I'd like to make an observation that's sort of carried over from another thread: our Scottish participants have been asked about kilt wearing over in the "old country" and one of the points that has come up is that not all Scots own their own kilt and those that do tend to have maybe one for special occasions and not a collection like some folks seem to have. If you're going to buy one and not get into compulsive kilt acquisition, it's not that bad.

That being said, a good kilt is a lifetime investment and if you ammoratize the cost over the years of use, it isn't that big of a bite. If you look at good wool suits these days you'll see that the prices are at least comparable. Granted that you can often score a suit at a discount and save some $$$ but you can sometimes pick up a kilt on ebay or find a clearance kilt from a kilt shop and get a comparable deal.

For a lot of us the scenario is that we have dipped out toe in the water by getting an inexpensive kilt made from a synthetic (lots of commentary on the best values in this area on this forum) just to see if we really want to wear a kilt...and whether or not we can get away with it and not have our families try to have us involuntary committed to an institution for the going-off-the-deep-end. Once you find out that it is a good thing (with apologies to Martha Stewart), then you know that it's safe to sink the dough into a good, wool kilt.

Yeah, the material is special and it is, as Davedove pointed out, expensive but when you own a nice worsted wool kilt you realize that you have gotten real value for money. Keep an eye open for some of the off the rack wool specials from some of the dealers and the bite may not seem so big. Stillwater wools, for example, go for about $130 US and have received rave reviews. There are other values from other dealers...just hang around the forum and keep the eyes open. If you have your cap set for a special clan tartan, though, get ready to pony up but, honestly, the pride of ownership makes it worth it.

Best

AA