Real kilt v cheap kilts - Edinburgh retailers

[SmokinScotsman]

Labour costs are not inconsiderable either.

Well said.

[Jimmy]

I think the best example of where a cheap kilt has its uses is today when i will be watching the Scotland national football team in some Glasgow hostelry.
the weather outside is wet, blowy and totally miserable, typical Scottish weather.
Would you wear a garment costing several hundred pounds in this weather? i'll get soaked sometime today that's for sure, I'll be in a crowded pub with lots of football mad Scotsmen who later on will be the worst for wear thru drink (including myself). Nope, the cheap kilt is the better option, if at worst it gets wasted then I'll just throw it away and buy another one (that is when I get home not in the pub)
No way would I wear one of my more costly kilts tonight.
So a market certainly in Scotland has been created which is booming in almost every major town and city in Scotland, men want to wear kilts but at times the cost prohibits them from doing so

[artificer]

Really the only thing that could differentiate "cheap" vs "real" would be that a REAL kilt is made out of tartan and "cheap" kilts are made out of PV, acrylic wool, or poly cotton blend. Because when you get down to it, material that costs 60 GBP a yard vs maybe 10 USD a yard (of course those cost are a generalization) that right there eats up a major portion of what you pay for a quality REAL kilt.

I think it's easy to get a bit too precious about what a KILT is. Let's not forget where the kilt came from.

It's traditionally made of wool because that's all that was available.

It's traditionally made by hand because that's all they had.

It's traditionally made heavy to keep it's owner warm, because it was his main article of clothing. According to several old texts it was also his bed when he was traveling out in the open.

If we really want to fanny about we might as well say that it isn't a traditional kilt unless it's made from wool sheared with a manual hand shear...

Only from sheep that have pastured their whole lives in the Highlands...

Spun by hand and dyed using native Highland plants for vegetable dyes.

Woven on a foot powered loom BY a Highlander...

And worn by a Highland Man.


Now, of course, all of this is silly. We know that the mills in the Lowlands and England have been producing tartans since the 1800's.

We also know that Prince Albert and Queen Victoria are partially responsible for the Kilt's and the Tartan's return to popularity. Neither of them was particularly Scottish (never-mind Highlanders).


The kilt has gone through many 'shifts' over time. From great kilt to little kilt to box pleat to knife pleat. Woven at home to mill woven and machine spun.
Worn by a few, banned, reborn, and now worn by many world wide.

Let's not stop a kilt from being a kilt just because we're not crazy about the fabric it's made from.

ith:

[SmokinScotsman]

artificer I agree with you on that note. I own tartan, cotton twill, PV, and acrylic wool. They all have their place. I was merely giving the easiest answer to the question weeknee asked.

[weeknee]

Really the only thing that could differentiate "cheap" vs "real" would be that a REAL kilt is made out of tartan and "cheap" kilts are made out of PV, acrylic wool, or poly cotton blend. Because when you get down to it, material that costs 60 GBP a yard vs maybe 10 USD a yard (of course those cost are a generalization) that right there eats up a major portion of what you pay for a quality REAL kilt.

So, the cost of the material is what makes a "real " kilt ?
No disrespect, just tryin to get a handel on this thing

[Jordan]

So, the cost of the material is what makes a "real " kilt ?
No disrespect, just tryin to get a handel on this thing

Not totaly, how its made also factors in an example would be two shops in Edinburgh (or anywhere else in the world)

Shop A has kilts for £20
Shop B has kilts for £200

If you buy one of each and check one against the other kilt B will feel sturdier be made of better quality of materials and probaly heavier. Kilt A on the other hand will probaly be lighter, not feel so well put togeather and the materials might not be up to the same standard even if they are both meant to be the same Material (PV, Wool, cotton etc)

It is difficult to explain the best way is to get both and check for yourself

Ofcourse thats just my opinion.

Jordan

[Perretti]

I don't own a "real" quality kilt, because of the price: I haven't 170£ ( at the kilt maker )
So I took a discounted one for 50£.
Even if the real one is absolutely better to wear and is a bit heavier, the cheap one keeps warm too and is the only I can buy for now, after all, I'll probably never have to use it during a formal occasion, and in Scotland, if you need a good kilt, you can rent it.
Anyway according to me, the kilt of your own clan is the best you could ever wear! And even if there are not italian clans my kilt still remains something to treat with great respect, like a flag or a heraldic symbol.

[SteveB]

An opinion from the West side of the puddle:

A REAL KILT is my 100% new wool dyed and woven in Scotland tartan, hand sewn in Scotland to my exact measurement. This bespoke beauty is the most comfortable garment that I own and just plain exudes quality. I wear it to events that I am comfortable with wearing an expensive garment to.

I also own a Casual kilt that is of 100% new wool, and machine sewn in Scotland to my exact measurements. It is lighter and a lot less yardage, but has the feel of the above kilt for a little less cost. It does not have the same "swish and sway".

I own several semi-traditional kilts. They are constructed of Polyviscouse in the same manner as the real kilt in that it is knife pleated and follows the sett or stripe as a real kilt, but is also mostly machine sewn to my exact measurements. Most people can not tell it from the REAL KILT. I can wear it to some fairly dressy occasions, but am just as happy to wear it to a football match, or the local pub. The P/V is very washable and the pleats tend to be permanent press.

I also own a few off the peg kilts. two are heavyweight wool and are very warm. They are also very stiff. five are generic tartan in acrylic material that is very obvious to the most casual observer by the lack of distinctive line of the tartan. (SWK thrifty, SWK standard, Sportkilt, Heritage of Scotland, among others.) These are the kilts for running around in, mucking the garden, watching a match at the local while getting pissed, attending concerts with lots of beer drinking and spilling people. These can go straight into the laundry machine, and if it does not come out usable, I am not out a lot of money.

I also own a large number of contemporary wrap around garments. Utilikilts, Mountain Hard Wear kilts, Amerikilts, homemade kilts, etc. Each of these serve a purpose and I give them a lot of wear.

What I hope to have conveyed here is that it is not just cheap and expensive, but a full range in between as well.

To equate with the world of trousers. One does not usually wear a brand new Brooks Brothers outfit to swap the tie rods on his motor car, or wear a set of greasy coveralls to the symphony. Much the same applies today with the advent of less costly kilts on the market.

Slainte

[weeknee]

To equate with the world of trousers. One does not usually wear a brand new Brooks Brothers outfit to swap the tie rods on his motor car, or wear a set of greasy coveralls to the symphony. Much the same applies today with the advent of less costly kilts on the market.

Slainte

Ok, this I can get my head around....Thanks. But i still think that all kilts are "real" despite where they are made or what they are made of. Kinda like a Rolls and a Chevy are both cars.

[jilly]

I think the best example of where a cheap kilt has its uses is today when i will be watching the Scotland national football team in some Glasgow hostelry.
the weather outside is wet, blowy and totally miserable, typical Scottish weather.
Would you wear a garment costing several hundred pounds in this weather? i'll get soaked sometime today that's for sure, I'll be in a crowded pub with lots of football mad Scotsmen who later on will be the worst for wear thru drink (including myself). Nope, the cheap kilt is the better option, if at worst it gets wasted then I'll just throw it away and buy another one (that is when I get home not in the pub)
No way would I wear one of my more costly kilts tonight.
So a market certainly in Scotland has been created which is booming in almost every major town and city in Scotland, men want to wear kilts but at times the cost prohibits them from doing so

My dad got his "real" kilt teflon coated for this very reason. He can literally pour a pint down the front of it and it doesn't leave a mark- much to the amusement of party-goers. But he is of the somewhat kilt-snob type who wouldn't be seen dead in one of the £20 fake tartan tat shop kilts, regardless of weather/sobriety.