Economic theory

[RockyR]

Hey Presuming Ed... Welcome to the board!

The following is not an attack, but a statement of facts. Trying to educate you a bit

I would guess that a significant proportion of a new kilt - especially tanks - are labour costs. Therefore the price charged reflects the rate for skilled labour - this is why making your own is attractive to some, as you get a kilt without having to pay for the (wo)man hours that have gone into making it. .

Not totally true... there is a good amt of labor and experience that goes into it, but WOOL IS EXPENSIVE. If you try to buy it retail from a company that SELLS wool (not kilts... just raw material), you're looking at about $60 to $75 / yard. In an 8 yard kilt, you're looking at $240 to $300 MATERIAL cost. Compare that to a 8 yard wool "tank", made to measure, for $500.

The only way in which to make them cheaper would be:

1) Reduce the amount of labour required. Have a simpler kilt (hard to do with a trad tank), or invent a machine which can do much of the most labour intensive work involved in making a kilt, or .

You can buy a "pleating" machine. It's a machine you can set to pleat up fabric for you, but it will NOT be to a particular design. It's MEANT to make curtains. It'll end up with no pattern on the back. If you simplify the DESIGN, you can keep labor costs down. Problem is, most designs that are "simple" look "simple" and skirtlike.

2) Estabish a kilt-making operation somewhere where labour costs are far lower - China, India etc.

Not India, but close... Pakistan. The kilts produced ARE wool... not WORSTED wool, but a wool/felt blend that falls apart in time. Another option for Pakistani kilt fabric is Acrylic. It's cheap. That's all I'll say about it. They're VERY inexpensive to buy wholesale and I'm sure every kiltmaker on this board gets at LEAST 1 to 2 emails a week from a different pakistani company soliciting business.