Men in kilts (and skirts). Forums, homepages, blogs, videos, articles.
This page contains hundreds of external links. New sources come, other go. And even if the page is regularly checked for broken links, some might no longer function.
Buying online - EU-citizens
Import tax, customs declaration fee, and sometimes customs duty apply when buying from a 3rd country.
Want to see the rules,
Klick here. If not relevant, just go on.
Shipment
No matter where you buy online, shipment must be paid for. Within the European Union, it is rather cheap. Otherwise, the longer the vendor from Europe, the higher the shipment cost.
An exception is Pakistan, from where shipment in general is cheaper than from UK or USA. But take a look on the websites. You might be positively surprised.
Taxes
All countries, not being part of the European Union, are considered 3rd countries which means additional cost:
Be careful with the customs duty. On a kilt, amounting to 149 EUR, approx. 160 USD, no customs duty applies. But if it is 161 Dollars, you must pay 12% duty of kilt plus of shipment. And of this, also import duty. Therefore, just one Euro or Dollar too many can cost you around 30 Euro more in taxes.
A trade agreement between the Union and UK means that customs duty never applies, provided the goods are manufactured in UK. If you from a British vendor buy a kilt and accessories, imported from Pakistan, and the value exceeds 150 Euros, customs duty must be paid.
Import duty replaces your country's VAT and is the same rate. When buying in UK, the vendor shall deduct the 20% British VAT, in order that you shall not pay it twice. Therefore, it is more or less neutral.
A customs declaration fee to be paid to the courier company always applies for goods, shipped from a 3rd country. It varies with the courier but may be up to 20 EUR, making the fee the dark horse in the calculation. Some courier companies might charge you less for small orders.
Important
Pakistani kilt manufacturers will often register companies in Europe, US etc. If you order a custom kilt or accessories from a branch within the European Union, for example Germany and France, you should avoid taxes, and sometimes you may, but according to the business model, the goods might be shipped directly to you from Pakistan. Obviously, a grey zone, for which this symbol is used:
This might also apply for Pakistani vendors with a business address in UK and USA. But in this case, shipped from Pakistan might simply mean cheaper shipment cost. If in doubt, or it seems unclear, ask the vendor. By all means, be prepared to pay taxes.
When buying your first kilt or you just want a kilt to wear in situations where an expensive wool kilt would be overkill, a ready-made kilt might be a good choice.
Ready-made means, that all you can choose is tartan and waist size. The length of the kilt shall, with very few exceptions, be 24" or 61 cm, take it or leave it. A kilt can be shortened but with five or eight yards hemline it is a bit more complicated or at least more expensive than with trousers.
1a. Ready-made kilts, sewn in Scotland.
Vendors in Scotland/UK
Lightweight kilts in pure worsted wool. Five different tartans. Length 59 cm/23 1/4"
Germany
In Germany, there are a few places where you can buy ready-made kilts, one of them being
Irish Berlin Shop/retailer
Gr. Hamburger Str. 36A, 10115 Berlin
Dienstag - Freitag 13.00 bis 19.30 Uhr
Samstag 10.00 bis 16.00
Ein sehr kleiner Laden mit einer kleinen aber guten Auswahl von Kilts, die aus Irland (O'Neil of Dublin) und Schottland stammen. Die Inhaberin, die seit über 25 Jahren das Geschäft treibt, ist sehr freundlich und hilfsbereit.
Readymade kilts typically are 8-yard kilts, sometimes 5-yard, made of PV or an acryllic fabric and 24" long and sell at £50-60. Most of them come from Pakistan, but they might also come from other Far-East low labour cost countries, as will practically all clothing today, even expensive brands, so per se it does not mean inferior quality.
That said, some might give you less value for money, if any. The problem is first of all the fabric, even if sometimes the sewing quality could also be better. Cheap PV/acrylic fabrics often peel, making in no time the kilt useless. High quality PV fabrics do not. Avoid kilts sold at £25-30.
8-yard ready-made kilt from Heritage of Scotland in Heritage of Scotland tartan. I have very good experience with kilts from Heritage of Scotland. Unfortunately, they no longer make kilts to measure.
Wanting a kilt which shall really fit you when it comes to waist and length and where you'll have a lot of tartans to choose from? Go for a custom kilt = made to your measures. It doesn't have to be that expensive - but it can be.
Clan, a major Scottish kilt vendor, earlier known as Scotweb, has a very well designed and functioning web site.
To empahsise 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. Further they have luxury 8-yard kilts, leather kilts, camouflage kilts and denim kilts in their assortment.
Paul Henry is in kilt forums renowned for his extremely well-made kilts. I have no experiences myself with Paul Henry kilts but should I one day be in the market for a kilt costing over 400 GBP, he should be the one, I should contact.
St Kilda, a Glasgow based kilt making company, is offering what might be the most affordable casual kilt, made in Scotland. Having now one of these kilts, I can say that it is a kilt, which I can highly recommend. An attractive price, combined with excellent crafmanship and high-quality PV fabric from British Marton Mills makes this kilt a Best-Buy.
St.Kilda Casual, MacKay tartan
St. Kilda Kilts also have an interesting 5-yard casual wool kilt, as well as more expensive kilts.
Hauptstraße 74
D-69242 Mühlhausen
Mo-Fr: 10:00 bis 14:00 Uhr
Kilts are made in Scotland.
Most interesting are a 6-yard PV 'Sports Kilt´ made to measure and a 4-yard box-pleated wool kilt. Very few kilt vendors offer box pleated kilts. Also, the fact that Kilts & More Europe is based in Germany means that EU-citizens shall just pay the price including German VAT. Freight within EU is favourable.
Note: Kilts & More Europe is not to be confused with Pakistani Kilt & More/Schottenrock.de!
Kilts & More Europe also has a base in Scotland, but warehouse and physical store is in Mühlhausen, Germany.
Being really light weight the Sport Kilt is just perfect in a hot climate. For informal occasions where you might otherwise feel comfortable in shorts, it is great – provided you don’t expect it to be a traditional kilt. I don’t. And it is not. It’s an unpretentious kilted garment of its own and for the mentioned purposes I can highly recommend it.
USA Kilts.com makes a very nice 4 yard kilt according to your measures, called USA Kilts Casual. Being closed by means of Velcro it is more flexible regarding waist size, and when a kilt is worn together with a wide belt no one can see that the buckles and straps are missing. The lack of metal parts also means that it shall set no alarms at airports.
And then it is washable, dries up in no time and needs very little ironing afterwards. Last not least, the USA Kilts Casual is practically indestructible.
High shipping costs from USA to Europe, customs and no VAT to deduct are the ONLY problems I have with this kilt.
USA Kilt Casual, American Heritage tartan. No kilt socks.
2e. Custom kilts, probably sewn
in and sent from Pakistan
Since some years, you can have Pakistani sewn kilts customized to YOU, in the length you wish, and made to your waist and hip size, with the fell length you might prefer and in a lot of different tartans. And to about the same price as a ready-made kilt.
Another good thing about these kilts is that they are basically 5-yard, which I think is much better for casual wear in general and especially on a hot summer day than 8-yard kilts, but should you want it 8-yard, it is possible too.
But are they good (enough)?
Yes, for most tasks, related to casual wear, the good Pakistani kilts are good enough or more than that.
However, and a bit confusing, several Pakistani kiltmakers have started to also offering kilts costing 100, 150, 200, 300 and even 400 dollars, pounds or euros and without even trying to justify these prices compared to their $/£/€ 50-70 kilts. Is the fabric better? Is it wool? Does it come from British mills? I doubt it, and at such high prices, they are no longer competitive.
The kilts are either shipped to you directly from Pakistan or from another country. Kilts ordered from American and British vendors might come from the respective countries. EU-citizens, be prepared to pay taxes on top, even if the vendor has an EU-address.
Some vendors below are Pakistani-owned and driven, some are independent, it seems.
A 5-yard Pakistani Kilt by Kilt & More, Moffat tartan, ordered in October 2021 from their German branch (EU). Price 38€, Shipping 17€, fast delivery by German UPS, and I payed no taxes and fees on top.
8-yard kilt from Champion Kilts in Hebridean Heather tartan. Overall quality is extremely good. The fabric is fine, sewing excellent, high precision in pleating. Everything is better than on any other kilt from Pakistan, I know of. High value for money. Definitely a Best Buy and Champion Kilts thus deserves my highest recommendation.
Expensive top quality kilts where innovation is based upon tradition.
According to Howie R. Nicholsby, founder and owner of 21st Century Kilts, the kilt should be an alternative to trousers and for every man to use, casual or formal:
“My aim is to give men throughout the world a realistic alternative to trousers. Pioneering the next step of its evolution, 21st Century Kilts is true to the original kilt which was everyday clothing. Casual or formal a kilt should be an option for any man from anywhere who can realize they are part of the history of an international garment."
By Clan by Scotweb you can buy some nice made-to-measure Camouflage Casual Kilts in four different patterns. Or a Denim Casual Kilt as well as a tweed kilt.
.The link gives you access to by now 27 beautiful magazines. They are in German only, but if you don't understand the language, just enjoy the pictures.
In fact, no kilt maker or vendor, I know of, does so much as Rettl when it comes to promoting the kilt and making high quality kilts become fashion.
Rettl kilts are of very high quality and come in special Rettl designed tartans or are solid coloured. Expensive. You can visit RETTL 1868 Kilts & Fashion in five Austrian cities.
Kilts or wrap skirts for men, inspired by the Scottish kilt and made to measure in the Czech Republic. This is what a Czech family-run company, Kilt Zahálka, is making. There are two models, a rather classical 4-yard lightweight kilt, and a sport kilt with less pleats to make it lighter. The kilts go into the washing machine.
Prices around 90 € for the Sport kilt, 130 € for the classic.
Tomáš Zahálka describes himself as a kilt promotor and a kilted, barefoot Marathon runner.
Unfortunately, you cannot pay with credit cards, and the site is in Czech language only, but it - as well as the videos - can be translated by Google Translate.
Despite the brand name, indicating man skirts, the people behind Sous les Jupes des Hommes are positioning their products as kilts. Neo-traditional kilts they could be called, very well-designed and should definitely have future potential.
Probably the vendor, where you shall get most value for your money - when it comes to kilt accessories. However, they might no longer be on the market.
This company sells some very nice kilt hose in the most popular colours and at very favourable prices. Highly to recommend. Distribution via Amazon means low shipment cost, and you might avoid import duty and customs declaration fee. Highly to recommend.
Having had the opportunity to try on a utility kilt from UK Expo International I must say that I'm most impressed by the sewing quality, the fabric and overall design.
UK Expo International also makes tartan kilts and kilted skirts for the ladies.
