A word of caution about Atlanta Kilts

[The Wizard of BC]

A gentleman came into my shop this morning with his new Kilt and Prince Charlie Jacket.
He asked if I could take the Kilt in a bit as it seemed a bit big to him.

As soon as he came out of my changing room with his Kilt and Jacket on I could tell that he had a Pakistani made Acrylic Wool Kilt.

The fabric was full of wrinkles, there was a 2" machine sewn hem, the liner is not sewn down nor the pleats cut-away. The entire Kilt was machine sewn and the stitching was long and ragged. The Pleat width varied from 1.25" to 1.75" reveal.

This Kilt was exactly what Jerry at Stillwater sells for $122.00 to $130.00,
right down to the "Designed in Scotland" tag.

In talking to him about his Kilt I could tell that he seemed upset. I then asked him what he paid for his Kilt.
His answer floored me.
He stated that the Kilt alone cost him $800.00 Canadian. He stated that the fabric for his Kilt had had to be specially woven as he had asked for the Murray of Atholl Tartan in the Ancient version.

Well, the Tartan in the Kilt he showed me is not the Ancient version of the Murray of Atholl Tartan. It is even darker than the modern versions that I have samples of here in the shop from Scottish mills. It is also not the correct thread count. Well, to be fair it is for about half the Kilt. The other half had thick black lines where they should have been thin ones.

We then took a good look at his Jacket and waistcoat. The first thing I noticed was that the bottom of the waistcoat hung down 2" lower than the bottom of the Jacket.
I then noticed the stamped, gilt buttons, and finally the loosly woven Wool/Acrylic blend fabric. It looked like a gunny sack on him.

Well, I spent some time with man. I tried to break the bad news to him as gently as I could. But in the end the only result is that this man had been ripped off. He had been charged a premium price for a Kilt and jacket that he could have gotten for about a quarter of the money.

I don't think this man was lying to me about the cost or claims from this company as he is a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer.

So, a word of caution to those thinking of dealing with Atlanta Kilts.
This man was charged a premium price for a Pub Style Kilt.

The web site of Atlanta Kilts

Please know what you are buying. Ask informed questions. Deal with shops that you know or that you have seen products from.




:ootd:

[7 miles]

Thanks for the info Steve.

[Rex_Tremende]

That story makes me sad.

[GDub]

I'm not a fan of rip-offs! Thanks for the heads up.

[dfmacliam]

The tartans shown, seem to look cheap, in my humble opinion... I am glad you passed this information on.... I feel I am done with acrylic kilts myself... I have a new desire and a smaller kilt wish list...

[SteveB]

NOTE:

The "Designed in Scotland" Tag belongs to the Gold Bros. Jerry's have "Stillwater Kilts" and made in Pakistan displayed clearly in them. They also have Acrylic fiber clearly displayed. Jerry is very up front and honest in the products he is selling.

I have seen Atlanta Kilts as a vendor at a festival. The kilts were "Heritage of Scotland" tagged and the inside label was "Designed in Scotland"... I thought then that probably Atlanta Kilts might be a reseller for the famous Gold Brothers. The kilts at the festival were priced at $ 129.00 USD. not far from the $ 127 USD on their website.

I am sure that the kilt that visited Steve's shop was a ready made 24" drop, and Atlanta Kilts merely hemmed it up to meet the gents need of closer to 22". The poor quality of the weave and inconsistent thread colour is a trademark of the "custom weave" offered by the Gold Bros. Unfortunately a cousin of mine owns one of these Acrylic wonders that he purchased while touring Scotland, and received a couple of months after returning to the U.S. It does not come close to MacNeil of any version. He is very envious of my Alba Wool Tank that I purchased through Rocky for less then he spent on the Acrylic wonder.

As always, one must be comfortable with a vendor and research their wares and reputation before purchase.

Slainte

[McMurdo]

I really do feel sorry for the gent, hopefully in future his kilt purchases will have a better outcome. One thing I'd like to point out the "Designed in Scotland" tag like this one:


Is not used by StillWaterKilts.

[KFCarter]

Thanks for the original post and discussion. It's sad, but good to know and it's helpful to be aware of the bad as well as the good in the world of kilts. Fortunately, as we hear about every day on XMarks, there's no shortage of far better product and vendors.

[7 miles]

I really do feel sorry for the gent, hopefully in future his kilt purchases will have a better outcome. One thing I'd like to point out the "Designed in Scotland" tag like this one:


Is not used by StillWaterKilts.

I have seen this on Kiltmart kilts, but they are far less expensive than Jerry. They are also less expensive than the 800 price tag he told you.

[Bugbear]

Thanks for the warning, Wizard.