Quote Originally Posted by James MacMillan View Post
My question is the same as others have raised and I haven't seen an answer.

Has anyone actually had one of the Gold Brothers kilts in their hands or wrapped around their waist?

I would be very interested in a side by side comparison.

I own a few SWK, USA, etc and several tanks.

Are the Gold Brothers kilts really the same as those that Jerry sells?
I bought two Gold Bros kilts from Heritage of Scotland just a couple months ago when they had a big online 20% sale, before I got far enough into this forum and their background to have been more suspicious enough to go elsewhere. Mine were not their off the peg non-wool extreme budget variety however. They were their standard 8 yard machine sewn kilt from their special range of select bargain tartans, a 16oz Ancient MacDonald made from HOE tartan (their Nevis range which is of slightly coarser quality weave and significantly lower per yard fabric price, but of genuine Scottish origin), and a 16oz Black Isle tartan by Marton Mills (a Borderlands mill also noted for reasonable quality fabric but not up to the luxury quality of the usual Lochcarron, Strathmore or the regular HOE fabrics). After the sale discount they each cost just at $300US with free shipping. Add another $120 to that for Customs tariffs brings each purchase price to $360 US or so. They arrived in right around a month after ordering. I had a problem when they arrived, as I had measured according to their techniques, and the waist and hip measurements were identical to my first kilt, a custom made 13 oz Forrester Modern (Strathmore) built to the exact same measurements by JRHiggins here in the states, which fits like a charm. The Gold Bros kilts seem made to an equal level of quality and design, but were clearly way too big, at least 2-3 inches in the waist and hips. I got two separate kilt specialists (one a maker herself and one a kilt rental/special order kilt vendor recently relocated from Scotland himself) to look at them and they agreed that they were both built too big for the sizes specified and needed to be modified. After working through Gold Bros online complaint system, I got a response three weeks later that there might be an error in building the kilts, but since they were both off by an equal amount they thought the error was likely in my measuring technique (not likely since my Higgins kilt fits superbly using the same measurements). GB offered to recheck them and resize them although I would have to pay for the shipping back to Scotland and then again back her to Phoenix, and if they thought the kilts were made to the measurements I had given them (most likely their assessment) then I would have to pay for the alterations as well, although a relatively small charge. They suggested instead that it would be cheaper to have someone instead do it locally, so I had Kathy Lare in Albequerque move the buckles/straps to bring them in a few inches to a now perfect fit. Another $100 for the repairs and shipping brought the total tab to around $410 per kilt, but at least they finally fit right and actually look and wear good. Both Kathy and the guy at the kilt rental place estimated their value at around $500 each without knowing the original price paid, but commented that they were both well made machine sewn kilts of quality build and good quality Scottish fabric, surprising them for their experience having seen and/or repaired other Gold Bros work in their past. And both kilts have a tag stating that they were both sewn in Scotland.

So all in all, considering my level of ignorance about the Gold Bros reputation at the time I ordered the kilts, I think I got a couple pretty well made kilts and a decent deal out of it all, although it would have been better if they had fit properly the first time or if they had just fixed the kits themselves without all the added expenses I would have had to incur.

Now comes the real question: Will I ever go back and buy another from them? Not sure at this point, but since I am going to Scotland for a couple weeks in June I will firsthand assess their businesses on the Royal Mile and let that help make up my mind Not really fond of their complaint response/cutomer service end of things right now, either. So not entirely happy, not singing their praises, but feeling pretty lucky that I got a couple good kilts at a reasonable price out of the deal, even acountingfor all the hassles.