Kilt, Thompsn Grey tartan

USA Kilts Casual 4-yard kilt   
11 oz. PV from Marton Mills.   
American Heritage tartan.    

Where to buy a kilt

Out of probably hundreds of vendors, I only knew very few, of course, and some, I know and should have recommended, are no longer existing or are no longer on segments, where I should have given them my recommendation, like Heritage of Scotland.
After over 25 years in kilts and about 20 on a regular basis, I do have some experience, however. And even if no guarantee, because things can change, I think you on this page might find some valid suggestions, based upon casual-first.
For this purpose, I have organized to me relevant kiltmakers/vendors in the three categories from the previous page:

1. Affordable kilts made in Pakistan
2. Casual kilts/moderate priced wool kilts made in Scotland, Ireland, and USA.
3. High-end kilts made in USA, France, and England
plus
4. Kilts a la Austria



1. Affordable kilts made in Pakistan

The existence of affordable kilts is to my opinion the necessary condition of having more men in general start wearing a kilt.

Now, what is affordable, what is expensive, and what it too expensive? It is most individual, of course, but as their first kilt, I should say that to many men, it is a kilt which at around 100 dollars, pounds or euros can be delivered at their doorstep. This implies that the kilt itself shall cost no more than $/£/€60-70 to accommodate for shipment, tax, and declaration. Unfortunately, no Scottish made kilts are to have within this price category, not even ready-made ones. A Scottish kilt shall cost 2-3 times as much and very often, considerably more. But, fortunately, in Pakistan, especially in the Northeastern city Sialkot, very many enterprises are making and selling affordable kilts.

Vendors of made to measure kilts

Since some years, you can even have Pakistani kilts made to your measures. Nothing wrong with a readymade kilt, if the standard length 24” is the right one for you, but being able to determine not only the length in one-inch increments but also waist size more precisely plus hip size and fell length means better fitting kilts.

But how about quality? Even the cheapest kilt can be too expensive if the quality is inferior. I have bought such kilt. It was about four years ago when I ordered a kilt from a British vendor. It was readymade, but nonetheless it was available in three different lengths. It was cheap, very cheap, around £30 my size, but it was also bad, very bad; so bad that, after I had been wearing it a few times, it literally started to fall apart and the front apron to peel to an extent I had never seen before. I didn’t complain about it. OK, had I got my money back, it had been fine, but had they just sent me another kilt, and even if belt loops and straps might not have fallen off that one, the fabric had been what it was. But, like said, it was cheap, made to be cheap, and cheap can be too cheap to also be good. Therefore, better avoid the cheapest of kilts.

Of course, the quality of a kilt which is half or a third of a Scottish kilt cannot be the same BUT for casual wear the affordable kilt might be good enough, and often even a better choice than an expensive kilt – because you are not all the time afraid that is shall be ruined. It is an everyday kilt, a knock-about thing. Should it become teared or get a stain not to remove, it is far better, than had the kilt cost 500 pounds.

I have two makers/sellers to recommend:

Schottenrock.de
affiliated with American registered Kilt & More, and French Kilt Homme.
In October 2021 I ordered a 5-yard kilt in Moffat tartan. The price was 37 EUR, freight 17 EUR.
I didn’t have much expectation of getting a nice kilt but wanted to give the cheap made-to-measure kilts a try.
Only two weeks later I had my kilt delivered. And without any taxes to pay. That a manufacturer has a business address within EU, is no guarantee that you can avoid taxes, like VAT. The construction with your kilt being sent directly from Pakistan is no doubt within a grey zone. Sometimes you pay, sometimes you do not.

What did I get?
A well-fitting, and – after some ironing - very nice-looking kilt with a pleating well above average and with the poly viscose feeling good, even if not in the same league as polyviscose from say British Marton Mills.
For casual wear, it is simply perfect. I have worn it a lot and it is not to see. Therefore, I can give give it my best recommendation.

I have just checked the availability. The kilt is still to have in Moffat tartan. The price has increased by some 35%, but this kilt is worth it.
Obviously, their prices go up and down. And many of their kilts, selling at several hundred Euros, are, in my opinion, way too expensive. At prices that high you should expect plaid in fine new wool, not just a rare tartan, but there is no indication, as to why they should be better than my 50€ Moffat kilt.

The fact, that they have over 1,000 different tartans makes it a bit difficult to search their website. My advice: Sort by name or, perhaps even better, by price. Below 80€, they have kilts in about 75 nice tartans.


Kilt & More Moffat tartan

Some flaws in pleating...


Kilt & More Moffat tartan

...but from a distance the pleating looks fine.


Kilt & More Moffat tartan

Moffat tartan.


At a normal distance between people, hardly anyone shall observe the few flaws in pleating, and should they, are all things in their own life perfect? Home, car, clothing or just life?


Championkilts.com

In December 2022, I came across another vendor of Pakistani-made kilts, Championkilts. Their website looked good and functional, and they had some nice tartans, as well as pretty stylish accessories. Should I give this company a try? I did. I am glad I did. Quality of fabric, sewing, and precision in pleating, everything is fine. The price, $99 was higher than that of most kilts on their website, but it might be due to the tartan and fabric, and it is an 8-yard kilt. Nevertheless, it is the best kilt, I have tried and which has not been made in Scotland or USA, making it definitely a Best Buy. Championkilts, therefore, has my highest recommendation. The tartan is Hebridean Heather.

Championkilts, 8-yard Hebridean Heather tartan

Very well pleated


Championkilts, 8-yard Hebredian Heather tartan

Beautiful tartan.



On Links Page #1 you might find several other enterprises offering affordable made-to-measure kilts. With them I have no experience, however.


Vendors of ready-made kilts

You can still buy ready-made kilts. Most likely they are made in Pakistan or China. They are a little cheaper than Pakistani made-to-your-measures kilts and they can be delivered faster. But, like said already, their 24" length must fit you.
Heritage of Scotland

Heritage of Scotland readymade kilt, MacLeod of Harris tartan

This 5-yard, approx. 16 oz. readymade PV kilt I bought back in 2007 from Heritage of Scotland.
MacLeod of Harris tartan. I still wear it.


Heritage of Scotland readymade kilt, Heritage of Scotland.

Heritage of Scotland Gents Full Deluxe Kilt, 8-yard ready-made, 16 oz. PV. Heritage of Scotland tartan.


The Scotland Kilt Company.
I never bought a kilt from The Scotland Kilt Company, but their homepage looks fine and serious. Also, their accessories are looking good, and prices seem most reasonable.


2. Casual kilts and moderate priced wool kilts

If you are prepared to pay 2-3 times more than for an affordable kilt made in Pakistan, a casual kilt made in Scotland or in the US is what to go for.

Some Scottish and American kiltmakers or vendors will position their cheapest kilts as being casual, probably in the hope that they shall not cannibalize their more expensive ones too much. But of course, there are also real differences. Casual kilts are machine-sewn whereas their more expensive siblings might be sewn by hand for even better precision. And then casual kilts are sometimes made of PV instead of wool, and/or there are savings on the yardage and the tartan weight. i.e., from two to six yards and 10-11 oz, rather than eight yards and 16 oz. One of the kilts, I'm going to recommend is really lightweight, only 8 yards.
It is to note, that the PV used for these kilts typically is in a very high quality from British mills.

On some expensive kilts, there is an additional rise. This you'll not find on any of these casual kilts. The extra rise may be fine if you are wearing a waistcoat, but that you are not for casual wear. And even for the concert hall, the opera house, the theatre, and the Michelin restaurant these kilts, at least the ones in wool, worn with a kilt jacket, are all you need.

Most of my own kilts are belonging to this segment. Unfortunately, the vendors, from whom, I over the years, have got mine, are no longer existing or are no longer offering custom-made kilts. Therefore, I only have experience with very few of the vendors below.

Made in Scotland

CLAN by Scotweb

Clan, a major Scottish kilt vendor, earlier known as Scotweb, has a very well designed and functioning web site.
To emphasise is their Essential Casual Kilt, a 5 yard kilt sewn in Scotland to your measures in UK-made high quality poly viscose.
CLAN is also selling a five yard made-to-measure Casual kilt in pure new wool "with a contemporary lower-waisted cut" which isn't a bad thing for a kilt to be worn casually.
Another possibility is a seven yard traditional kilt.
Further they have high-end 8-yard kilts, leather kilts, camouflage kilts and denim kilts in their assortment.

Donaldsons of Scotland

5-yard 10 oz. Mens casual kilt.

Highland Store

2-yard wool off-the-peg kilts.

Highland Store has a physical shop in London, Holborn 66 Great Russell St, London WC1B 3BN close to British Museum.

Two yards for a kilt aren't much. But when in 2009 I was in London, I tried this kilt on. By then the price was £75 and today, it is over £100 more. But I liked the kilt and afterwards I regretted that I had not bought it.
If it is to be sent to an EU-country, it shall become too expensive, I think, but if you are in London, visit the store, and if you like this kilt and buy it, and you save freight and declaration fee, it might not be that bad.


House of Tartan

Most interesting for casual or active wear might be their machine washable, made-to-measure Sportskilt 4x4 with invisible side pockets. The fabric is 12-13 oz. polyester/viscose.
You can also have a Casual kilt made of 4 yards pure new wool.

St. Kilda Kilts

This company, based in Glasgow, was, until a couple of months ago, new to me.

5-yard casual kilt in Poly Viscose
The kilt is to have in a lot of different tartans and, best of all, the fabric is 11 oz. poly viscose from Marton Mills, the same as used for one of my favourite kilts, the USA Kilts Casual, described below.
Add to this that the price seems most competitive. Therefore, it makes a great ‘European’ alternative to the USA Kilts Casual, this suffering from no VAT to deduct, and extremely high shipping cost.

Since mid-March 2024, I have this kilt in MacKay tartan. In fact, the hardest decision was choosing the tartan, with so many very nice ones available.

Kilt, Mackay tartan

My new 5-yard St. Kilda Casual kilt in MacKay tartan, after having just unpacked it.
Excellent quality. I like it having only two buckels and straps.


According to St. Kilda Kilts, the low price has been made possible because the kilt is top-stitched, meaning the pleats at the fell are stitched from outside and accordingly visible, rather than by far more time-consuming process of stitching them from inside, like on my more expensive kilts.

Kilt, stitching

Do you see the difference? The St. Kilda kilt to the left is top-stitched. From a distance exceeding one meter or yard, you shall not be able to see it. And how many, not deeply involved in kilt wearing, shall know what is better?


It might, at least in theory, also influence the stability of the kilt, but not on a lightweight 5-yard kilt like this.

As a matter of fact, my USA Kilts Casual is top-stitched too, as are my Pakistani-made kilts, something with which I have not the slightest problem. I very much doubt that anybody shall be able to notice the difference. And should they, very few should know what the better technique was.

No doubt, in order to save cost, there are only two buckles and straps, where many other kilts have three. I prefer two over three, and have several times asked vendors to omit the third one, when I have ordered a kilt. No problem.

A minor 'complaint': For added flexibility, I should have liked the straps just a bit longer. A solution, in order to keep cost down, might have been a Velcro closure like on the USA Kilts Casual, or like on the Sport Kilt, this having, in its basic version, Velcro but with a possibility to step up to straps and buckles. Both kilts are described below.

On expensive kilts, the straps, to which the buckles are fastened, are made of leather. On this kilt (and most other affordable kilts) they are in the same fabric as the kilt. Don't worry; they are strong enough to secure your kilt. And as soon as the kilt is fastened around you, no one can see them.

Kilt, buckles

The straps holding the buckles are only to see until the kilt is fastened around you.


In other words, only 'invisible' and of-no-importance compromises, necessary to keep price down.

Kilt, Mackay tartan

A really nice kilt.


Kilt, Mackay tartan

Accurate pleating and high quality 11 oz. poly viscose.


Kilt, Mackay tartan

You can have it in very many different tartans as well as solid coloured.


Conclusion

The price was £100 ex British VAT and shipment £45 with DHL. Further, I had to pay local VAT plus the equivalent of £14 for the declaration.
Nevertheless, if you can/are willing to spend some extra money, compared to a 50-60 $/£/€ kilt, this St. Kilda Casual kilt might, due to its very high sewing quality and fine fabric, available in so many attractive tartans, and despite Brexit and related added cost, probably give European kilt wearers fantastic value for their money. Go for it. It's worth it.



5-yard casual wool kilt
You can have a 5-yard casual wool kilt from St. Kilda Kilts, starting at twice the price of their poly-viscose casual. Here you can choose tartans from House of Edgar, Lochcarron, Marton Mills, and Strathmore.



Made in Scotland - vendor in Germany

Kilts & More

Kilts are made in Scotland but the vendor is situated in Germany, more precisely in Mühlhausen, a few kilometres south of Heidelberg. They even have a store to visit, Hauptstraße 74, D-69242 Mühlhausen with opening hours Monday-Friday 10-14.

The fact that Kilts & More is based in Germany means that EU-citizens shall avoid the customs clearance fee. Freight within EU is favourable.


6-yard Sport Kilt in PV
Interesting is a 6-yard PV 'Sports Kilt´ made to measure. The fabric is from Marton Mills and the same as used for the St. Kilda Casual kilt. Many tartans to choose.
Despite no taxes and cheaper shipment, the price, delievered at the door step, is a little higher than that of the St. Kilda kilts. But also this one looks like a very good kilt.

4-Yard Box-Pleated Mediumweight Kilt
Very few kiltmakers offer box pleated kilts. A 4-yard box pleated kilt is to compare with a 5-yard kilt, pleated to the sett.

Note:
Kilt s & More Europe is NOT to be confused with Pakistani Kilt & More/Schottenrock.de!
Kilts & More also has a base in Scotland, but warehouse and physical store is in Mühlhausen, Germany.



Made in Ireland

OND - O'Neil of Dublin

Readymade 5.5-yard lightweight kilts in pure worsted wool. Tartan weight could be about 10 oz., hardly anymore. Since the kilts, like skirts, have no lining, they really feel lightweight and yet stable. Five different tartans. Length 59 cm/23".

In Ireland readzmade kilt, Stewart Navy tartan

The OND kilts are readymade. The tartan, Stewart Navy, is no longer available. I have four of these kilts.


Prices might be to the high side, but Ireland being an EU-country and free shipment for orders over 50€ means no additional cost for EU-citizens.



Made in USA

High shipment costs and custom duties make American vendors non-competitive for European kilt buyers, with a few exceptions.

USA Kilts
USA Kilts is a family company, owned and driven by Rocky and his wife together with dedicated employees.

Their USA Kilts Casual is a 4-yard kilt, made to your measures. The price is $140 for adults.
The fabric is British made fine PV and the sewing quality is excellent. The kilt is not lined. Nevertheless, it s very rugged, and a fine thing is, that it is washable and dries fast.

Being closed by means of Velcro instead of straps and buckles it has no metal parts, making it the perfect choice when you must pass through airport security. I have been wearing my USA Kilts Casual onboard several airplanes.

If you are living in the USA and have no high shipment cost, VAT, and custom clearance fee to pay on top, don't look any further. Buy one, two, three, five of them. Not because they are not durable enough; they are, but for sheer variety.



USA Kilts Casual

USA Kilts Casual, American Heritage tartan. Costa del Sol, Spain. I bought mine second hand back in 2012,
and it is a kilt I wear again and again.


Since I got my USA Kilts Casual I don't remember any holiday where it has not been with me.


By the way, USA Kilts really do something to promote kilt wearing. Just one example are YouTube videos, where the owner, Rocky, gives good advice, wearing a kilt himself. It should be a natural thing. For Rocky it is, for many other vendors, it not always is.

Sport Kilt - a kilt of its own

American Sport Kilt makes lightweight kilts for men, women, and children.

The Sport Kilt Original is only 8 oz. And the fabric looks and feels like cotton.
In its basis version it is closed by Velcro, like the USA Kilts Casual, but it has not sewn-down pleats and no belt loops. The belt loops you can live without, but sewn-down pleats are a must, I think. Fortunately, you can have it all, sewn-down pleats, belt loops, straps and buckles, and fringes. And you can have the Sport kilt in other lengths than the standard 22.5". It is just a question of paying extra. A most interesting feature is the possibility to have inside, deep slide pockets. They are worth every one of the 24 dollars they shall cost you. Only, if you want it all, it can end up being rather pricy.

I have a Sport Kilt. Mine is with sewn down pleats, invisible deep slide pockets, fringes, and belt loops. The thin fabric makes it a dream to wear under Southern European sun.

Sport Kilt

Ultra lightweight Sport Kilt comes in a lot of different tartans.
When ordering you can upgrade it to have sewn-down pleats,
belt loops, and slide pockets, fringes, and straps and buckles.
Loch Ness tartan, Split, Croatia.



For informal occasions where you might otherwise feel comfortable in shorts, the Sport Kilt Original is great – provided you don’t expect it to be a traditional kilt. It is not. It’s an unpretentious kilted garment of its very own. But for the mentioned purposes I can recommend it, even if freight and taxes shall more than double the price when sent to Europe.



3. High-end kilts

CLAN by Scotweb
and
St. Kilda Kilts
both mentioned above, have 8-yard+ kilts to offer.

Three one-man enterprises have on kilt forums been praised for excellent work, yet their kilts are less expensive than seen by several kiltmakers and kilt shops in Scotland.
They are:

Barbara Tewskbury, USA
Barbara is an American kiltmaker, who is also a professor of geosciences and author of the book The Art of Kiltmaking.

Lady Chrystel, France
has specialized in making box-pleated kilts, including a kind of pleating, called Kingussie.

Paul Henry, England
will make you an excellent traditional kilt, as well as kilts in tweed, denim etc. Should I one day be in the market for a kilt costing from 500 pounds, he should be the one to contact.

4. Kilts a la Austria


If you are not Scottish and your kilt consequently doesn’t need being Scottish in its expression, you might find this kiltmaker interesting:

Rettl 1868
In Carinthia in Southern Austria high fashion company Rettl 1868 also makes top quality ‘Austrian’ style kilts, primarily to be worn at smart casual wear events, it seems.
I know of no kiltmaker who has done and still does so much for promoting kilt wearing as the owner of Rettl 1868, Thomas Rettl.

In his high quality, most professionally lay outed online magazines, Rettl & Friends his kilts are shown along with Rettl's other designs for men and women and also, he every year will arrange several events like The Kilt Ski Day with various competitions.
Many locals will come in kilts, as a natural thing, men in Lederhosen and women in Dirndl also being welcome. 1st prize might include a Rettl kilt.
In the pictures, Thomas Rettl will most often be wearing a kilt himself. How often do you see Scottish kiltmakers in a kilt?

Rett & Friends Magazine
An example of the Rettl & Friends Magazine with high quality photographs and ads from other companies offering high end products within other product categories.

The Rettl kilts have their own tartans and design, being different from Scottish kilts. The same implies to sporrans, jackets, and other accessories.
Therefore, don't judge these kilts and how they are worn with "Scottish eyes". They are not intended to be Scottish. They are Austrian, are their very own.

Prices are around 650 € or approx. £535. Expensive, yes. But these kilts might be as durable as Austrian Lederhosen. They are made to be worn. And to EU-citizens neither customs duty, nor declaration fees apply.


Page revised 2024, June 5.
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Get the measures right


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Pakistani kilt

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Kilt

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