Why do they cost so much? -the annual rant.

[RockyR]

This is why probably nothing that most of us wear is made in a 'first world' country! (Including my kilts) Doesn't bother me. Pakistanis have to live too.

This is not an "attack" or anything like that... Just a question posed to make people think...

If evrything we buy is made in Pakistan and China, what happens to jobs in our own country? What happens when jobs in your OWN industry go overseas? People in Pakistan and China DO have to live too... But there's a simple theory. If you are making less (and the country is exporting less) than you are spending (and importing), it's not sustainable.

[ThistleDown]

Is there any wonder why some of us, who can, have been passing items of handmade tartan and tweed generation to generation? And why so few in Scotland have more than one or two kilts in the armoire?

As an aside, a journeyman plumber in British Columbia, value added tax extra, charges out at slightly more than CAD25 an hour, but it is supply and demand in our western economy. There is less demand for a kiltmaker than there is for a pumber.

In Pakistan it is possible to find a kiltmaker who will make the perfect 8-yard knife pleat for you while you sit drinking your fine malt and watching him/her work; and the cost at final fitting may be as much as GBP20.

Of course, you must source that skilled worker, cut out all the middle men and find a comfortable seat from which to watch the work.

This is a super thread, Alan.

[Alan H]

I don't begrudge anybody making a living....Scottish, Californian, Pennsylvanian, or Pakistani. I have owned Stillwater Kilts, USA Kilts, Scottish-made Kilts and kilts that I have made myself. I LOVE my Capercaillie, modern, made from Scottish cloth and sewn up by Lady Chrystel in the Alps.

Wear what you like, and wear what you can afford. If you can't afford to pay what it costs for a handsewn wool kilt, then wear what you can afford. No worries...though there IS another way. *hint, hint*

I just thought I'd layout in dollars and cents, what the actual, real life cost is-- You know, as a thought-provoking thing. I do this every year or so. If you search back, you'll see that this is a rather heavily edited version of the same post I made in 2010.

I can't afford a closet full of $500 kilts, either. That's why I learned to make them.

[MikeS]

If evrything we buy is made in Pakistan and China, what happens to jobs in our own country? What happens when jobs in your OWN industry go overseas? People in Pakistan and China DO have to live too... But there's a simple theory. If you are making less (and the country is exporting less) than you are spending (and importing), it's not sustainable.

I don't have an issue with citizens of Pakistan, China or any other country trying to make a living. However, living in a part of the country that has lost thousands of good paying manufacturing jobs that have been replaced with low paying retail jobs, I say its time to take care of our own. You can't buy a car or a house working 30 hours a week at McDonald's. Its one thing if its just not available anywhere else, but many things are there if you look. For instance, I've been buying New Balance shoes for years. They are one of the few shoe companies that still make shoes in the US, though some models are made in China. Because of my job I usually go through 8-10 pairs of shoes a year. I get the same ones every time, made in the US. They make an identical shoe with a different model number that is made in China that costs $15 less. I still buy those made in the US because it gave someone here a job.

I now return you to the previously scheduled rant...

[Alan H]

Let's all be careful that this conversation doesn't get too economically politicized, eh? That's a good way to get a thread shut down MDQ.

While I might agree with some sentiments regarding "buy USA" or whatever, let's keep the conversation KILT-related, and I'm sure that it will be fine.

Like...just for example...

I laid out the basics of cost for a couple of variants on a traditional wool kilt, or the polyester-VISCOSE variant.

How about a contemporary kilt, like a Utilikilt, or a Freedom Casual model, or an Alt.Kilt or an Amerikilt? What is the cost breakdown for that? It's not that hard to work out.

labor per hour... _______
hours to make a kilt ... _______
cost of materials ... _________

Would you like to buy an X-Kilt made by me? You know the famous Alan H, himveryselfohwow? NO PROBLEM. Here's what I'll charge you.

labor per hour ... $15
hours to make an X-Kilt ... 13 13 x 15 = $195

cost of materials
5 yards of cotton-poly blend, about 8-9 ounce @ $6 a yard at Joannes Fabric = $30
thread from Joannes Fabric = $3
Velcro about 18 inches = $5

TOTAL for materials $38, call it $40
GRAND TOTAL $235

Oh, you want it shipped? That's another $6 for the box and $12 shipping.

OR...

you could download the instructions for free and make your own.

[Alan H]

Oh, just so you know, I've got a 3-year waiting list....so sign up now. 100% deposit required.

[Bugbear]

I'm not complaining.
I have my spine, I have my canvas kilt.

Apologies to R.E.M.

[brewerpaul]

Three months into wearing kilts I commissioned Bonnie Heather Greene to make me a kilt. It is an 8 yard 16oz wool German Heritage(thank you Rocky for a wonderful tartan) for dress and special occasions. It is gorgeous and I think made by magic hands because it is so invisibly stitched I feel an elf did it. I feel I underpaid Bonnie for her devotion to a craft, her time taken to create such a beautiful kilt, and her love of her work. She epitomies the devotion to craftmanship. or in her case craftwomanship, that is so lacking in our time. We look at a BMW or Suburban and dont blink an eye at what we drop on a vehicle that loses value when you turn the key the first time yet we wonder why a crafted item cost so much. To me it is rather inexpensive, though I should have bought tires instead of my kilt. I have the tires now and look for reasons to wear my BHG kilt. What we see as niche was one time what our world was made of, craftsmen and women, that have been replaced by mass production. I enjoy my Stillwater kilt for what it is, a great looking pub kilt. But I fully respect, bow my head and tip my hat to all the people on XMTS and beyond that put needle to wool and create such beautiful kilts. I wear mine with pride and brag on Bonnie when I can.

[ohiopiper]

I work n manufacturing, although it's not at all related to kilts or even clothing at all. Overhead and material costs, plus my hourly rate, I'm surprised at the low prices my company does sell some things for. Kilt making can't be any different. And the tighter the eeconomy gets, the smaller margins get.

I think Rocky was right. Kiltmaking is NOT the fast-track to wealth.

[brewerpaul]

I work n manufacturing, although it's not at all related to kilts or even clothing at all. Overhead and material costs, plus my hourly rate, I'm surprised at the low prices my company does sell some things for. Kilt making can't be any different. And the tighter the eeconomy gets, the smaller margins get.

I think Rocky was right. Kiltmaking is NOT the fast-track to wealth.

For manufacturing it is volume. The more the better, the less the goods cost to make the product the better. You can only hope the wages stay at a living wage. It is a matter of volume. Unfortunately US manufacturing has left our country for the one variable we need, a living wage. How else can they expect us to consume if we cant live.


And to me proper kilt making is an art and craft just like my Oma(grandmother) was as a seamstress.