Affordable Kilts from BC, Canada

[Chris in a Kilt]

Hi,

Has anyone here experience with Affordablekilts.com?

I’m looking for an inexpencive kilt for everyday wear.

Looking for 8 yards in the “Herritage of Scitland” tartan,
the kilt should be easy to clean, comfortable to wear in the
summer.

[Steve Ashton]

I happen to have met these folks on a couple of occasions.

Here is some information.

They are not a brick and mortar shop and not kiltmakers. They are resellers of products produced in the Middle East. They carry many of the same products you see elsewhere.

Read the product descriptions carefully and fully. You may notice that many of the photos on their site are the same you can see elsewhere.

The Heritage of Scotland Tartan is one that should be under restriction, and exclusive to, the "Gold Bros." line of shops.

They were at one time invited to look at joining our other advertisers but have never responded to that invitation.
A representative of Affordable Kilts did join X Marks on the 15th of May 2017 but has not logged in since that one day and has never made a post to the forum.

[Chris in a Kilt]

Thank you for your fast answer.

Only asked about Affordable Kilts because they are from Canada.
Would save me the hassle with customs and the extra cost for the exchange.

I know I can’t get a 8 yard causual kilt made in Canada, USA or Scotland for around $ 100 to $ 150.

As for the “Herritage of Scotland” tartan, I love the deep blue colour, it’s one of my favourite colours.
In the price range I’m looking for there aren't many tartan to choose from.

May be someone here can give me an idea, where I could get a 8 yard casual kilt (13oz) for around $ 150 for everyday wear, easy to keep clean.

[Manu]

For $150 you are pretty much going to be limited to what Steve described above. I believe Stillwater Kilts (advertiser on this forum) has wool kilts in your price range in their heavy weight category. I'm sure someone can provide more info on the quality and feel of those kilts. My first kilt was one of their acrylic models from back in 2004, and while thy serve their purpose, I quickly moved on to made-to-measure PV kilts, which USA Kilts and Freedom Kilts (In Canada) can make for you for only a few extra bucks than the Stillwater Wool kilts. Hope this helps!

[Father Bill]

We're pussy-footing around the elephant in the room.

If you want to buy Canadian, the fellow who gave you that first review and advice was modest and kind enough not to mention that he's a premier kilt-maker in British Columbia. That's Steve; he is Freedom Kilts in Victoria, and he's avoiding touting himself because in addition to being a gentleman, he's also the owner of this forum and never uses that position to advance his own business interests.

Integrity.

Not sure what he could do for you in the range you're asking about, but for a few bucks more, you'll get incomparable quality. I've stood in his shop and watched him work the magic. Contact through the advertising link above.

[Steve Ashton]

I posted my comments above, not as the kiltmaker to Freedom Kilt, but as the owner of X Marks, on purpose.

To make an informed decision on a kilt purchase you need good information, and you need all the information. And that is the purpose of X Marks.

To anyone who has ever walked into a fabric store can tell you, fabric comes in about every quality and price range imaginable. Kilt fabric is on the high quality and high price end of the spectrum. And for good reason.

If the fabric is wool it is of good quality wool. Worsted and tightly spun. It is woven very tight and if woven in a Tartan pattern, woven with care to insure the pattern is reproduced accuratly.

If woven of synthetic fibers it is also a very high quality fabric. The fabric is woven so that no turned up hem is necessary, and it will be able to be machine washed and dried over and over without pilling or losing its shape or the hard crease edges.

All this care, and its assocated higher cost, is to provide a fabric which will be able to be made into a quality kilt that will fit well, swish well and retain its famous look for many years of use.

Can fabric be made less expensivly? Well yes, and if the bottom dollar is your only criteria there are fabrics out there which are very inexpensive.

The materials that go into making a kilt are one half of the entire cost of the garment. The outer fabric you see, the thread, the straps and buckles, the liner, and if a traditional kilt the interfacings and stabilizers.

It takes 4 yards of double-width fabric to make an 8 yard kilt. If anyone would care to walk into their local fabric store and price fabric they will find the cost of good quality fabric to be somewhere between $25.00 and $75.00 per yard or $100.00 and $300.00 for enough fabric to kake a kilt.

Then there is the labor to put it all together.
I can tell you from expeience that it takes more than an hour to sew a kilt.
Ask yourself what your hourly wage is at your job. Then let's say, just to keep everything easy, that it takes three - 8 hour days of sewing. Multiple your hourly wage by 24.

With this information ask yourself how someone can offer a kilt for less than $100.00?

Quite simply, they have to find some a place that can produce fabric as inexpensivly, per yard, as they can and a place with an hourly wage as low as possible. They then have to have the garment made as quickly as possible so that by the time it is shipped to the wearer the total is low enough so everyome in the supply chain can make some money. (don't forget the FedEx guy that ships it to you)

Material cost + hourly wage + number of hours + shipping = final price.

The above does not take into account the cost to keep a shop open as the company asked about does not have a shop.

And this is exactly why I did not offer my own product. With the price per yard that my suppliers charge me for fabric - Plus a working wage for the time to make it - I am simlpy outside the stated $100.00-$150.00 range.

This is the type of information people need to be able to make an informed decision about where the will spend their hard earned money..

[Jumpmonkey]

Hi,

Has anyone here experience with Affordablekilts.com?

I’m looking for an inexpencive kilt for everyday wear.

Looking for 8 yards in the “Herritage of Scitland” tartan,
the kilt should be easy to clean, comfortable to wear in the
summer.

If you can find the equivalent of the USA Kilts Casual Kilt, it's a solid every-day kilt that comes in around the price you're looking for. I've worn the daylights out of mine since I picked it up. They dress up substantially nicer than "casual kilt" suggests, and they hold up well to life (for me, desk work, groceries and errands, taking care of the kids, hiking, house work). It takes a beating, is easy to launder and iron, when the time comes for those things.

[Steve Ashton]

It really depends on what you want to do in your kilt.

If you want something to knock around in and don't need it to look dressed up sharp then one of the pub style kilts may be perfect.

If you want to go out to dinner in your kilt then perhaps one that will be able to be dressed up a bit more.

Good advice is to match the kilt to what you plan to do in your kilt. It would make no sense to spend hundreds of dollars on a kilt to play paint ball in or to wear only once or twice to test the waters
.