Goodness Gracious!

[TheOfficialBren]

Okay. I think that I'm really settling into Highland Dress.

Increasingly I find myself reaching nearly exclusively for my heavyweight wool kilt in my family tartan. I rarely (read almost never) wear my universal tartan (Holyrood) kilt these days.

Just a personal observation.

Have any of you chaps found yourselves in the same boat?

[StevieR]

Heavyweight wool is the only way forward, IMHO of course. I find it hangs better and I like the weightiness. No real worries of being overly hot in it in the UK either. Of course for you Bren, it might also be the irresistible lure of (probably) the best tartan in the world ;) - actually, in all seriousness, might not the fact it's your tartan be the main reason you choose it more often than not? Happy New Year, mate.

[Laird_M]

For some of us we have no choice.
I got a 13oz MacLeod a couple if years ago, and then recently supplemented my wardrobe with an 18oz Scottish National - 'the same size', which even on the tightest setting is too big, I know I've lost some weight, so can only wear the macLeod...

[Grizzly]

I have my sept tartan (Taylor) my clan tartan (Cameron) and the ubiquitous and universal IOS. All in 16oz wool. My nearly 9yd Cameron is my formal kilt, my 6yd Taylor would be my casual kilt and my IOS 6yd is my walking kilt, because it is MM Jura and is teflon coated which is exactly the reason why I choose MM over Lochcarron for this kilt.

Bren, I think you need a couple more kilts in different Robertson colourways in 16oz wool, then to coin an Americanism, you have all the bases loaded.

[OC Richard]

I have my sept tartan (Taylor) my clan tartan (Cameron) and the ubiquitous and universal IOS. All in 16oz wool.

Very nice. I know a guy here named Taylor who has a Taylor kilt and it's gorgeous. I nearly always grab my 16oz IOS rather than my 13oz Drummond Of Perth (muted) because I prefer the heft of the heavier tartan.

Bren, I think you need a couple more kilts in different Robertson colourways in 16oz wool, then to coin an Americanism, you have all the bases loaded.

Ha! Very clever there!

We Americans do use far more baseball metaphors than we realise. Especially in the business world, where a client can 'throw you a curve' by 'coming out of left field' with an unexpected proposal. They might be 'off base' and it could be 'a strike against them'. Or your company could decide to 'field' their proposal. Who knows? It could be a 'hit' or even a 'home run'.

And somebody's date can be described in quite specific detail through baseball metaphors... but that's for another time!

And we use plenty of poker metaphors too, once again in the business world... is it time for your client to 'ante up'? Are they 'all in'? You might be forced into a 'bum deal' because they 'hold all the cards' and the 'deck is stacked against you'.

And in this case I might go poker... I might say he is 'flush' with kilts, or has 'a full house'.

[OC Richard]

even on the tightest setting is too big

It's easy to move straps and buckles. I do it all the time with our band kilts. As long as it's only a couple inches one way or the other things will look fairly good.

The buckles on the wearer's right, on the small tabs, can easily be removed and moved back a couple inches and re-sewn. Be sure you sew through all layers so that they are anchored to the internal stabiliser. On the wearer's left, the strap which passes through the hole must be removed, moved back a couple inches, and be sewn on. Too much and you get an annoying flap of tartan inside your kilt on your lefthand side. It's not a huge project to fold this over and sew it, if having the extra fabric gets annoying. (I wouldn't cut the fabric, so that the kilt can be let out again at some later date.)

[ASinclair]

.... We Americans do use far more baseball metaphors than we realise...

Well, Richard, you seem to have 'covered all the bases' quite nicely.

[Mark Stephenson]

I usually wear my family (Stephenson) tartan - 16 oz. (8-yards normally, but 5-yards in warm weather). However, I am a regional Commissioner for Clan MacTavish. When I am representing my Clan I do sometimes wear the Stephenson tartan as we are a Sept of Clan MacTavish. But, most of the time when I’m representing my Clan I wear my MacTavish Modern tank. In very warm weather, I’ll wear my MacTavish Hunting tartan (8-yards PV). Also, if I’m out and about or at a local Caledonian Society event, I may wear my USAF tartan tank (made by Barb T.).

[Mikilt]

I find myself wearing my XMarks PV kilt the most simply because I love it. My 16 oz USA Kilt is more comfortable on these cold winter days though.

I have two Stillwater standards that I haven't worn in a while because I altered them when I lost weight and I've gained a bit back since.

[Nathan]

I usually wear my 16oz strome MacDonald of Clanranald modern kilt that was handsewn by my brother xman. Sometimes, I reach for my very heavy (20oz??) military box pleated large dark set Clan Donald Modern tartan kilt just for a change.

I'm actually waiting for another kilt I purchased online to arrive. It's a 13oz MacDonald of Clanranald modern from another mill. It was a frivolous purchase since it will likely look pretty indistinguishable from my other kilt but the price was really great so I had to grab it. It will be my first 13oz kilt and I wonder if I'll notice a difference.

I always wear my clan tartan and have never felt the urge to wear a generic. The only other tartan I'd like to have eventually would be a Cape Breton tartan. This is mostly just because it would be a great way to meet other Cape Bretoners at events. They'd all instantly recognize the tartan and many would come say hello. Also, it's a completely different colour scheme than my MacDonald tartans so it would be a nice change. A Nova Scotia tartan kilt would be welcome if I came across a screaming deal on one for similar reasons, but I wouldn't have one specially made. Although also Nova Scotian, Cape Bretoners are Cape Bretoners first.