New kilt from Kilts4less

[OC Richard]

Your evidence for this is......?

Alan

With the caveat that I'm in the USA and only know Ms Sweeney's offerings via Ebay, what I've seen appears to be of non-UK make.

True that once in a blue moon a Sweeney outlet will have a few handsewn Scottish-made used kilts, but these represent only a tiny fraction of Sweeney's Ebay business.

About the standard Sweeney fare, here's an example I found in a couple clicks: a Pakistani/Indian kilt in faux-Isle Of Skye fabric. These kilts are the sort Ms Sweeney sells through a number of her firms. I know about them because I bought one to find out, listed as an ex-hire Spirit Of Scotland tartan kilt. It was neither: it was a new kilt, still with the tags, and the fabric was obviously of Indian or Pakistani manufacture, the set resembling Spirit Of Scotland but not exactly so. Ditto the workmanship which was typical of Sialkot kilts.

It's more obvious with Isle Of Skye, a tartan whose owner tries her best to protect. Compare the tartan here with the actual Isle Of Skye tartan; for one thing the warp and weft of the Indian/Pakistani fabric are quite different:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ex-Hire-Sco...J-7DmuKP_1c-sg

I follow kilts on Ebay daily, and I worked for a number of years at a Highland outfitter who carried Scottish-made kilts and jackets from House Of Edgar. At Highland Games here in the USA and at several Kilt Hire shops in Scotland and numerous other places over 40+ years I've looked at and handled hundreds of Scottish-made and Pakistani-made Highland Dress items, and my eye is pretty dialed in to various features, both subtle and obvious, which help distinguish the two.

With these kilts4less/tartan4less/exhirekilts etc kilts note the distinctive piece of leather forming a sort of belt loop, and the stamped straps. You can spot these a mile away, and I see them at every Highland Games piled high on tables.

To me, jackets, while often obvious, are sometimes a bit trickier to detect. Sometimes you have to feel the fabric. Other times there are visual clues.

A while back I was looking at an "ex-hire" Prince Charlie on Ebay being sold by one of the Sweeney outlets. It was claimed that the jacket was Scottish made. I asked to see a photo of the label. None was forthcoming.

Ms Sweeney does occasionally show a photo of a jacket label and the ones I've seen state ACS Clothing. They have a Glasgow warehouse with 10,000 kilts, which I seriously doubt are handsewn in Scotland.

Far more obvious is this kilts4less waistcoat, the two front panels being made of two different faux-Isle Of Skye tartans:



It should be obvious to anyone that this is not genuine Isle Of Skye fabric woven in the UK by one of the two mills authorized to weave it. The imitation of the tartan and the workmanship of the waistcoat are both horrendous.

On the other hand here's a kilt that looks like a legitimate handsewn kilt. The jacket's fabric is very nice-looking.

However the tailoring of the jacket has that strange boxy look I've seen hundreds of times with Sialkot-sewn jackets.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Flower-of-S...EAAOSwSwFdc8Bv

This jacket is claimed to be Scottish made but it has that very odd boxy shape; the sporran is almost entirely covered. Can anyone show a photo of a jacket shaped like this that carries a Made In The UK/Made In Scotland label?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Navy-Grey-T...dbNAiOzAVoQO-A

Just to acquaint our eye with what many Sialkot-made Argyll jackets look like, here's one direct from a Sialkot maker.

Note several things:

1) the high placement of the pocket flaps
2) the high/low/high placement of the buttons on the pocket flaps
3) the boxy shape to the front, not cut away to reveal the sporran
4) how long the body is in relation to the sleeve length
5) the odd way the padded shoulders stick out



Cf. an Argyll from Andrew Douglas; too bad the bottom button has been buttoned, ruining the flare of the jacket opening.

Notice all the elegant proportions.