Relevance of the Scottish Store?

[mkmound]

I haven't looked back through this thread to see whether someone else has mentioned this, but one of the values which a local shop provides is a chance for a beginner to try on a kilt and start the jonesin' process . . .

I had started getting interested in the potential of Scottish family roots, and had been looking at various Scottish-related things on the net, and was beginning to get hooked on the idea of how cool kilts looked, and wanting one. About this time, I went to New York on a business trip around the end of January (I think about six years ago).

I was taking the shuttle to my Manhattan hotel from the airport, and we were on Park Ave. or Fifth Ave. near Grand Central Station in the early evening. I saw a man walking down the street in a full Argyll kilt outfit, probably on the way to a Burns Night celebration -- I was just barely able to keep myself from shouting "STOP!!!" and jumping off the bus to meet the man and talk to him! I probably would have abandoned my luggage and everything else in the process, and scared the guy witless!

The next day I asked the concierge whether there was a Scottish shop nearby. He found one for me, and after work, I walked over and tried on a kilt. It felt really great, and I never wanted to take it off. I knew instantly that I had to have one . . . the immediate hurdle was the price of the kilt and the rest of the outfit, so the jones began . . . (this was before we had SO many options, from UKs to USAKs to many others).

When I got home, I increased my net searches, and came across Tom's Cafe . . . and "got to know" Hamish and others . . . and eventually ended up here (thanks, Hank!!!).

So the stores are "The Candy Man"! :rolleyes:

Regards,
Mark