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Kilts

Highlander

A-List Customer
Messages
473
Location
Missouri
OK, a photo in my kilt for an occasion a few years ago. Anyone else here have a kilt? Or know the best place to get a new one, custom... 8 yrds, family tartan???
SWMkilt-vi.jpg
BurnsNight052nd-vi.jpg
 

celtic

A-List Customer
Messages
328
Location
NY
Unfortunately the place where I bought mine no longer offers them.

But they used tartan wool from this manufacturer(who also make bespoke kilts):

http://www.lochcarron.com/

I'm guessing they're not cheap, but I'm also guessing they're one of the best.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,078
Location
London, UK
The best places I've seen have all been - unsurprisingly - in Scotland itself. As I'm sure you have already discovered, a quality kilt is far from cheap, though it seems to me that the real thing is a good investment.

The following look to be options worth checking into:

http://www.scotweb.co.uk/kilts?reset_landing=kilts&referrer=g11749&gclid=CMruzK6T-JcCFc0a3godbG6iCQ

http://www.kiltsofcaledonia.com/site/1352898/page/776587

http://www.scotlandshopdirect.com/p,kilts,l.php?gclid=CJWUtLCT-JcCFYwH3godOy8ADA

A lot of places seem to do fair deals for the full outfit, though it seems to me that once you have the kilt itself you can pick up some good deals on the other items used with patience.
 

Nick D

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,166
Location
Upper Michigan
I have a few kilts, love wearing them. I'm trying to find a good argyle jacket and waistcoat for daywear. I wear them casually, and have a formal doublet, but I'd like the jacket.
 

Belegnole

One of the Regulars
Messages
289
Location
Wisconsin
I would say that to some extent it depends on what you want. There happen to be a bunch of choices in how a kilt is put together other than just the obvious. There are two ladies in the US that have a stellar reputation for hand made kilts. I personally will have one of the two make my 16oz when the time comes. one of them is Barbara Tewksbury a Geology Professor and author with credible kilt training she can be contacted through xmarks or http://www.celticdragonpress.com/ . Kathie Lare http://www.kathyskilts.com/ is also great. I found that when I did my research that one of these two ladies would provide a fantastic kilt and a more reasonable price because if for no other reason they were in the US. You should definitely check out x-marks the scot as it is a great forum for kilt wearers.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/
 

pascalf

New in Town
Messages
29
Location
Belgium
I bought a military black watch kilt a couple of yours ago on e...bay.uk for cheap.Brand new real wool and fits great.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,078
Location
London, UK
Nick D said:
I have a few kilts, love wearing them. I'm trying to find a good argyle jacket and waistcoat for daywear. I wear them casually, and have a formal doublet, but I'd like the jacket.

Try eBay.... I've been keeping my eye out there for a while and seen some good bargains. The best prices I have seen were in Starry, Starry Night and The Barras in Glasgow, also some good places in Edinburgh, but shy of a trip over the border to go to those, eBay seems to be your best bet. Fewer people wear day-dress with kilts, so it seems to me that you can turn up much better bargains than on the likes of a Prince Charlie.

pascalf said:
I bought a military black watch kilt a couple of yours ago on e...bay.uk for cheap.Brand new real wool and fits great.

I don't think I could bring myself to don Campbell tartan, somehow. :p
 

Highlander

A-List Customer
Messages
473
Location
Missouri
Edward, I think my clan would kill me if I donned the Campbell tartan.

As for the rest of this, I was a one time a year kilt wearer. I believe since I've ordered a new McGregor Modern Hunting Tartan, more brandywine and bottle green, I'll start wearing it for more than Burns Night.

I love it, it's quite different from what most of my peers wear. But the Ladies do seem to find it rather HEROIC looking, and it gathers attention from them.
 

WildCelt

One of the Regulars
Messages
178
Location
My Imagination, South Carolina
Highlander said:
Edward, I think my clan would kill me if I donned the Campbell tartan . . . I've ordered a new McGregor Modern Hunting Tartan . . .

If I recall correctly, Macgregors and Campbells have a connection through Rob Roy himself. He married a Campbell and took the name Campbell himself when the Macgregor name was outlawed.
 

Highlander

A-List Customer
Messages
473
Location
Missouri
Good Morning Wild Celt:

As to using the name Campbell etc. I may not be as good a student of the Clan as I should. But most of my reading finds that the Campbells were able to obtain the MacGregor holding by various methods(on little clip from a story below):

The Campbells were great ones for using the law against those whose lands they coveted (their great feud with Clan Donald is well-attested). Their method was to provoke the MacGregors to acts of violence (not especially difficult, given the MacGregor temper) and then invoke the law to put them down and take their lands. By this method, the Campbells stripped Clan Gregor of their Glenlyon holdings in 1502.


I won't post the entire article, but here's where it is from: http://www.heartoscotland.com/Categories/RobRoyMacGregor.htm
 

Subvet642

A-List Customer
pascalf said:
I bought a military black watch kilt a couple of yours ago on e...bay.uk for cheap.Brand new real wool and fits great.

As for myself, I could not wear Black Watch. It is my understanding they were thatch burners during the Famine. That being said, that shouldn't stop you. My objection is just a personal one. Can anyone confirm this?
 

kiltie

Practically Family
Messages
732
Location
lone star state
This, or something like it, comes up every time the subject of kilts comes up ( or has since I joined about a year ago...). I know I've seen and contributed to two other threads under this heading. Everyone knows more than the other guy, or some secret, and blah, blah, blah... Aside frome the hard facts of history ( told by the winners ), a lot of the stuff about kilts and Highlanders and such are mystical nonsense. Nearly all the tartans are relatively modern inventions and not some birthright, etc... I think the first uniform tartan was the Gordons' when they raised their army. Before that ( and someone will chime in to refute this [ see above ] ...), MOST of the tartans were relative in their colors by districts, areas, regions, whatever - but not really uniform.
The kilts themselves, as we know them, are essentially a British Army invention, so not wearing the Blackwatch in protest is sort of... The army was a blessing and a curse after the proscriptions and clearances, etc... The lure of the army to a lot of Highland men was the fact that it was the one place where you could wear the kilt and play/hear the pipes ( and when you get down to it, the army is likely the main, if not only reason why the pipes enjoy any popularity these days. Nearly anything you hear is an army tune - except for the so-called "pipe stuff"... if not for the army, the pipes would likely be the didgeridoo of Scotland. Pipes exist in every culture in some form, but the GHBP is the only one anybody recognizes, save for uilleann pipes ). In the states, I wouldn't worry about wearing the Gov't tartan, and MacKenzie, another army used tartan ( Seaforth ) is usually pretty readily availible. It's sort of like Americans wearing regimental and/or school ties; they don't mean a lot to us - don't really even recognize them - but you might have some 'splaining to do if you take it on the road.

OT - I'm very typical Southeastern Scots-Irish-Indian, so there's no particular advocacy as far as the British Army goes. I have the Brits to thank for kicking out the MacGregors and getting our pale white butts over here in the army or other "better life" opportunities. Such are many tragedies of history. it's likely we've all benefitted from them in some way. To lament our ancestors' misfortunes that we've reaped the benefits of... Well whaddya do?
 

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