Well, if you ask this bunch, they're gonna tell you that it's ALWAYS better to at least buy the kilt...you can rent the jacket for formal events later...but if you actually own the kilt, you have it for Burn's Nights, Highland Games, Celtic Fests, pub crawls, kilt nights...trips to Home Depot...

Seriously, though, if you are even remotely interested in wearing the kilt then it may behoove you just to do a little research and buy one. One of the things that searching the threads here will make clear is that it doesn't have to be a major investment or you can splurge if you want to...it's up to you. Sort of like fishing; you can go out with a can of worms and a Zebco 202 or a thousand dollar bamboo fly rod and have just as much fun either way. (At least I can...I just love fishing...I don't own the bamboo fly rod, though.)

Read some of the threads here and you'll get an education.

Best

AA