Do kilts hold their value and what to buy next?

[AmateurKiltsmen]

My recent frustrations with Pakistani import has left me wanting a genuine Scottish kilt, i know a few makers and it seems the price varies wildly, ideally I’d like something I can enjoy for the rest of my life, that my kids can and their kids etc, but I’d also want something that expensive to hold its value, my family are all about investing and being frugal so even though I have the money, they strongly advise me not to spend £700 on a kinloch Anderson kilt, I mean I’d love to, I’d have a luxury car too, but I have parents to keep happy and I’m not ready at the moment to move out, and honestly I was risking it buying a kilt in the first place, if I spent £700 on a kilt behind their back would it keep its value?

They tell me not to spend more than £100 on a kilt, how much can I get for that money? I want to avoid used for obvious reasons but clearance is fine, I also want to avoid non-trad and American makes due to post brexit import costs.

I’d also like Irish county tartans if possible, as my grandmom was born in county Wexford.

[SF Jeff]

You are not going to get a proper kilt for a hundred quid, but you don't need to spend £700 either. Look at used kilts, especially former rentals/hires. You may not get the exact tartan or size you want, but you'll get a decently made kilt and perhaps a local tailor can make any adjustments if needed.

[figheadair]

First buy your cloth, then go to a kilt maker. Cathy Hope at Braw Kilts is superb.

[AmateurKiltsmen]

You are not going to get a proper kilt for a hundred quid, but you don't need to spend £700 either. Look at used kilts, especially former rentals/hires. You may not get the exact tartan or size you want, but you'll get a decently made kilt and perhaps a local tailor can make any adjustments if needed.

I don’t really like the concept of used kilts, what if someone’s worn nothing under it?

[OC Richard]

I’d want something that expensive to hold its value, my family are all about investing...if I spent £700 on a kilt behind their back would it keep its value?

Kilts rarely do hold their value, and there's a really good reason for that.

When you have a kilt made it's sized specifically for you, not only your waist and length, but also the hips, so that the waist/hips differential is built into how the kilt is made.

And when you have a kilt made you've selected one fabric out of the thousands of available tartans and tweeds.

So your kilt has a good chance of being the only one on Earth in that exact fabric and with those exact measurements.

This means that when a used kilt is put up for sale the potential market for it is extremely limited. It will generally sell for far less than it cost, and the buyer is most likely to be somebody first getting into kiltwearing who is not too picky about the tartan and size and is looking for a bargain.

I keep tabs on used kilts every day on Ebay and a quality kilt in my size, in a tartan I want, has never appeared, not in 20 years looking.

You buy a kilt to wear. It's not an investment.

I play bagpipes and they're the opposite. Quality bagpipes from high-reputation makers never lose value, and often gain value. There are people who "flip" bagpipes like houses, and can make thousands of dollars at auction on one sale if they had bought great pipes from a famous maker at a bargain price.

They tell me not to spend more than £100 on a kilt, how much can I get for that money?

I've known people who have found quality kilts at Charity Shops that just happened to fit them.

Also Kilt Hire Shops often have big sales of ex-hire kilts around New Year. They're clearing out the Hire kilts which are in tartans no longer in demand, and getting in new kilts in new tartans expected to be in demand in the coming Spring Wedding rush.

Being outwith Scotland I'm not there in January and February to search the Hire Shops. I've known people who have got high-quality kilts for £100-200.

I did scour the online ex-hire sales for a couple years and never found a kilt in my size in a tartan I wanted.

Aside from Charity Shop, ex-hire, and Ebay, which require time, legwork, and luck, £100 is only going to get you a tat Pakistani kilt.

Just the cloth for a genuine kilt is going to be, what? £300 and then the kiltmaker has to be paid.

I have two Cathy Hope (Braw Kilts) kilts and I think they were a very good value.

[AmateurKiltsmen]

Kilts rarely do hold their value, and there's a really good reason for that.

When you have a kilt made it's sized specifically for you, not only your waist and length, but also the hips, so that the waist/hips differential is built into how the kilt is made.

And when you have a kilt made you've selected one fabric out of the thousands of available tartans and tweeds.

So your kilt has a good chance of being the only one on Earth in that exact fabric and with those exact measurements.

This means that when a used kilt is put up for sale the potential market for it is extremely limited. It will generally sell for far less than it cost, and the buyer is most likely to be somebody first getting into kiltwearing who is not too picky about the tartan and size and is looking for a bargain.

I keep tabs on used kilts every day on Ebay and a quality kilt in my size, in a tartan I want, has never appeared, not in 20 years looking.

You buy a kilt to wear. It's not an investment.

I play bagpipes and they're the opposite. Quality bagpipes from high-reputation makers never lose value, and often gain value. There are people who "flip" bagpipes like houses, and can make thousands of dollars at auction on one sale if they had bought great pipes from a famous maker at a bargain price.



I've known people who have found quality kilts at Charity Shops that just happened to fit them.

Also Kilt Hire Shops often have big sales of ex-hire kilts around New Year. They're clearing out the Hire kilts which are in tartans no longer in demand, and getting in new kilts in new tartans expected to be in demand in the coming Spring Wedding rush.

Being outwith Scotland I'm not there in January and February to search the Hire Shops. I've known people who have got high-quality kilts for £100-200.

I did scour the online ex-hire sales for a couple years and never found a kilt in my size in a tartan I wanted.

Aside from Charity Shop, ex-hire, and Ebay, which require time, legwork, and luck, £100 is only going to get you a tat Pakistani kilt.

Just the cloth for a genuine kilt is going to be, what? £300 and then the kiltmaker has to be paid.

I have two Cathy Hope (Braw Kilts) kilts and I think they were a very good value.

That’s another problem with used and ex-hire, I’m a strange size and I’d like the choice of tartan, I have seen clothes in obscure sizes being sold for a lot of money before, you saying those people are con artists?

I just want a kilt, is this one of those hobbies I should shelve until I move out? Should I just keep wearing cheap tat til then?

[Troglodyte]

My recent frustrations with Pakistani import has left me wanting a genuine Scottish kilt, i know a few makers and it seems the price varies wildly, ideally I’d like something I can enjoy for the rest of my life, that my kids can and their kids etc, but I’d also want something that expensive to hold its value, my family are all about investing and being frugal so even though I have the money, they strongly advise me not to spend £700 on a kinloch Anderson kilt, I mean I’d love to, I’d have a luxury car too, but I have parents to keep happy and I’m not ready at the moment to move out, and honestly I was risking it buying a kilt in the first place, if I spent £700 on a kilt behind their back would it keep its value?

They tell me not to spend more than £100 on a kilt, how much can I get for that money? I want to avoid used for obvious reasons but clearance is fine, I also want to avoid non-trad and American makes due to post brexit import costs.

I’d also like Irish county tartans if possible, as my grandmom was born in county Wexford.

I think your recent experiences have been a lesson in caution - and is a reminder that you only get what you pay for.

I did a quick scan of Tartanista products, and my own experience is that a top-quality pre-owned kilt can be had for about the same kind of outlay.

Once you have a clear idea of the size you need (waist, hip and length from top of waistband to botom of the kilt) you can go through a process of elimination in your search. Your choice of tartan may be clan-associated, but that is not essential - just get what you fancy.

I understand your budget restraints, but there is no obligation to have a bespoke-made kilt to get you going. If you allow yourself somewhere around the £100 mark, you ought to strike lucky fairly soon. As an example, my clan wears Black Watch as a hunting tartan, and I managed to buy (from eBay) an unused ex-army kilt for £28, which I sent to my my nephew who was just then hunting for one. A bargain by anyone's standard.

Ministry of Tartan is a Scotland-based retailer of used Highland dress items (including kilts) and usually has a good selection on offer - http://www.ministryoftartan.com/second-hand-kilts. And there are plenty of others in the UK doing similar things.

Charity shops in the UK often have kilts and other items for sale (which they will promote on eBay) at very reasonable prices. I checked-out my local Red Cross charit shop in Banchory yesterday, and they had just taken two rails' worth of jackets, kilts and belts for sale at about the price of a new Tartanista kilt.

Spending £700 on a bespoke-made kilt is well-worth the investment, if you can justify the cost - of which about 75% will be the cost of materials alone. The rest of the price is the 'fee' for the kiltmaker's skill and expertise, and the retailer's service. You will get the perfect fit, and in a tartan of your choice - and it will last more than a lifetime, which is why so many kilts make it to the second-hand market. You have to look at the cost in terms of value for getting exactly what you want, not as an investment.

Think of buying a kilt in the way you would buy a car. Going to to a dealer and specifying model, engine, trim level, etc, comes at a price, but you get exactly what you want. But, at the same time, there may be just the same thing on the used-car forecourt, low mileage and excelent condition, for half the price. It's effectively the same car, and you would be driving it on the same roads.

As with cars, the cost to you for a new kilt is not what you could expect to sell it for. So advice would be to get more kilt-wearing experience before taking the bespoke option. Visit a proper Highland dress outfitter to get measured and fitted so that it is comfortable, and use that advice to track down a pre-worn kilt at a more affordble price. The bespoke option will always be there for when you are ready.

Most men in the UK (including those in Scotland) only have the one kilt, which might only be worn a few occasions each year, such as Hogmanay or Burns' Night, so the wear-and-tear of a used kilt is astonishingly low. Most kilts you find will be 'like new' in condition.

So do not be put off by the 'used' status.

Also, Highland dress retialers (such as McCalls who have branches across Scotland) have a hire department which they renew each season, and clear out their 'worn' stock. This is usually immaculate, and at reasonable prices, too.

[OC Richard]

That’s another problem with used and ex-hire, I’m a strange size and I’d like the choice of tartan.

I know what you mean, I'm tall and 16 stone and things in my size rarely appear on the used/ex-hire market.

If you want something to fit and want to choose a specific tartan it's almost certainly going to mean a bespoke kilt.

I have seen clothes in obscure sizes being sold for a lot of money before, you saying those people are con artists?

Sorry I'm not sure of your meaning there.

I just want a kilt, is this one of those hobbies I should shelve until I move out? Should I just keep wearing cheap tat til then?

That's a decision only you can make.

My situation was different: I had taken up the pipes and though a teenager I knew in my bones that it was going to be a lifelong obsession.

Thus I knew I was going to be a lifelong kiltwearer as well, and realising that I could only get kilts I wanted to wear going the traditional bespoke route that's what I've done. (2025 will mark 50 years playing pipes and wearing kilts.)

Actually my first two kilts were made by my grandmother. That's another approach, do it in-house. There's a super book The Art of Kiltmaking and I took a kiltmaking workshop from one of the authors. So I do have a kilt I made myself, but the fabric alone was more than double your 100-pound budget.

[AmateurKiltsmen]

I think your recent experiences have been a lesson in caution - and is a reminder that you only get what you pay for.

I did a quick scan of Tartanista products, and my own experience is that a top-quality pre-owned kilt can be had for about the same kind of outlay.

Once you have a clear idea of the size you need (waist, hip and length from top of waistband to botom of the kilt) you can go through a process of elimination in your search. Your choice of tartan may be clan-associated, but that is not essential - just get what you fancy.

I understand your budget restraints, but there is no obligation to have a bespoke-made kilt to get you going. If you allow yourself somewhere around the £100 mark, you ought to strike lucky fairly soon. As an example, my clan wears Black Watch as a hunting tartan, and I managed to buy (from eBay) an unused ex-army kilt for £28, which I sent to my my nephew who was just then hunting for one. A bargain by anyone's standard.

Ministry of Tartan is a Scotland-based retailer of used Highland dress items (including kilts) and usually has a good selection on offer - http://www.ministryoftartan.com/second-hand-kilts. And there are plenty of others in the UK doing similar things.

Charity shops in the UK often have kilts and other items for sale (which they will promote on eBay) at very reasonable prices. I checked-out my local Red Cross charit shop in Banchory yesterday, and they had just taken two rails' worth of jackets, kilts and belts for sale at about the price of a new Tartanista kilt.

Spending £700 on a bespoke-made kilt is well-worth the investment, if you can justify the cost - of which about 75% will be the cost of materials alone. The rest of the price is the 'fee' for the kiltmaker's skill and expertise, and the retailer's service. You will get the perfect fit, and in a tartan of your choice - and it will last more than a lifetime, which is why so many kilts make it to the second-hand market. You have to look at the cost in terms of value for getting exactly what you want, not as an investment.

Think of buying a kilt in the way you would buy a car. Going to to a dealer and specifying model, engine, trim level, etc, comes at a price, but you get exactly what you want. But, at the same time, there may be just the same thing on the used-car forecourt, low mileage and excelent condition, for half the price. It's effectively the same car, and you would be driving it on the same roads.

As with cars, the cost to you for a new kilt is not what you could expect to sell it for. So advice would be to get more kilt-wearing experience before taking the bespoke option. Visit a proper Highland dress outfitter to get measured and fitted so that it is comfortable, and use that advice to track down a pre-worn kilt at a more affordble price. The bespoke option will always be there for when you are ready.

Most men in the UK (including those in Scotland) only have the one kilt, which might only be worn a few occasions each year, such as Hogmanay or Burns' Night, so the wear-and-tear of a used kilt is astonishingly low. Most kilts you find will be 'like new' in condition.

So do not be put off by the 'used' status.

Also, Highland dress retialers (such as McCalls who have branches across Scotland) have a hire department which they renew each season, and clear out their 'worn' stock. This is usually immaculate, and at reasonable prices, too.

Thanks for the help, funny you mention black watch because it’s one of my favourites despite its history, that being said don’t expect a recommendation of milsurp to someone who is an odd size to be of any help, I spent a long time looking for a really common military piece in my size and between people accusing me of impersonating, calling me fat and surplus shops refusing to tell me when/if they’d get one in and trying to make me pay sky high prices, even the MoD were of no help! In the end I took it to a tailor, I love milsurp but I’d rather not deal with that toxic community ever again.

I’ve also never found a kilt in a charity shop, someone even once told me my military piece is a “common charity shop item” neither is true or at least not where I live, I was lucky enough to find a battle dress once, picked it up, realised it was sized for a 12 yr old kid and put it back.

Are Kilts4Less any good?

[AmateurKiltsmen]

I know what you mean, I'm tall and 16 stone and things in my size rarely appear on the used/ex-hire market.

If you want something to fit and want to choose a specific tartan it's almost certainly going to mean a bespoke kilt.



Sorry I'm not sure of your meaning there.



That's a decision only you can make.

My situation was different: I had taken up the pipes and though a teenager I knew in my bones that it was going to be a lifelong obsession.

Thus I knew I was going to be a lifelong kiltwearer as well, and realising that I could only get kilts I wanted to wear going the traditional bespoke route that's what I've done. (2025 will mark 50 years playing pipes and wearing kilts.)

Actually my first two kilts were made by my grandmother. That's another approach, do it in-house. There's a super book The Art of Kiltmaking and I took a kiltmaking workshop from one of the authors. So I do have a kilt I made myself, but the fabric alone was more than double your 100-pound budget.

I’ve heard of that book before but I doubt it’s something I’d do anytime soon, is it possible to buy cheap tartan and give it to a kilt maker though?

Oh and £100 isn’t actually my budget, it’s how much my parents are happy for me to spend, they think kilts are funny man skirts so don’t see any value in them, hmm maybe I could go over and lie to them?