Gallery Tartan kilts

Stewart Black tartan

The tartan

A family/clan tartan according to The Register of Scottish Tartans. However, it is one of the most used tartans for a lot of things, including off-the-peg kilts, ladies' kilted skirts, furniture decoration etc.

The kilts

There are two kilts in Stewart Black tartan to see on this page, a ready-made wool kilt from Irish O’Neil of Dublin and from an American vendor a cheap custom kilt PV kilt from an American vendor, probably sewn in Pakistan.

O'Neil of Dublin 23" kilt

The kilt is a 5.5-yard lightweight wool casual kilt. O’Neil of Dublin is making kilts for men in four tartans, Stewart Royal being one of them.

The Irish made O'Neil of Dublin kilt shown in 15 pictures above is very nicely made, and the woolen tartan looks and feels good. Being only 5'9" high (176 cm) I very much appreciate this kilt being 23" long, instead of normally 24" for a ready-made kilt.

15 pictures in the gallery.

A 4-yard too short PV kilt

In 2014, I ordered the kilt from an American vendor who, back then, might have been one of first to offer cheap kilts, probably made in Pakistan, in individual lengths. I wanted mine to be to the short side and ordered it 20" or 51 cm long. That I got.

On a kilt, every inch makes a visual difference, and with a length 2½-3 inches (6-7 cm) shorter than 'correct' and fastened at your natural waist, the kilt is SHORT. Most kilt wearers, no doubt, shall say that it is not only short, but too short. And they may be absolutely right, at least for most wearing situations. But as already quoted J. Charles Thompson says: ”That may be all very well if you are going to have a kilt specially for outdoor sports, but for a general-purpose kilt…”

So, for hiking or walking out and about in the open, I think, it is ok, but otherwise, yes, too short. But by having this short kilt sit as low as possible, you can to some extent compensate, which you can see in one or two of the pictures.

However, the main problem with this, my special kilt for ‘outdoor sports', is not the length but the overall quality. Sewing is fine but the tartan does not look quite like Stewart Black. The texture of the fabric is loose and coarse and there are spots where the different colours tend to end up in black. Further it peels more than average, so don’t wear a sporran.

One more thing: the straps are really bad. Again, an example where two higher quality straps and buckles had been better than three mediocre ones.

I don’t remember the name of the vendor but I’m sure, he is not among those listed on the links pages. And, of course, the quality of his kilts could very well have been improved since then.

14 pictures in the gallery.