18oz regimental box pleat kilt

[sailortats]

I am seriously considering having an 18oz kilt made in either Royal Stewart or Black Watch and pleated with the military box pleat. I have seen a picture of one in Black Watch but cannot find any of the Royal Stewart. Does anyone have a good picture showing the pleating.
Also I am curious as to how well this particular style of pleating holds its edge. Would love to hear from anyone that has an 18oz kilt with this pleating, how you like it and if there are any particular problems with it.

[MacGumerait]

Phil , I think OCRichard has one of these in Black Watch .

Cheers , Mike

[OC Richard]

The history of the thing is that from 1808 (when several of the Highland regiments were de-kilted) up until the latter half of the 20th century (when amalgamations started taking their toll) there were five kilted regiments in the British army, and three of the five had boxpleated kilts (with their pre- and post-1881 titles) :

42nd Foot > Black Watch: Black Watch tartan, knifepleated

78th Foot > Seaforth Highlanders: MacKenzie tartan, boxpleated

79th Foot > Cameron Highlanders: Cameron of Erracht tartan, boxpleated

92nd Foot > Gordon Highlanders: Gordon tartan, knifepleated

93rd Foot > Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders: Black Watch tartan (called "Sutherland" in the regiment), boxpleated

In addition pipers of The Black Watch, The Scots Guards, and certain Lowland regiments wore Royal Stewart kilts, knifepleated.

So there wouldn't be such a thing as a military boxpleated kilt in Royal Stewart, traditionally.

The kilts of the old 93rd Foot > Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (Black Watch/Sutherland tartan, boxpleated) has now become the kilt of the entire Scottish infantry, the Royal Regiment Of Scotland, and these are widely available on Ebay and through numerous shops that sell ex-army stuff. So, if that's the tartan you want you don't have to have it specially made, and you can get it rather cheaply (around $300).

here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fr...+kilt&_sacat=0

[IsaacW]

For about 15 years my only kilt was an old Cameron Highlanders kilt. It was the HEAVY 20-22 oz stuff and was military box/roll pleat. I LOVED that kilt. I then sold it only to get a kilt that more fitted my family background and clan. I got a Royal Reg't. kilt like those OC Richard posted above. They can be fairly cheaply had, especially if you are smaller size. To get bigger sizes, it gets more difficult, but still cheaper than a custom made kilt of the same quality. Anyway, I actually have a couple of those for sale on the "For Sale" section. I love mine. They are the heavier wool 18ozish and roll pleated. I will likely wear a RR kilt like this tomorrow!

[Tobus]

Also I am curious as to how well this particular style of pleating holds its edge. Would love to hear from anyone that has an 18oz kilt with this pleating, how you like it and if there are any particular problems with it.

I have an ex-MOD (QOH) "military box-pleated" kilt in MacKenzie tartan that I bought a few years ago because I was curious about military kilts. I don't wear it too terribly often, due to the weight, high rise, and the fact that it's not my clan tartan. But for the few times I've worn it (to non-Scottish events where I needn't worry about clan affiliation issues), I have noticed that it is indeed more difficult to keep the pleats tidy than my other 8-yard kilts with traditional knife pleats.

The MBP pleating style is a great look, I'll give it that. And it swishes better than other styles too, in my opinion. But the way the pleats are done, it requires a lot of maintenance on the "rolled" outer portion of the pleat to keep it laying properly. Because it's very, very difficult to sweep these pleats and get them perfectly smooth and aligned under you when you sit, the narrow outer portion of the pleats can tend to "drift" from their original narrow pressed shape. Given the fact that these are typically pleated to a line, with that line centered in the narrow visible portion of the pleats, it doesn't take much for the lines to appear off-center, and then it looks untidy.

I do pay special attention to all my kilts, making sure they hang properly from special kilt-hangers that I've made, and ensuring that the pleats are kept in good pressed condition. So I don't know how difficult it will be for you, as it will depend on the regularity of wearing it, the way you sweep your pleats when you sit, the length of time you spend sitting on the pleats, and your maintenance techniques. All I can really say is that they do, in my experience, require more attention than regular knife pleats.

[Nathan]

I have a Nova Scotia Highlanders MacDonald tartan kilt in military rolled/box pleats. To answer your question they are very difficult to maintain. If you sit down on them or attempt to roll the kilt to transport it. You can mess up the pleats. Basting and pressing these pleats is a huge amount of work. I pay to have mine professionally pressed periodically and usually wear it on occasions where I'll mostly be standing.

[IsaacW]

This is all interesting. I have noticed that my Royal Reg't. kilt gets messed up fairly easy and friends with roll pleat in 16 oz have a dreadful time. That said, the 22 oz. of my old Cameron's Highlanders kilt kept an amazing rolled pleat. In 15+ years of owning it, I only pressed it once. Nathan, you have seen this kilt on Ewan.

[Liam]

I've found my WPG Cameron box pleat very easy to maintain. I don't find the pleats ever need pressing, in fact they never have been. Granted, I don't wear it that often, generally only in winter, as it is far too warm to wear for long inside.

[OC Richard]

Here's a cautionary tale about military boxpleated kilts: make sure, if you have it pressed, that it's done by somebody who knows what they're doing, otherwise

[IsaacW]

What the...