I have already posted pics of my new kilt, but I wanted to do a more formal review for folk who might be thinking about appraaching Matt Newsome. The project was to have a registered tartan in the name of Fitzgibbon and a 4-yard box pleated kilt. There is good reason for seeing this type of kilt as traditional (pre-8-yard knife pleats). I don't think it will replace the latter, but is a great kilt nonetheless for formal and informal wear. It's not less of a kilt. If you check out Matt's web site you can see the process. To be honest it is not cheap. I was fortunate in that MacSimoin had desigend a tartan and had the material already made by Dalgliesh, but not yet registered. So, for me that part was a bonus. I could not have wanted a better tartan for the family name.
General Fit
Of course, this in part depends on measuring yourself properly. With several other kilts I know my size (36/43/24 if anyone feels like sending me one for free!). Those were the measurements I sent to Matt and the kilt is perfect size. Fits me exactly as I would want.
Material
It is a 16 oz single width. The material is quote stiff (more so than my 13 oz kilts) which helps it hang well. The pleats are razor sharp. Being box-pleated it has a slightly different swing to knife pleats, but very pleasing.
Detail
Overall, the attention to detail is excellent.
The pleats are exactly aligned and the stitching is virtually invisible:
This shows the neatness of the buckle attachment
Detail of the lining. You will see that Matt follows the stripe perfectly. And this is on a part of the kilt nobody sees.
Another pic of detail work:
Kilt fastening
This is Matt's own design. There are only two buckles. The left is fastened inside the kilt. It means there is no hole for the kilt strap to pass through. This will be helpful if the kilt needs to be resized in the future. It works very well. There is really no need for the third (hip) strap. This is the internal strap.
Service
Matt Newsome is always very courteous and fast at answering e-mails. When I ordered the kilt sometime September, Matt said it would be ready for Christmas. It came first week in January. I didn't get to wear it for Christmas dinner or New Year's Eve. But kiltmaker's are busy people these days. If you are planning on a hand made kilt like this, reckon on waiting. Have patience. It is well worth it.
Overall
This seems to me to be just about as close to perfect as I could want in a kilt. Wearing it feels very "balanced." I would recommend anyone going this route. Of course, when you spend serious money, there is a tendency to justify your purchase (post-purchase cognitive dissonance, I think it is called). In this case, I cannot find anything wrong with either the process, interaction with the kiltmaker or the finished product. Thanks Matt! (And I'm not on commission!
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I honestly didn't remember you requesting the kilt by Christmas. This was my own mistake as I must have neglected to write it down on your measure sheet. If I have a written "need by" date, I always do what I can to meet it (so long as it is within reason, of course!). So please accept my apologies for dropping the ball on that one.
Linear Mode
