[The Wizard of BC]

Casual Style Kilts

There is nothing that compares to the look, and swish of the pleats, of a Traditional Kilt. But oh, the cost and care needed. In the 1990’s a few kilt companies began to ask if the Traditional Kilt was truly practical in today’s world. They began to experiment with some of the man-made fibres available and with alternates to the skilled hand labour involved. The products of this experimentation are known as Casual Style Kilts.
Casual Style Kiltmakers want to produce a kilt as close to a traditional kilt as is possible. Their goal is to produce a kilt that at first glance can stand next to a Traditional and not be noticed as out of place.
The first experiments where made with alternate fabrics to Wool. Most notably among the fibres they started using was a blend of Polyester and Rayon known as Poly/Viscous or P/V for short.
P/V can be woven in Tartan patterns and the dyes used produce bright and vibrant colors that don’t fade. It can also be pressed at much lower temperatures than Wool and the creases produced are virtually permanent. P/V is also very wrinkle resistant and machine washable.
A perfect fabric you may say. Well, yes. With a drape and swish that rivals Wool, P/V is a very good, less costly alternative to Wool. However, the Holy Grail of P/V kilts currently is a heavy weight fabric. Most P/V today is woven in a relatively light 10 or 10.5 oz. per linear yard weight. It should be possible to be woven in a heavier weight but no one seems to be doing it. It is the hope of the kilt world that soon a weaver will begin to produce P/V in weights of 13 and 16 oz.
The next thing kiltmakers began to experiment with is machine sewing their kilts. It is the hand stitching that makes up the bulk of the labour cost of a Traditional kilt. Using a sewing machine has allowed some kiltmakers to produce a kilt in under 10 or 11 man-hours. This is half the time it takes a competent Traditional kiltmaker.
There are some differences in the look of a machine sewn kilt. The stitching is always visible when using a machine. To some purists this is unacceptable. The phrase goes though, “you get what you pay for” and at just a couple of hundred dollars a machine sewn kilt is the only kilt some men can afford.
The machine sewing which goes through all the layers and folds of the fabric and the thinner quality of P/V allow the Casual kiltmaker to skip the costly reinforcements needed in a Traditional kilt. Many are made with a minimal liner or no liner at all.
The Casual Style Kilt has proven to be a good, cost effective, alternative to a Traditional without sacrificing to look. To most people seeing a Casual Style Kilt for the first time they may not be able to tell the difference from a Traditional.
The downside of the Casual Style Kilt is that because it does not require the skilled craftsmanship, almost anyone with a sewing machine can make one. Some shops in Scotland and the internet are full of low cost kilts. Many are made of fabrics like acrylic (think leisure suits). Many of these kilts are manufactured in Pakistan and the orient where labour costs are minimal. There are a few manufacturers who, while they contract the manufacture of their product overseas, still care about quality, but there are enough shoddily made kilts out there today that the prospective kilt buyer needs to be aware of what his $99.95 is buying.
Since the introduction of the first Casuals there have been many manufacturers who have taken up this style of kilt. Three of these companies, USA Kilts of Philadelphia, PA., Stillwater Kilts of Minneapolis, MN., (who subcontract their kilts in Pakistan), and Bear Kilts of Vancouver, BC, have taken great pride in the kilts they make. They produce quality, custom made, Casual Style Kilts, and have been responsible for putting more men in kilts than anyone else.

[Canuck]

Pete Hummel may be in this catagory as well with Canadian Casual Kilts out of Fergus, ONT

[The Wizard of BC]

I did not intentionally leave anyone out of my article. I simply wanted to give examples so that the reader could continue their own research.

If I offended anyone by omission I sincerely apologize.

[ccga3359]

Does Bear still produce kilts? I'm aware that someone is still waiting for a kilt after many, many months.

[efer]

I would not include Stillwater in your list (2nd to last sentence). It's not anything against Stillwater but they (to my knowledge) don't make custom kilts..as made to your size as you mention in the following sentence.

Maybe just list 2 companies such as USA and Canadian Casual.

I'm enjoying your article Thanks for posting it!

[The Wizard of BC]

I will correct the article and make a note separating Stillwater from the custom kiltmakers. I already knew that Jerry was a re-seller of Pakistani kilts I just worded incorrectly so it seemed he did custom.

[Wompet]

Jerry does do custom, but only for customers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area (check his website).
The transporter settings are for Pakistani wool, not Scottish.