Why Buy a Handsewn Traditional Kilt From a Middleman?

[Riverkilt]

A recurring theme on the board seems to be "I ordered a hand sewn kilt from .... and Its been months and months and they don't respond and can't seem to find out when it will be finished"

There must be hundreds of businesses that claim to be able to have a hand sewn kilt made up. But they're in fact middlemen, farming the work on to some unknown kiltmaker.

There are so many craftsmen willing to deal direct, Kathy Lare, Matt, Barb, Greggory, and more I can't remember. These craftsmen obtain the cloth the same way the hidden folks behind the middlemen do...they sew the same - often even better than the secret kiltmakers. There has to be extra cost to include this third party middleman in the process.

I like dealing directly with the kiltmaker when ordering a traditional hand sewn kilt.

Do others order through middlemen because they haven't learned the options yet?

My unsolicited suggestion is that if you're gonna spend the money on a handsewn traditional kilt spend it with the person who's gonna do the sewing for you.

Ron

[Robin]

I agree 100%

[O'Neille]

That's what I'd do. O'Neille

[Bob C]

Good post, Ron. I'd add that, for that kind of money, I want the kiltmaker to measure me, to be sure it's right. That's how I ordered my tank.

[Tattoo Bradley]

My first kilt was my Henderson Ancient 5 yarder. I didn't know a THING about kilting.. hadn't found Xmarks yet. So, I ordered via "middleman" through heritageofscotland.com. It's well made, and I'm happy with it for what it is. I'm glad I found this rabble before I bought a full on tank!

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Good question Ron. I think that for the majority of people, they do not know any better. They are purchasing a kilt for a special occasion, wedding/Burns supper/piping. They do not spend the time in researching a kilt as someone who wants to wear it more often or wants to understand the makers and heritage behind the kilt. I got lucky that I found XMarks before I bought my first kilt and had a lot of good knowledge to work from, but most are not that fortunate.

[ronstew]

Setting aside internet ordering:

In my town, there are three places to order a traditional kilt. Two of them measure you and send the measurements off to Scotland (I think), and you are only going to the third find by word of mouth. So most people who want a kilt are aware of the two middlemen and go there.

(That third source is a member of this forum and recently set up a good web site. So my opening paragraph is not strictly true any more, but it is good enough as an example of why people use middlemen.)

When I get my trad kilts in the future, I will be travelling to the kiltmaker for measuring every time I get a new kiltmaker. That way, no surprises.

[turpin]

I ordered my first through Kiltstore before I joined XMTS. I can only assume they farm them out because they are an internet only store (I think). Now that I know of all the options available for custom kilts, I'd deal direct with those recommended here who are on this side of the pond (to avoid the duties thing as well as be nearer the source). Since I am only 3hours from Matt newsome, he may be my next tank maker, but I'm thinking first of a semi-trad from Rocky.

[Southern Breeze]

Good post and questions. I'd have to agree that others order through middlemen because they haven't learned about the options. And learning about those options is IMHO one of the best things about X-Marks.

[Scotus]

Maybe it's because some kiltmakers won't deal with the public; they sew kilts and that's it. They probably want to leave it up to someone else to do the business of selling. I know of a little shop in Edinburgh, and the lady who makes the kilts has been doing so for many, many, many years. I just imagine some kiltmakers are more private and are thankful to have a "middleman."