Kilt packages?

[Chas]

I will agree to disagree with you.

Regards

Chas

[fshguy]

Matt and Rocky,

Just out of curiosity, what percentage of customers do you have come in and buy an outfit soup to nuts? Of those, what level of dress is most popular?

[davidg]

While not all companies do it, many do, so please don't 'poo poo' packages when they're not all 'cookie cutter'.

I have to agree with Rocky. I have purchased a "package" from Geoffrey Tailor in Edinburgh in the past and had complete freedom of choice over all the contents, including a full 8 yard 16oz in the tartan of MY choice, and also chose to add some and delete other items. Not all packages are equal, I agree, but neither are all packages "cookie cutter" either

[James C]

Aye, Rocky. Well put but you forgot the Canadian vendors in there. We are happy to switch items in our packages, tartans, and quality of kilts even.

Kilt packages are a great starting point for people new to highland wear or people looking to get outfitted head to toe.

If the company has quality products there should be no concern about quality items in the packages that they offer.

I noticed people suggesting things to buy together. We always recommend buying tartan flashes with your kilt. Especially if a special weave as you may never get that tartan again and there is no way you can order flashes from a special weave tartan that has to be woven if that is all you are ordering. Obviously we could make it if had scraps laying around but those are not always available.

Before you lump all packages in a 'package', be aware that many vendors (UK and US) allow for different tartans, not just universal ones.

Many of the items you say 'smacks of rental' are offered b/c they are the MOST POPULAR items. We have kilt pins of all shapes and designs. Guess which sell the best? Sword shapes. We have sgian dubhs of many designs with and without stones, with wood, resin or stag horn handles. Guess which one sells best? Shiny metal bits. I wear Ghillie Brogues every time I wear kilt hose... no one has ever accused me of looking like a rental in my tweed jackets and ghillies. Tartan Flashes... many colors / styles of flashes are offered and all are cheaper than the Matching Flashes. Guess which we sell most of with wool kilts? Tartan Flashes.

Sporran... that's down to personal preference. Again, you stated that Semi Dress and Dress sporrans should both be left in the cupboard. That leaves relatively slim 'pickings' for formal events... day sporrans, hunting sporrans, full mask and horsehair sporrans (as general categories). I understand that Dress sporrans may not be your cuppa tea, but guess which is the most popular we sell for formal occasions? You guessed it... the standard dress sporran (and yes, we have several dozen sporrans available on display in the shop in all styles, many of which are original designs).

Does this mean that the general kilt wearing public is going to look ghastly when selecting an outfit? No... it means they have a different opinion than yours on what looks good.

Again, packages are put together to give the public a discount for buying everything at once. Some companies offer CHOICES on what tartan, what sporran (or even type of sporran), what kilt pin, what sgian dubh, what buckle, what kilt pin, etc to get. This ALLOWS the customer to personalize the package to their own taste. While not all companies do it, many do, so please don't 'poo poo' packages when they're not all 'cookie cutter'.

[RockyR]

Not sure what we're disagreeing with as I'm stating facts as our company has history of sales of specific items, but for opinions stated (both yours and mine), I will be happy to agree to disagree.

That's one thing this forum is very good for... showing multiple sides / multiple thoughts on an issue (usually in a very civil manner ).

I will agree to disagree with you.

Regards

Chas

[RockyR]

Aye, Rocky. Well put but you forgot the Canadian vendors in there. We are happy to switch items in our packages, tartans, and quality of kilts even.

Kilt packages are a great starting point for people new to highland wear or people looking to get outfitted head to toe.

If the company has quality products there should be no concern about quality items in the packages that they offer.

I noticed people suggesting things to buy together. We always recommend buying tartan flashes with your kilt. Especially if a special weave as you may never get that tartan again and there is no way you can order flashes from a special weave tartan that has to be woven if that is all you are ordering. Obviously we could make it if had scraps laying around but those are not always available.

Sorry, Brandon. That was unintentional... I should have said "Not only UK, but kilt vendors worldwide". I ditto what you say about the flashes being bought with the kilt (to ensure color matching if no other reason) and what you say about the level of quality of the company's products.

Matt and Rocky,

Just out of curiosity, what percentage of customers do you have come in and buy an outfit soup to nuts? Of those, what level of dress is most popular?

I'd say that roughly 20% of kilt sales are included in a package. That spans the price points from Casual Packages to Premier Packages. On our new site, we offer more selections for each customer to personalize their packages. Unfortunately, we don't have a $50,000 budget to have a programmer write a completely custom package (to allow the customer to choose all of their items, soup to nuts as a completely custom package), but we did our best to give the customer more options than many companies do.

[zirrow]

... Tartan Flashes... many colors / styles of flashes are offered and all are cheaper than the Matching Flashes. Guess which we sell most of with wool kilts? Tartan Flashes.

... We always recommend buying tartan flashes with your kilt. Especially if a special weave as you may never get that tartan again and there is no way you can order flashes from a special weave tartan that has to be woven if that is all you are ordering. Obviously we could make it if had scraps laying around but those are not always available.

This is my thought on matching flashes as well. I'm not sure if I'd wear them, but if I ever wanted to, I would get my best match from a pair made from the same bolt of fabric, so it's worth the small hit to my pocketbook at that point (assuming a less common tartan, wool kilt).

[JWright]

I think from what people have said so far it would be fair to say that whilst purchasing many items from one shop isn't necessarily problematic, some retailers have discredited the notion of a package by using it as a means to flog their old, tired stock.

Thanks for the poll suggestion, I think I'll give that a go too!