New Walmart Offering - Harris Tweed

[Bill aka Mole]

I've looked on the Harris Tweed site and found the jackets under their classic collection tab: the same jackets at the Walmart are on the site (linkhttp://www.harristweedscotland.com/shop-online/). After paying a scant $50, not sure that I'd want to pay $600 for the same jacket.

[mookien]

My brother called to inform me that today he stopped by a Walmart in/near Sacramento and the Harris Tweed jackets had been reduced to $25?

There weren't many left and in only two colors (gray/blue, tan/brown), but he snatched up a gray one. I asked him to go by tomorrow and buy a tan one for me, if they have it in my size.

Update: Just got the bad news. The Sacramento Walmart is sold out. The good news is that my brother is going to send his to our own vmac3205 (Victoria) for a conversion.

[BruceBC]

With fall approaching have these jackets returned to any Walmarts?

[Squeaky McMurdo]

Would be great if they did!

[Bob C]

I still have not seen any, and I'd sure like to. I have a brown herringbone Harris tweed jacket that is my fall/winter go-to with brown or tan slacks. Would love to pick up a gray or charcoal one to wear with black/blue/gray.

[SorenMacTavish]

Sadly, the Mall-Warts around me are not carrying them. Our stores are the same as Tartan Tess'...all camo and hunting orange here. Good lords, at this price, if someone could get me a 48R I would more than compensate them for the time and the cost. I'm just saying....

[frank_a]

Over the course of my workday, I watched this entire video. Absolutely fascinating. Thank you for posting it.

Frank

[mookien]

From bratach1's posts, including the video, it appears that my "guess" (in post #81) wasn't too far off.

Instead of Walmart, it was Mr. Haggas who provided LOTS of cloth and shipped it to a "3rd-world country" (China) for sewing. I surmise (perhaps incorrectly) that Walmart stepped in at some point and took a lot of Harris Tweed jackets off of Mr. Haggas's hands to sell into their markets.

If true, to me the bottom line (from this point in a developing story, anyway) is that this holds out the possibility that in the future there will be two choices for consumers. One, a relatively inexpensive line of Harris Tweed jackets from which you have only a few choices (kind of like Henry Ford's Model T - available in any color as long you choose black), and two, a (much?) more expensive line of custom jackets available in a bewildering variety. Time will tell.

[brewerpaul]

An article recently posted here about tweed shed a bit of light on the cheap side of Harris Tweed. This is also where many lines of clothing have gone, to those seeking profit over quality. Here is the article you might enjoy about tweed and Harris tweed from the Gentleman's Gazzette.

http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/twe...yles-patterns/


And here is the section, close to the bottom of the article, about Mr Haggas and his way of business and Harris Tweed.

"To be sure, Harris Tweed has established a place in men’s sartorial history, but over the years, its appeal seemed to wane. Although there were 7 million yards of Harris Tweed woven in 1966, by 2006 the amount was down to 700,000. Despite the legal protection, Harris Tweed still had to compete in the marketplace.

To complicate matters, the seemly limitless variety of Harris Tweed fabrics—and the cottage industry itself—was very nearly wiped out with a capitalistic wave of the hand.

In the winter of 2006, a veteran textile merchant by the name of Brian Haggas purchased the Kenneth Mackenzie Mill which produced 95% of the Harris Tweed still being made. Soon thereafter he cut the number of Harris Tweed patterns from 8000 to just 4.

Haggas’ literal objective was to corner the market on Harris Tweed and bring modern manufacturing efficiency to the hand-crafted process. Faced with a being cut-off from what was a veritable cornucopia of tweed patterns, traditional cloth vendors scoured the countryside for small stashes of the more colorful versions.
Mr. Haggas with his 4 styles of tweed coats

Mr. Haggas with his 4 styles of tweed coats

In the meantime, Haggas began churning out thousands of Harris Tweed jackets outsourced to Chinese factories in 4 standard patterns and one standard cut. Once the 75,000 jackets were warehoused, he set in place a “just-in-time” ordering process where he could supply any retailer, with any size and amount of jacket in just a few hours. A true feat of enterprise and know-how.

Problem was, nobody bought the jackets. And factory workers were laid off. And weavers had nothing to weave."


It is to our fortune that there are people who believe in the craftsmanship of Harris Tweed and have rescued it from blandism. I know that is a made up word but 4 colors of tweed is quite bland considering the vast array of color and texture in the Harris Tweed line. Personally I keep my eye out at my local thrift stores and Goodwill for cast off Harris Tweed or other fine examples of tweed jackets or coats. I have managed to land a few sweet deals in the process.

[California Highlander]

Just to note, current Harris tweed offerings seem to be back on track with many different choices than just 4. There are three main companies offering Harris tweed, largest to smallest: Harris Tweed Hebrides, Harris Tweed Scotland (Haggas-owned), and the Carloway Mill. As with most things, it pays to look for the best quality and most ethical suppliers.

http://www.harristweed.org/company/b...-directors.php

http://www.harristweedshop.com/tweed-index.html