckle pins on the Black Watch (the points were a bit on the "sharp" side), but the rest was VERY good, and my Royal Stewart is PERFECT. I haven't seen anything else even close for the money, and am quite pleased with them.

Just the view from here! - Dakotan

[Macwizzard]

I suppose I didn' metion the "Made is Scotland" aspect held true to the purists. Material wise and craftsmanship wise, at least in my opinion, a full traditional kilt doesn't have to come from scotland-but it wouldn't hurt if it did.

I meant no offense to those of the KiltWright trade. Merely the unwritten and unprovable impression of real "Scottish Autenticity" makes me think differently of the traditionalness of a kilt. But, any person's kilt is as real as they mean it to be. I'm not one to judge for others, but I consider any hand sewn 8-9 yard tartan kilt as "real" as the next one. But then, what do I know.

--Macwizzard

[Kiltedmusiclover]

Ok Mac, Why does it have to be hand sewn in Scotland? There are people, namely myself, who have the same tailoring training. Just because I don't live in Scotland, this makes me not a "real" kilt maker? All a matter of location?

I would like to hear the answer to this myself.
Like Chris, my kilt maker Kerry hand makes his kilts here yet he spent 3 months in Scotland learning
to make kilts. He was taught from a kilt maker who has been making kilts for 50 years. Kerry orders his wool tartans from Scotland. He has even sold a couple
of kilts to folks leaving in Scotland.

If we are talking about Traditional Kilts from
Scotland. Wouldn't we be talking about the great
kilts (one piece of material that doubles as a
blanket or bed) that were worn long before the "traditional" kilts ever came into existence.
What about the box kilt that has only a few pleats
and only has 4 yards of fabric. It too dates back before "traditional" kilts to 1792. The
Scottish Tartans Museum in Franklin NC has one on
display there. It is the earliest know kilt with
sewn pleats.

I own a traditional kilt. Yet I feel that any Kilt
has merit on its on no matter how it is made.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Nelson

[John in Texas]

I suppose I got into kilt wearing in reverse order, that is, I got my full formal outfit first, for formal occasions, etc. Then , after learning how comfortable it was, I wore it to the pub a few times, as well as around the house. But, it is a pure wool, 8 yarder, and cost dearly (375$ I believe), so I have a casual kilt (the first of several I'm sure) on order now. It would really hurt to mess up my good clan tartan kilt while camping. Im all in favor of the new traditional style (they are pleated and aproned)kilts, and I like the cost even better. If my only options were worsted wool 8 yarders, or even the 4 or 5 yard 'athletic' kilts, I would have to save twice as long before kilt orders.

Theres a time for formal (8 yards of wool) and a time for casual , just as Jeans arent acceptable at the symphomy. I love the new-traditional kilts, I just wouldnt get married in one, lol.

just my .02$

John

[Blu (Ontario)]

Jimminy Crickets, Dakotan...that is a very nice kilt! How can they sell them for that price??!!

[Graham]

John, I like you analogy of 'jeans at a symphony', I think that sums up the casual verses formal kilt question nicely.

[Dakotan]

Ya got me, Blu! I was shocked as hell when my first Stillwater got here. In fact I decided to get my Black Watch ASAP, just in case any price increases were on the horizon. The Stillwater website and eBay Store look to be up and running, but the old / regular prices are still hanging in there. Like I said, I've not seen better for anywhere close to the cost of a Stillwater.

[Robbie]

Without intending to be hypercritical, if Dakotan really wants to know the difference between his kilt and an expensive one, how about (a) the lower of the 2 buckles & straps look to be set too high, resulting in the kilt pulling across the lower stomach (although possibly he's just tightened the strap too much) (b) although not clear from the camera angle, there appears to be something slightly off about the pleating, as the sett does not seem to carry across the back and does not match at the apron, and (c) again it may be the camera angle, but it looks too long.
Having said that, it certainly looks good for the price!!