Kilt Flap in the UK - recent newspaper article

[r.m.anderson]

Recent newspaper article about a Kilt Flap in a UK city - Link:

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/tr ... anchO7DiUr

"Kilted-But-Not-Expensively"
rm

[AMM]

Hanging in front of the Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers shop is a mannequin wearing a competitor's kilt with a sign posted on it: "This is not a real kilt."

"I'm not on a crusade, but kilts are part of Scottish heritage and history," says Nicolson, who said his genuine kilts have 7.6 meters of fabric, are hand-stitched in Scotland and are the standard for what a Scottish kilt should be -- and cost about $700.

He charges that skimpy kilts sold next door at Prestige Scotland and other shops in Edinburgh for about $50 are made in Pakistan, don't have enough material to close correctly and are giving Scottish kilts a bad name.

"They aren't proper kilts," he says, adding that his shop and Geoffrey Tailor are the only two fine kiltmakers in Edinburgh.

It must have been a slow news day in Minneapolis & St. Paul. I was in Edinburgh back in 1977, and the "real kilt" makers were saying the same things back then, too.

Mr. Nicolson evidently doesn't know as much about the history of "the kilt" as he does about making them if he really believes that kilts originally had 8 yards of fabric. I think the real issue is obvious: he believes that the cheap kilts are taking sales away from him.

[Since1982]

he believes that the cheap kilts are taking sales away from him.

BINGO!!

[cessna152towser]

The irony is that the Highland kilt has become much more fashionable in lowland Scotland as a direct result of the influx of cheap polyviscose or acrylic kilts costing round a tenth of a traditional eight yard wool kilt. Many of the young men who buy a cheap kilt to wear to go to the pub or to watch a soccer or rugby game will go on to buy a more expensive kilt for wearing to more formal events once they are a bit older and can afford it. The cheap kilts have introduced a new generation of young men to kilt wearing and the trade in traditional kilts will probably benefit in the long run.

[DALederle]

Why isn't Gordon Nicolson, the man protesting the cheaper kilts, wearing a kilt? He is picture holding up one of his kilts, one of the true wool kilt, in a $700 to a $1000 price range.
Personally his expectation that tourist will pay that much for something that is a spree item, that they'll wearing right then, while on vacation, is unrealistic. Most tourist will buy the kilt, wear it at that time, take it home and hang it in the closet and never wear it again. Oh, they'll brag about it but they will seldom wear it, if they ever do again.
But why isn't he in a kilt?

Dennis A. Lederle

1kiltstr1010.jpg

[couyalair]

"But why isn't he in a kilt?"

'cause kilts are made to be hung on hangers, not round a working man's buttocks.
Did ye not know?
You can bet that, at any one time, there are 1000 kilts on hangers for every one being worn.

Martin

[r.m.anderson]

You can bet that, at any one time, there are 1000 kilts on hangers for every one being worn.

Martin

Ya - you betcha !

I resemble that remark.

I have some 25 or so kilts "BUT I can only wear one at a time!"
Then on the other hand I do have a selection to match just about any event I want to be kilted at
beit formal; casual or just plain and simple.


"Kilted-to-match-any-event"
rm

[AMM]

You can bet that, at any one time, there are 1000 kilts on hangers for every one being worn.

I can think of two reasons for that:

1. So-called "traditional kilts" are damned uncomfortable, especially for us guys with a "spare tire."

2. If you've been intimidated into buying one of those "Real Scottish Kilts"(tm), you've probably been convinced that you can only wear it with the full regalia, and only for 100% Scottish occasions, and only if you've inherited the right to wear the particular tartan, and all that other bosh. So you never wear it except for special occasions, and by the time the special occasion rolls around, you're too self-conscious about it to actually wear it. And if you do try wearing it once, you'll feel so weird that you won't want to do it again.

Well, I say, pish-tosh to all that! [*] To all that so-called "tradition" and all the idiot rules that the kilt-nazis want to encrust it with. Get something you feel comfortable washing your car in, or wearing to a tailgate party, something you can throw into the washing machine when some idiot pours beer on it, and which is cheap enough that you won't feel like you blew your life savings for nothing if you sit on a wet paintbrush in it.

That way, you'll feel like wearing your kilt enough so that you'll get used to wearing it. And if some day, some special occasion comes up when you'd like to wear a formal kilt-based monkey suit, you can rent one, and by then you'll be so used to wearing a kilt that you'll look like you actually belong in one.

[*] Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) was right. It is fun to say "pish-tosh"!

[crfriend]

I'm not going to quote AMM's splendid post because I cannot find anything to clip from it so it'd fit.

Top marks, sir! Bravo! You are absolutely correct in the assertion that one needs to be comfortable in a kilt (or skirt) for it to look right -- and waiting for that "formal moment" is, ultimately, a whopping waste of time if you cannot rise to the occasion.

I need to bear the "wet paintbrush" rule in mind. I have a rather large pink streak on the starboard rear quarter of my white miniskirt to show for it -- and I still wear the thing from time to time! (Pink is one of the colours of our back porch; the others are purple and electric blue. The streak on my white mini came from when I was helping with the painting.)

[ethelthefrog]

Thoroughly in agreement with AMM on this one. I am short of a formal outfit at the moment (and was poorly attired for a recent wedding and a recent funeral) and am considering a full kilt suit, although I'm not convinced that it would have been all that well received at the funeral (even if it was in Glasgow and I have the 'right' to wear the Robertson tartans). I'm pretty convinced that my good lady wife would have stuffed me into the coffin if I had been wearing one.

But I digress... I wore a kilt to my sister's wedding (many years ago now), in England, as did the Scottish half of my family, and the Scottish half of the groom's family, with a good spread of tartans and lots of beer. I'd never worn a kilt before (and it was 12 years before I did so again), and it made the occasion all the more fun, but I was a little self-conscious about the outfit. If I were to go to an event kilted now, I'd be much more comfortable. I'm sort-of trying to get permission to wear my informal (Black Watch) kilt to the upcoming work Christmas do...

Digressing again.

I rented the formal kilt for my sister's wedding. Definitely the way to go if you have shorter arms than I have. A problem with rentals is that you pick the outfit up very close to the event, and if the sleeves only come as far as your elbows, there's no time to fix it. My current kilt is a machine-washable 5-yard one, Made in England™, by a guy from Birmingham (my home town) and acquired via ebay for twenty-five quid (about $40). I'm thoroughly pleased with it, although it does lack pockets, and I'm not going to wear a sporran for anything but a formal occasion. When I get some sewing skills, I plan on adding a couple...

The kilt nazis have a lot to answer for.

[couyalair]

"The kilt nazis have a lot to answer for."

Yes, indeed. It is made to look so complicated and exclusive, that there must be many who have been put off by the fear of not doing things "right".

A kilt is a garment, like any other skirt, not a fancy-dress costume.

If I need to dress up for halloween, I'll undoubtedly have to borrow some leg-tubes.

Martin

[Uncle Al]

Personally I do not like a kilt with pockets. That's why I use a
fancy shoulder/cross-body bag without the main strap. I have
attached universal sporran suspenders which wrap around my
belt and snap together. (Get these from Stillwaterkilts.com)

The 'bag' I use came from Wilson Leather.
This is an example of what the bag looks like...

Alas, it appears that the one I have is not made anymore. Mine has
lasted 15 years. Granted I've had to re-sew the 'D' ring attachment
points (one side only) a few times, and the nylon lining as given up
the ghost between the front two pockets, but I'm very satisfied with
the product. It carries a lot more 'stuff' than my traditional sporran.

Uncle Al