Looking for the best casual kilt

[Jock Scot]

The problem is I seem to have misplaced my old kilt. I’m still looking for it, but I’m not too optimistic.

Ah! Then there is an obvious problem! In that case, go for the best kilt that you can afford in the traditional style. In that way it can be dressed up or, down, as required.

Heavyweight wool kilts are amazingly robust beasts and can tolerate a fair amount of abuse. After all, many a battle has been fought by troops wearing them and then, have been brushed down for a parade in front of the King/CinC the next day.

[KennethSime]

Having made a box pleated kilt out of just under 4 yards of material with seven pleats for a 36.5" waist, I'm having trouble seeing how a knife pleated kilt could be constructed with only 3 yards of material unless one cut out the underapron or were making it for someone with an incredibly slim waist.

Granted I have no experience with these kilts and would be curious to see if they're actually made with only 3 yards of material.

Shane

The pleat number and depth is not unlike that of a 4-yard box-pleat kilt.

[KennethSime]

The only real issue with the Clan.com essential 8 yard kilt, is that it cost $150 more for the kilt not including the higher shipping from Scotland. All for roughly the same material. 8 yards is definitely better than 5 or fewer yards, but is it worth all the extra expense? It might be better just to save up for a traditional 8 yard wool kilt.

Unfortunately, that's a question that only you can answer. My advice remains be to buy the best kilt that you can afford.

Going back to your original post, it sounded like you wanted something around $100-150, which could be worn on a regular, casual basis and maybe dressed up from time to time.

I think the casual from USA Kilts does most of that really well, but it doesn't really dress up well.

[OC Richard]

To be fair to USA Kilts, I think that they use the term "Semi-Trad" to refer exclusively to their Polyviscose 5-yard kilt. I believe what you purchased could be purchased as either a "tweed kilt" or a "5-yard wool kilt" from USAK.

Yes I think you're correct. I didn't recall what they called it. My impression is that it's a hybrid between the "casual kilts" I've seen (which are constructed more or less like traditional ladies' kilt skirts) and a traditional men's kilt.

In contrast, the old Highland Dress catalogues from the 1930s offer men's kilts in 6, 7, or 8 yards all of them constructed like ordinary traditional men's kilts, that is, entirely handsewn. And the last couple traditional handsewn kilts I've ordered were around 6.5 yards, my favourite style.

[AustinDiver]

The only real issue with the Clan.com essential 8 yard kilt, is that it cost $150 more for the kilt not including the higher shipping from Scotland. All for roughly the same material. 8 yards is definitely better than 5 or fewer yards, but is it worth all the extra expense? It might be better just to save up for a traditional 8 yard wool kilt.

Sorry for delayed response. I cannot speak about value. I could not speak about the clan.com 5 yard essential kilt.

I have quite a few essential 8 yarders. I ordered them in pairs and saved on the shipping.

The corresponding 8 yard kilt with the XMARKS discount is about the same price as the Semi-Trad from USA Kilts.

The 5 yard essential kilt from clan.com is about $150 or so without any discounting. Comparing the 5 yard clan.com to the semi-trad is a certain posiibility.

I have a 5 yard wool casual kilt that I got on clearance from clan.com. I will never go into that group again. It has no interfaceing, pleats are not cut out. It does has hidden stitches(Not top stiched).

I also had a casual kilt from a Canadian maker Burnet-Struths. Again, it had not interfacing, the belt loops did not pmatch the tartan, the buckles did not match the underlying tartan. I am unsure if it used 5 yards of material. It was very light weight. I liked the tartan which is was produced for an event.

11 0z wool casual kilts or even 16 oz casual kilts are off my list as marketed by most kilt makers.

I would be willing to go for the USA Casual Kilt. It is top stiched. The cloth is tough. They have 2-3 layers of pleats sewn together. The price is a little lower. They do not have the feel of traditional kilts.

My opinion is the poly viscose from martin mills is much tougher than some of the wool materials. It is very tighly woven and the pleats lie down very flat. If the pleats are not cut out, I am unsure if it would be a huge deal on a 5 yard kilt.

The wool can have more character.