skirtcafe.org

OK, gang. Here's the deal.

I want to wear a kilt. Actually, I want to go buy two of them:

First, I want a casual kilt that I can wear knocking around without feeling like I'm dressed up in a scottish costume. I just want to dress like a regular, heterosexual guy, who happens to have a kilt integrated into his outfit without looking "dressed up" for a special occasion. Ideas?

Next, I want to do the same, but with with a more formal touch. Maybe a black watch pattern, but with fairly ordinary dress clothes completing the look. Any suggestions?

In either case I am not interested in investing more than $$. That translates to somewhere north of $50 USD and south of $200. Thanks for your ideas.

You may want to drop by Xmarksthescott. They are a kilt only group. If you search the past threads you will find discussions of the various kilt manufactures. I think they have a section devoted to the topic. Myself I have been looking at USAkilts. I have a denim Unionkilt which I like but coming from the UK it was expensive considering shipping. It is heavy and maybe too hot in the summer. I have on order a lighter "day" kilt (solid color) from a Celtic shop in Cincinnati. My third kilt will probably be a tartan from USAkilts.

Matman;

Try Stillwater kilts. $80.00 plus shipping. "Off-the-rack"
type. I have 3 of them. Irish National, Black Watch and
the Night Stalker.

Here is their link.

http://www.stillwaterkilts.com/

They even offer an 'economy' with velcro on the waist(lowest price),
their 'standard' ( which I have-$80.00 each ) and their 'Heavy Weight'(highest price).

You'll love them. The last ones I purchased, the order
was placed on a Friday night. They arrived in the mail
on Tuesday. Great Service.

Uncle Al
Duncanville, TX

Try the frugal corner at http://www.thefrugalcorner.com they have kilts from $50
i have just got one in the Minnesota tartan, plus you can machine wash them.

I went with the IRISH NATIONAL tartan from
Stillwater. Because I am a bit pudgy,(read short
and fat) Ineeded to have my kilt shortened 2in.
for proper fit. Went to my local cleaners that also
does alterations, talk about sticker shock, $40 to
hem the kilt. Got to learn to sew!!!


John

I'll never win any prizes for sewing, but so far I've rehemmed about seven of my kilts. It's a tedious business in the extreme (especially an 8 yarder), but has saved some cash. The way I do it is to tack it up at every inner pleat fold, and about every 2 - 3" along plain runs. As long as you only catch the material from the back, rather than come right through so the sewing is visible, it seems to have worked so far. Or, put another way, no-one's yet said 'You hemmed that yourself, didn't you?'

duplicated in error!

A tip I'd recommend for making a kilt look casual is wearing a longer style shirt over top -- not an absurdly long nightrobe but also not one of those t-shirts that stops at the waist or is ferociously tucked in all round.

the casual shirt is comfortable, worn looser, and it stops the whole thing looking like you're on your way to McKellan's castle or something.

Some boots or heavier set shoes, and not sandals, and the look is as laid back as you can ever get, and very comfortable! the lighter kilts all suit this style; the shirt has to be reasonably plain, not striped or anything or you end up looking like a candy store. some kilts start way too high, so the shirt brings down the centre of gravity and you don't look like someone's trying to hoist yourself up in the air, simon cowell style.

I have a black long tshirt with a really elegant beige ronnie wood painting of hendrix on it, and i wear it with a beige/brown kilt and brown boots. suits me, sir!

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Thanks for the suggestions. I do struggle with footwear, as wearing clunky shoes and boots doesn't really fit my taste. I tend to wear thongs (aka flip flops), birkenstocks, or a low and rough-cut leather loafer when I do kilt. All can go sock-less.

Thanks again for all the posts. Hope to see you, and your legs! out and about.