semi-formal, what did it cost me?

[Alan H]

OK, when I got started in this I really wanted a semi-formal getup. You know, Argyll tweed jacket, wool kilt and so on. I can't afford that, seeing as I'm pretty much a newbie to kilt-wearing, so I did what I could with what I could afford. Last night I went to my wife's symphony (I used to play in it, too) in kilt, jacket and tie. The jacket is a Saint Vincent De Paul special that I spent 8 hours adapting to a kilt jacket. Someday I'll post a picture of this getup, but I thought folks would be interested in my "semi formal" getup and what it cost me.

Sporran off of ebay white hair, "leather cantle" (riiight) , three chrome-topped tassels:
$35
Stillwater Standard Black Watch Kilt
$75
Locharron hose, bought at Highland Games, full price from Kilt & Thistle
$20...(BTW, these are MUCH, much nicer than the "buget hose" I bought off of ebay; easily worth the few dollars difference in price)
Locharron Flashes, same as above
$11
Belt from neighborhood garage sale. It's a beauty, full leather, just gorgeous, though it's not a "real" kilt belt. I got it for
$1.00
Celtic Buckle, round, pewter, kilt-buckle sized, but not a normal rectangular-tyled formal kilt belt...off of ebay.
$13
Black Dress shoes...scored a deal at Big 5 sports. These are very nice Rockport dress shoes.
$25
Plain blue tie, a Mervyn's special.
$14
Jacket, a tweedy Woolrich sportcoat that I altered myself. This is a VERY nice, fully lined wool jacket.
$7.50... yes, you read that right $7.50
White shirt, I had already. Doesn't everyone? If you bought a new one at Mervyn's you could get it for around $25

TOTAL (not including the white shirt, since I had one already): $201.50

...plus some shipping from ebay sellers. Call it $215

I got a lot of compliments, many questions and two women who just HAD to talk to me at length about kilts, Scotland, exactly whether the kilt was too cold in the winter and so on. The Mrs. was witness to a lot of it and she thinks it's funny.

This getup won't cut the mustard on the Royal Mile, and even at a post-Games ceilidh here in the USA with a lot of knowledgeable folks it's just a bit "not quite right" . However, here on the San Francisco Peninsula, it does very well in semi-formal occasions with regular folks and I'm very comfortable in it.

And so is my pocketbook.

[billmcc]

Bravo Alan! You must take a picture of your modern semi-formal outfit!

[sav]

Well done Alan! I too, modified a regular tweed jacket that was gathering dust in my closet and made it into a serviceable kilt jacket.
~Sav

[billmcc]

Sav,

Pictures please! I've been thinking about doing the same thing and would like to see how others have done it.

[GMan]

True fugality, a man after my own heart!

[davedove]

Done like a true Scotsman.

[Sindarius]

Aye, well done Alan.

Looks like you ran across some good deals. Be proud that you've invested some time into your outfit. It's easy for some to just order brand new items regardless of thier cost but in my humble opinion doing the best you can with what you have avalible adds a personel touch and really makes it YOUR outfit. Besides, as long as your happy with the outcome that's all that matters.

Well done I say, well done.

[sav]

Bill,
I'll post some pics as soon as I can!

[LordDamax]

Ok, so whats the difference between a jacket and a kilt jacket?

[Andrew Breecher]

Ok, so whats the difference between a jacket and a kilt jacket?

The main difference is that it's cut shorter at the bottom so it doesn't fall below the sewn-down portion of the kilt's pleats (i.e. it ends above the hips). They are also usually cut at a diagonal in the front so as not to cover the sporran.



Andrew.