What is the appropriate wait time for a custom Kilt?

[BlueSkye]

Hello,
I posted a few months ago regarding my first kilt purchase. I've been very enthusiastic about receiving it and potential for additional accessories and even other mill versions. However, i cant seem to get the original one i ordered. Hopefully im not hanging myself by giving this kiltmaker so much slack but i ordered it in March of this year. They are based in British Columbia, Canada and I'm in the US. I was told i'd have the kilt and fly in June. I have of course checked in with him several times and there always seems to be a delay. Per my email last week, the kilt is supposedly on its way but he "damaged" the fly and needs to order new material.
This has clearly made for a disappointing introduction with this kiltmaker. And has me biting my tongue. But what is an acceptable rule of thumb or waiting period to receive a custom kilt?

Blue Skye
- Invictus Maneo

[figheadair]

March to November does seem like a long time frame. If your kilt is on it's way then that's good news. A fly plaid is a (very) optional extra and not necessary in order to wear you kilt. In fact, in over 40 years of kilt wearing, I've never worn one and, personal opinion, never would.

[Jock Scot]

March to November does seem like a long time frame. If your kilt is on it's way then that's good news. A fly plaid is a (very) optional extra and not necessary in order to wear you kilt. In fact, in over 40 years of kilt wearing, I've never worn one and, personal opinion, never would.

I could not agree more with Peter about fly plaids. I had one in my youth and carried it on occasion , I can’t say that I actually used it in action more than a couple of times. That was some 50/60, or more years ago! Since then it has resided in a trunk, getting high on mothball fumes! The one thing I remember well is that it was a damn nuisance to carry about on the shoulder, it kept sliding Off!

[Arnot]

Since then it has resided in a trunk, getting high on mothball fumes!

I got my laugh for the morning. 😆

[Troglodyte]

More than seven months seem an extraordinarily long delay - perhaps four times longer than I would expect for a bespoke kilt.

However, if the kiltmaker has had to order-in cloth, and it has come from Scotland, that would add to the dalay. Additionally, if the weaver was out of stock of your particular tartan, there would be further delay with scheduling production, weaving, finishing, etc. Weavers often give the 'custom weave' delay time on their websites, and it can be typically ten to 12 weeks.

Two things. One is if your kilt is to be made of a cloth that is being woven specially, you get the bonus of the individuality of the finished kilt. Only you will know this, but it adds to emotional value (and that starts high anyway) of having a new kilt.

On the other hand, the kiltmaker may have bungled your order in some way (most unlikely) but accidents do happen, and his openness about the damage to the plaid shows honesty. My advice would be to take him at his word, but try for a discount on the final price, due to the delay.

A bespoke kilt order is quite different from most clothing purchases, and seemingly long delays are all part of the process. But once the kilt is finished, and you can try it on for the first time, all the anxiety over the delay goes in an instant - it is worth the wait.

A friendly phone call to the maker might help ease your mind, and it is important to remember that the kiltmaker is an artisan craftsman who takes pride in his work. He is certainly not out to upset you or rip you off in any way.

Would you keep this forum up-to-date with this, and post pictures of the kilt when it arrives?

We are all kindred spirits, and everyone benefits from shared experiences.

Good luck, and let's hope the kilt arrives soon.

[RGM1]

On the subject of wearing a fly, I tried to wear a fly to a Halloween party thinking since I was already the most over dressed person there it wouldn't hurt. However, when it came to attaching it to my jacket, I could not figure out how to attach brooch without damaging jacket. Is the brooch just a counterweight or should it be pinned to jacket?

[Jock Scot]

On the subject of wearing a fly, I tried to wear a fly to a Halloween party thinking since I was already the most over dressed person there it wouldn't hurt. However, when it came to attaching it to my jacket, I could not figure out how to attach brooch without damaging jacket. Is the brooch just a counterweight or should it be pinned to jacket?

Stretching my memory somewhat, as far as I am aware you describe the two schools of thought on the subject well. Neither, were much use as far as I was concerned. Hence the plaid was condemned to the moth ball treatment in a trunk!

[PiperPadre]

One of my kilts took over a year to arrive and this frustration was not owing to the wonderful kilt maker, Mary Tierney. Once she took receipt of the cloth, she had it in the mail to me in a few days and the fit was perfect.

In this case, emails were met with a "the cloth is being woven now" - a response that would be repeated several times over a period of a half a year to each email inquiry made. One inquiry, however, engendered a different response: "The loom broke", which was then followed up with the now traditional "The cloth is being woven now."

[PiperPadre]

Another, larger kilt making emporium (not an advertiser here, but for the sake of propriety I won't say the name, although I believe it's owned by Doug and Dinsdale Piranha), got back to me a month after I placed the order: "Which tartan did you say you wanted?" So, that was nice.

Three months after that they informed me that the wrong tartan cloth showed up and the mill wouldn't take it back. They gave me two options - which was thoughtful:

1. Cancel the order and forget about it (they were hoping for that);

or

2. Get to the back of the cue as if the order were made for the first time, that day. Sublime.

I could tell the purveyor of that business was not happy that I wanted to proceed with the order even under his newly minted and unfair conditions. Taking his own frustrations out on a customer is an interesting business model but, as far as I could see, from my end, that was a mere first world problem. After 8 months my MacLennan kilt beautiful arrived.

[Troglodyte]

On the subject of wearing a fly, I tried to wear a fly to a Halloween party thinking since I was already the most over dressed person there it wouldn't hurt. However, when it came to attaching it to my jacket, I could not figure out how to attach brooch without damaging jacket. Is the brooch just a counterweight or should it be pinned to jacket?

Attatching the plaid and brooch to the jacket is fairly simple once you have worked out which technique suits you best.

One method is to use the brooch (which needs to be a substantial thing, with a degree of heft - like a piper's plaid brooch) as a counterweight to the plaid. The top left corner of the plaid is passed under the left shoulder epaulette, and the brooch pinned to the nicely fringed point, a few inches in.

The corner of the plaid needs to be gathered or slightly pleated to form a 'tongue' that comes forward over the shoulder and onto the breast a little way - how far is up to you, and a period of trial and error and generally playing around with it is needed to discover what's best. Once you have this established, the pin of the brooch is passed through the protruding 'tongue' only, and the plaid is allowed to slip back half an inch or so, so that the brooch hooks onto the epaulette tab - the tab slips into the rear gap between plaid and brooch.

Some fly plaids are made fitted with an additonal portion of ready-pleated cloth that forms this tongue, so it's easy to work out what you need to do.

An alternative method is to secure the plaid either under or over the epaulette tab, and pass the pin of the brooch through both the tab and the plaid.

Both methods avoid pinning through the flat of the cloth of the doublet, and so potentially damaging it, but as there is no 'wrong' way, it comes down to personal choice.

If wearing an open front doublet, such as a Prince Charlie, the weight of the plaid can pull the jacket back and off the shoulder in an irritating way, and you are left having to pull it forward again frequently. The weight of the brooch counters this somewhat, so having the brooch slightly forward of the crest of the shoulder also helps.

Many men learn to dislike their fly plaids for these reasons, which is made worse by the way it can catch on a fellow diner's chair, your dancing partner's jewelery, or a tray of drinks. But this is true of sleeves and coat-tails, too, so to carry off a fly-plaid with panache requires some practice and thought.

Although dismissed and sneered at by many writers of how-to guides, the fly-plaid can add a chunk stylish dash and drama to a kilt outfit. And, provided the plaid contains a suitable quantity of cloth, it can also function as the true cape-like garment it is intended to be.

Failing any success with the plaid as a garment, you can always have cushion covers made from it.