My new tank - kilt review

[sjrapid]

Here's a brief review of my new kilt, and its maker, Margot Brodie at Alex Scott (Kiltmakers) Ltd of Aberdeen.

This is my first kilt review (and indeed my first kilt!) and I hope I've managed to absorb all the good advice that's been shared on XMarks over the last 3 months or so since I joined.

I'm based in London, but visit Aberdeen serveral times a year, so I chose Alex Scott on the strength of local recommendation.

My kilt is a 16oz Lochcarron Strome in Modern Gunn. The fabric feels as weighty as the swatches lead you to expect. The front apron is centered to the red stripe, as agreed with the kiltmaker.

The selvedge is along almost the mid point of the sett. Holding the selvedge between finger and thumb, you can feel that it's fractionally thicker than the main fabric.

As I'm fairly solidy built (46w/48s/24.5d), I was advised by Scotts to go for a 9-yard kilt and also measured carefully for the slope of the waistband (what I think Utilikilts call a beer-gut cut). I think this may be why the rear pleats show under the aprons in the photo above. As delivered, the kilt contains some 8yds 30ins of material, and weighs not far short of 4lbs.

The straps (of which there are only two, by agreement) are 1.25in wide black leather (and are 1/8-in thick) with single-tang cast buckles with a bright chrome finish.

The pleating is to the sett, and the hand-stitching on the fell is both amazingly small and meticulously regular. This photo doesn't do it justice.

The repeat distance on Lochcarron's Gunn Modern is 7in, and the kilt has 28 pleats about 4+1/8in deep with a 7/8 reveal. The two extreme RH and LH pleats are much deeper (8.5 in)

All the usual touches, like blind-stitching the pleats from the inside at the bottom of the fell, and super-neat alignment of the waistband seem to be present and correct.

Here is a shot of the inside detail:

The liner covers the hair canvas as expected.

The kilt also smells slightly - new wool and dyestuffs, and a hint of canvas, I think - which all adds to the sensuous experience of owning, handling and wearing it.

They say it's a great day in any man's life when he gets his first kilt! Here's me grinning happily, and Master Kiltmaker Margot Brodie:

All in all, I'm very happy with it - I've now just got to practice my pleat-sweeping (following Hamish's video) so as not to crush the pleats, and get used to maneuvering in a kilt. My first 'official' kilted outing will be Hogmanay, and (like countless others) I'll probably post some pictures of me actually wearing it after this.

Finally, I can't resist posting a picture of Aberdeen the day I collected it. The sky was an amazing colour as dawn broke:

Best regards

[cgrinder]

Very nice Steve, you can't go wrong with the Gunn tartan as I have been recently enlightened to!!

[Tattoo Bradley]

Fabulous!!!! I'll be wearing my Gunn modern (casual from USAK) this weekend. I love the tartan.

[Barclay]

I'm really liking the Gunn Modern tartan. Looks great!

[Splash_4]

Sweet!

[sirdaniel1975]

Always good to see another Gunnar!

Cheers,

Daniel Scott Williamson

[Frank MacDuffy]

Very nice! Congratulations on your new kilt!

[Blu (Ontario)]

You have a beautifully made kilt built to last a lifetime and beyond. Such is the quality one should expect from a kiltmaker of this caliber and experience. Congratulations. !

[RCallan]

Looks wonderful...
I remember that first day when I picked up my 1st kilt...

Sky was clear...and there was a new skip to my step....

You are now a true man!

Enjoy!

[David Dalglish]

Happy new kilt--it looks the buiness