Real kilt v cheap kilts - Edinburgh retailers

**tetley88mark** · 6th September 10, 06:56 AM

i have two kilts and they're cheap kilts not real kilts, i will say that they're very good cheap kilts and not £20 party kilts but i'm saving for a real kilt, with kids and bills on a barmans salary it could take a while but i'm getting there

**Jock Scot** · 6th September 10, 07:02 AM

Originally Posted by tetley88mark

i have two kilts and they're cheap kilts not real kilts, i will say that they're very good cheap kilts and not £20 party kilts but i'm saving for a real kilt, with kids and bills on a barmans salary it could take a while but i'm getting there

Well done and keep plugging away. It will be worth it.

kiltedwolfman · 6th September 10, 07:21 AM

Hahaha, cessna said "stimulate" LOL.

Okay enough of that, IMO a cheap kilt is still a real kilt, afterall you can touch it, move it, it does have substance so there is nothing to make it imaginary. I cheap kilt is simply that, a cheap kilt. But as has been said a few times now, and I'll parrot it out like a good bird the influx of cheap mass produced kilts has gotten many people wearing the kilt and interested in kilts that may not have done so without them.
There has been a large number of people who have come to this forum because they purchased a lower end kilt and wanted info on how to wear it and present themselves well. No many of those same people are storing money in the coffers so they can buy a higher quality kilt some day mostly due to the information and friendly atmosphere found here.
So lets hoist a glass I say to the cheap lower end mass produced wrap around that while being small in cost has been large on impact.

Cheers

**Jimmy** · 6th September 10, 07:31 AM

Originally Posted by kiltedwolfman

Hahaha, cessna said "stimulate" LOL.

Okay enough of that, IMO a cheap kilt is still a real kilt, afterall you can touch it, move it, it does have substance so there is nothing to make it imaginary. I cheap kilt is simply that, a cheap kilt. But as has been said a few times now, and I'll parrot it out like a good bird the influx of cheap mass produced kilts has gotten many people wearing the kilt and interested in kilts that may not have done so without them.
There has been a large number of people who have come to this forum because they purchased a lower end kilt and wanted info on how to wear it and present themselves well. No many of those same people are storing money in the coffers so they can buy a higher quality kilt some day mostly due to the information and friendly atmosphere found here.
So lets hoist a glass I say to the cheap lower end mass produced wrap around that while being small in cost has been large on impact.

So even from the limited number of replies so far, the concensus seems to be that there is a place and a need for cheap kilts

Cheers

**Jimmy** · 6th September 10, 07:33 AM

sorry kiltedwolfman, I accidently added my comments to your last post.

**ThistleDown** · 6th September 10, 07:53 AM

"So even from the limited number of replies so far, the concensus seems to be that there is a place and a need for cheap kilts."

Well, with the exception of Jackson and me, all of the replies thus far are from Europe and are universally in agreement. Perhaps as the day wears on we will hear from NA; let's see if that universal opinion continues.

Rex

**artificer** · 6th September 10, 08:13 AM

I guess I'll start as a voice for N. America (hopefully not the only one

)

I've only got two PV kilts thus far. They're not hand-made, but they're not cheap tat either. I'd feel safe wearing either to a formal event. They fit as well as anything off the rack ever can, the pleating is done very nicely and with attention to the sett. They are both 8yd - so they swing and swish like they should.

While the bottom end acrylics aren't very nicely made, if it gets someone to try a kilt, decide they like it and eventually upgrade, I think it's served it's purpose.

The only crime is mis-representing a product. If you buy it for what it is, and use it for what it was intended, I can see nothing but good coming out of the situation. The problem is when someone is sold a $20 acrylic kilt as a KILT for all occasions (pub to formal).

**MacSaorsa** · 6th September 10, 08:20 AM

Well, as a man who only currently owns a fairly cheap kilt I would have to say that there is a need for them.

I ordered a USAK casual (not the cheap kilt I'm talking about!), and while looking around for a sporran to go with it I found a lot on eBay that contained a sporran, SW thrifty in my size, and a matching one that would fit my son. It was a pretty good deal, so I bought it. Now I at least have a kilt while I wait for a better one. I'm also saving toward a good wool kilt in my clan tartan, but that's some way off yet.

Also, as other folks have said, there are places I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing a garment that cost about half a mortgage payment. For people who are trying to make the kilt a more everyday garment, a cheap kilt, or even just a less expensive one, fills the need for a garment that can be worn, and damaged or worn out, without breaking the bank. How many people wear a bespoke suit to a football match?

I think that for too long the kilt has been part of a formalized set of clothes that has run exclusively to the higher end and that has caused the quality, and subsequently price, to stay high. Think of the ranges of quality and price that are available for every other garment you own. Nobody has a problem with different types of shirts, in varying degrees of quality, for different situations. Why should kilts be different?

**Jock Scot** · 6th September 10, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by MacSaorsa

Well, as a man who only currently owns a fairly cheap kilt I would have to say that there is a need for them.

I ordered a USAK casual (not the cheap kilt I'm talking about!), and while looking around for a sporran to go with it I found a lot on eBay that contained a sporran, SW thrifty in my size, and a matching one that would fit my son. It was a pretty good deal, so I bought it. Now I at least have a kilt while I wait for a better one. I'm also saving toward a good wool kilt in my clan tartan, but that's some way off yet.

Also, as other folks have said, there are places I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing a garment that cost about half a mortgage payment. For people who are trying to make the kilt a more everyday garment, a cheap kilt, or even just a less expensive one, fills the need for a garment that can be worn, and damaged or worn out, without breaking the bank. How many people wear a bespoke suit to a football match?

I think that for too long the kilt has been part of a formalized set of clothes that has run exclusively to the higher end and that has caused the quality, and subsequently price, to stay high. Think of the ranges of quality and price that are available for every other garment you own. Nobody has a problem with different types of shirts, in varying degrees of quality, for different situations. Why should kilts be different?

In the traditional Scots frugal way, often an old bespoke kilt was kept for the less formal events. There is a wonderful picture of the late Lord Lovat in a beaten up tweed jacket and a much repaired kilt. No doubt in its day a product of one of Scotland's finest kilt makers. Also, I well remember one of the chaps here wearing a kilt that had well repaired bullet holes from WW1 for watching shinty in. Now that is not unusual for those that have more than one kilt in Scotland. Don't forget that "cheap" kilts were not an option to us in Scotland until very recently.

**MacSaorsa** · 6th September 10, 09:06 AM

In the traditional Scots frugal way, often an old bespoke kilt was kept for the less formal events.

Couldn't agree more. Of course, that requires that you have an old kilt in the first place. While I would dearly love to have a hand-me-down kilt that I wouldn't mind getting dirty that's not a possibility for everyone.