Kilt lengths

[RockyR]

Add to that that most of the kilts like the one you are interested in are made in Pakistan. The re-seller must order the kilts, pay for them in full, up front, pay the shipping charges, duty and everything else.
They must have storage space for all of these.

It is just not cost effective. Even at the wholesale cost of between $6.00 and $12.00 each, the re-seller would have many thousands of dollars of stock sitting there on a self.

I got a price sheet in from a Pakistani company yesterday and thumbed through it to see what the competition was up to. After seeing sporrans wholesale at $5 - $16, cap badges at $.80 - $2 and kilts at $10 - $18, no WONDER there's so much Pakistani stuff on Ebay. I was actually pretty deflated to know that companies who re sell Pakistani kilts can triple or quadruple their money EASILY and still be lower priced than anything out of Scotland or the US or Canada and they only resell kilts (don't make them in house).

Confusion can happen because some kilt-sellers use the term "drop" to refer to the total length (I see it on Ebay all the time).

I wish more people understood that, OCR. Drop + Rise = Length. Drop DOES NOT equal length.

I wonder why people use the term drop incorrectly (especially re-sellers) instead of saying "length" which is what they mean. Perhaps b/c "drop" sounds like an industry term so they're trying to sound like they're "in the know"? BTW, this is NOT meant as an insult to anyone who uses the term drop correctly or incorrectly... it's truly an academic query that I'm posing.

[usonian]

Worth noting: On Stillwater Kilts' sizing info page it says 'We can make custom lengths as a special order, contact us for details.'

As for why they don't stock kilts with taller or shorter lengths (I'm under six feet tall, and 22" would be ideal for me) Steve and Bob sum it up pretty well; although there's some demand there (as evidenced by this thread,) it's not enough demand to be economically feasible to purchase a huge inventory of longer/shorter kilts up front, and then have to warehouse them.

[ratspike]

Thanks for the recommendation!

I've been in contact with UT Kilts, specifically their Utility Kilts, and they're more than willing to make extended lengths for me at marginal extra cost!

In that case you might look at AmeriKilt too. Since they have several options for length already, they might be able to do a custom length for you. Their kilts are also made here in the US, if that matters at all.

[OC Richard]

I'm in talks (literally, expensive calls early in the morning...eight hour time difference) with a kilt hire shop in Scotland and I was surprised and pleased to discover that they have hire kilts to hand in 25" and even 26" lengths.

Ordinarily hire kilts and off-the-peg kilts are 24".

You wouldn't think one inch would make that much difference, but it does. I really don't like having the kilt down around my hips blue-jeans style.

In the army, in the old days, they issued the full 27" length to all soldiers regardless, which looks like this on a short man; hopefully this would work for the 6'8" OP; there ain't no more!

[Riverkilt]

If you enjoy wearing kilts its time to have some sewn up in your size to fit you. Do deal direct with a kiltmaker though rather than trusting the outcome to middlemen with nameless kiltmakers.

[Thirteenthcor]

If you enjoy wearing kilts its time to have some sewn up in your size to fit you. Do deal direct with a kiltmaker though rather than trusting the outcome to middlemen with nameless kiltmakers.

Well here's the thing: I don't have the level of income to support something that costs 250-300+ dollars for a main item in an accessories list... I personally don't care too much for the Tartan patterns to begin with; what initially attracted me to kilts were Utilikilts/TKN Nation kilts, which I though were just the coolest thing I had ever seen. Paying even more for custom kilts is just plain unrealistic for my personal tastes and clothing standards.

Plus, I live in Texas, so wearing wool 10 months out of the year just isn't comfortable for me.

[Thirteenthcor]

I got a price sheet in from a Pakistani company yesterday and thumbed through it to see what the competition was up to. After seeing sporrans wholesale at $5 - $16, cap badges at $.80 - $2 and kilts at $10 - $18, no WONDER there's so much Pakistani stuff on Ebay. I was actually pretty deflated to know that companies who re sell Pakistani kilts can triple or quadruple their money EASILY and still be lower priced than anything out of Scotland or the US or Canada and they only resell kilts (don't make them in house).




I wish more people understood that, OCR. Drop + Rise = Length. Drop DOES NOT equal length.

I wonder why people use the term drop incorrectly (especially re-sellers) instead of saying "length" which is what they mean. Perhaps b/c "drop" sounds like an industry term so they're trying to sound like they're "in the know"? BTW, this is NOT meant as an insult to anyone who uses the term drop correctly or incorrectly... it's truly an academic query that I'm posing.

Well from my point of view there's just no way I can justify paying over 200 dollars for a clothing item of ANYTHING I'd wear out in public. I do too many physical things throughout my day to be able to justify wearing something that expensive.

I went into a local Celtic shop to have a look, and was in the market for a day-Sporran. The cheapest one they had was $95! I just don't think it justifiable OR "manly" for me to wear that out of the house and be so overprotective of my investment I'm going to worry about scuffs, scrapes, or stains. It's like the Male version of throwing a fit over scuffing my brand new MK purse.

I do completely understand the cost for "dress wear" and "dress kilts" but, being someone who is totally open to wearing kilts in public on a daily basis this cost is just too high for me to justify attempting to build any sort of respectable wardrobe; which may be a reason why those Pakistani-made kilts are so popular, not to mention that Wool in Texas is not something I find comfortable.

I noticed on USAKilts that you don't sell any version of "day" or Utility kilt? I apologize if I didn't look in the right place. Those are what a person like me is in the market for. However I fully accept that I may not be your desired market.

For me, wearing a Tartan kilt out in public 4-5 days a week gets looks, compliments, comments etc. But Utility kilts get that "oh, that guy has a purpose for wearing that; he really uses those things/I didn't know kilts could do that!"

[OC Richard]

I have a different perspective because I'd been a kilt wearer for 30 years or so before Utilikilts were invented.

For most of my kiltwearing years traditional kilts were all that existed, and that's what I'm used to.

I well remember the first time any of us saw Utilikilts: they showed up with a big booth at one of our local Games. My fellow pipe band people sneered at them ("they look like skirts" etc) but I thought they represented a fascinating concept. I especially liked the camouflage ones. The booth was crowded with customers and they sold loads of the things.

They went from being totally unknown to being a commonplace sight in just a couple years, which is amazing.

About a sporran being $95, heck, High School kids wear $200 basketball shoes to school, and $100 jerseys, $100 jeans, and $40 baseball caps.

Yes I spent $600 on my kilt and $300 on my sporran but they will last a lifetime. I would think that a $600 kilt will outlast a similar-costing number of pants. But it's sure true that I wear the kilt for specific things (playing the pipes and attending Scottish-themed events) and not daily (well sometimes it is daily).

I still wear a Balmoral and a pair of Ghillies that I've been wearing since the 1980s.

[Kiltedjohn]

Ordinarily hire kilts and off-the-peg kilts are 24".

You wouldn't think one inch would make that much difference, but it does. I really don't like having the kilt down around my hips blue-jeans style.

I have the opposite problem to OC Richard. I'm too short for the "standard" 24" length. After wearing it very high on the waist, I finally had it shortened by an inch and a half. What a difference! It's really comfortable - I wish I had had the alteration done sooner.

[Nick Sweeney]

Wow. This makes me feel like I have short legs. I'm 6'7" and the length of my kilts are at 25" and they hang low on my knees.