What kilt to buy? Purists will say that no less than a 16 oz. 8-yard wool kilt, sewn by hand by a skilled kiltmaker in Scotland or equivalent places, shall do. But are they right?

Start looking at your wardrobe. What should a kilt replace or substitute? It is about you and your money, and your possibilities for wearing a kilt.

Your kilt should fit its purpose

The kilt is a most versatile garment, which you, to a great extent, can dress up, as well as dress down, by means of accessories. However, the real all-purpose kilt does not exist. This means that having only one kilt must be a compromise, and some functions must be excluded. Now, what is worse, either having to refrain from wearing a kilt at a wedding or when being on holiday in Rome? The wedding is for some hours, Rome perhaps for a week.

Kilt wearing is for non-formal events

Formal events (black tie and white tie) are not frequent. For many men, most men, such events are too few to justify investing in an expensive garment, thus, in many cases, resulting in hiring rather than buying. This also applies to kilts, of course.
And if you, like me, and many, many other kilt wearers around the world, have no Scottish roots, it is rather unlikely that you should ever be invited to an event where formal kilt wear is an option or mandatory.
A kilt on the job instead of a business suit? Maybe for casual Fridays, but could you? Would you?

High potential for wearing a kilt are weekends and holidays, and days when you are working from your home and in the evenings.

What you need for these purposes is a kilt to replace jeans, chinos, and shorts, rather than a kilt outfit to replace evening suits and tuxes, etc. In other words, a kilt for casual and smart casual wear. That said, a kilt for smart casual wear, when complemented with the right accessories, is also perfect for the opera house, the concert hall, the theatre, and Michelin restaurants, should you wish.

A kilt must not be very expensive

Don’t automatically think that only the most expensive kilt shall do. If your jeans and chinos are all labelled Armani, Hugo Boss, and the like, it might be true – if the kilt should substitute them. However, it might truly be cheaper and non-branded shorts that your kilt should replace. For most purposes, a cheaper kilt, therefore, will do.

Don't believe that an expensive kilt is more 'manly' than a cheaper one, or that a cheap kilt is not considered a kilt.

For people seeing you in a kilt, their first thought is not whether your kilt is cheap or expensive. It is the fact that you are wearing a kilt. Probably, this is their only thought.

Most people, outside Scottish environments, have only seen a kilt in pictures or on TV. How should they know details, differences in fabric, etc? They will connect a kilt with tartans and perhaps pleats. Point.

Dress to impress?

No doubt, you know the expression, dress to impress. But better than investing in that extremely expensive kilt, think about other possibilities. Only very few connoisseurs, whom you, after all, shall never meet, shall be able to give you credit for this Rolls-Royce of a kilt.
In this respect, shirts with a logo, such as Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, and Tommy Hilfiger, will do a better job than an expensive kilt. So will watches like Rolex, Philippe Patek, TAG Heuer, and Omega. Wearing them makes your thrifty kilt look like a million. The world asks to be fooled.
By the way, the newest iPhone makes it only 14 days, then everybody has one.

How should your kilt be made?

A skilled, experienced kiltmaker who does every single stitch by hand can make a kilt a work of art. It takes hours after hours. No wonder that such a kilt has its price.
That said, a skilled, experienced kiltmaker, primarily using the machine, can make very, very nice kilts, too.
Even a woman with her skills only coming from making kilts day in, day out, perhaps in a factory in Sialkot, Pakistan, might be able to produce kilts as if by magic, especially if she was given just a little bit more time than when making the cheapest of kilts. It is called learning by doing.
I have been wearing kilts for almost 30 years now. Except for arranged get-togethers with other kilt enthusiasts, I might have seen other men in kilts fewer than 20 times, and only from a distance, making it unclear whether their kilts were expensive or less so. Besides, I couldn’t care less. The important thing for me was and is seeing another man in a kilt.

Are 8 yards preferable over 5 yards or less? And 16 oz. over 13 oz. or less

If you want the ‘tank’. Yes. The kilt with the correct swing, as they say. But less will do and might often be better, depending on the context in which you shall wear it. In my opinion, eight yards of fabric around me, even if lightweight, is quite a bit. I'll say 5 yards for me; 4 or 3 yards being ok too.
A 16-oz kilt is fine on a cold day or at a dress-up event. Formal clothes have never been comfortable, but that is the way it is.
When the temperature exceeds 5°C/41°F, a 13-oz kilt feels much more comfortable – to me. At 25°C/77°F, I think an 11 oz. one is better, or even an 8 oz.

Wool or PV?

Wool, no doubt, is the best-looking fabric. A minus is that a wool kilt cannot be washed; it must be dry-cleaned. It is warmer in the winter – and in the summer - than PV.
PV is available in different qualities. Some cheap fabrics peel, whereas others, especially those from British mills like Marton Mills, are fine and make excellent kilts for casual and smart casual wear, and even heavy rain is no problem. After getting wet, they will dry quickly without needing much aftercare, if any.

Ready-made or made-to-your-measures?

Until about ten years ago, cheaper kilts would be off-the-peg. They would come in four to five different waist sizes, in 7-8 different tartans, and in a standardised 24" or 61 cm length. They were typically made in Pakistan or China and sold by kilt shops in North America and Europe, especially in Scotland.

Today, even cheap kilts can be made to measure. You order your kilt from suppliers in the USA, UK, France, and Germany, and it is typically sewn in Sialkot, Pakistan, and shipped directly to you. The system functions, and your kilt is hardly more expensive than a ready-made one. Ready-made kilts are still available.

Kilts, sewn in Europe or America, are, with a few exceptions, always made to your measures.

The price is not just the price

Shipment

Unless you live close to the kilt maker or seller, you will likely order your kilt online. Accordingly, the shipment must be paid for, and this can be expensive. Therefore, check the vendor's websites for information or ask.
In general, within your own country, it is cheap; within the European Union, it is relatively inexpensive; from the UK (Scotland) to an EU country, it is more expensive; from far-away Pakistan to Europe, rather cheap, whereas from the US to Europe, it is the most expensive, but there are exceptions. Therefore, check.

Taxes

Borders often mean additional cost, and kilts are no exception. Check the conditions for your country.

For EU citizens, customs duty, import duty, and a customs declaration fee apply when buying from a country outside the Union.
Want to see the rules, klick here. Otherwise, just go on.

Your first kilt and where to buy it?

Go to the next page and find advice.