Kilts

I posted a pic on the "Bagpipers" thread wearing a Black Watch box pleat Matt Newsome kilt. This is my MacRae "tank" made by Ada Langley.

PADDY said:

Correct, the photo is inverted as it was on a camera phone self timer. The tartan is the oldest recorded known and is known as Border tartan or Shepherds tartan & is the official tartan of Northumberland on the Scottish Borders. Due to a fragment found in a clay pot near Hadrians Wall dated to around 60 AD, we know it dates to at least the Roman period but likely is earlier.
The simplest of tartan weaves using only black and white.

Click to expand...

Ahhh - I'm ashamed I missed that inversion...That Border tartan is just beautiful.

Some marvellous kilts and tartans being showcased Gent's!

From last year when I was working in Scotland (this was my every day functional work uniform).

PADDY said:

From last year when I was working in Scotland (this was my every day functional work uniform).

Click to expand...

Nice. Hunting Stewart?

Attached: me in full rig at the 2018 Chap Olympiad. The tartan is a generic, variously known as 'Pride of Scotland' or 'Heritage of Scotland'. I have my eye now on Scots National and Irish National tartan kilts. I'm also taken with the idea of a Wallace kilt (one of my family lineages is Blair; a John Blair, one of the earlies recorded uses of the name, served as chaplain to William Wallace - though I can claim no direct lineage, as our records don't go back that far, and Blair was a geographic name in origin). Recently managed to trace the McCaws (who seem to have no tartan of their own) as a sept of Clan Macfarlane, so there's another one I fancy there, though like the Blair and Davidson, it'll have to be a big money purchase as you don't tend to see those in the 'budget kilt' selections.

Wore my kilt to a graduation ceremony for this first time last month; very positive reaction. I think I might well wear one to the office on a regular basis if we hit as warm a Summer as last year too. For something that can help keep in the warmth well in the Winter, they're surprisingly cool in Summer too.

My son was married in one, tartan was closest he could find to the family specification. He also
wears a "Work" kilt, kind of a HD canvas item in solid dark tan.

A good option for buying kilts on the cheap that many of you may not know about...

In Scotland, most kilt hire shops will sell off stock after the wedding season is over. So from around October/November time. While you won't be able to get something made to measure (and you'll probably want to get them dry cleaned... us Scots live by our reputation), provided you have your measurements it's easy to drop a few of the good ones an email to see what they can sort you out with. I think you can usually pick something almost new for around $2/300 US.

Just bought a "utility" kilt off Ebay. Khaki canvas with two cargo pockets. Looking forward to some pants free hiking. I know it's not traditional, but being an Englishman by blood, I don't have much opportunity to wear a proper kilt.

C.

hancockva said:

A good option for buying kilts on the cheap that many of you may not know about...

In Scotland, most kilt hire shops will sell off stock after the wedding season is over. So from around October/November time. While you won't be able to get something made to measure (and you'll probably want to get them dry cleaned... us Scots live by our reputation), provided you have your measurements it's easy to drop a few of the good ones an email to see what they can sort you out with. I think you can usually pick something almost new for around $2/300 US.

Click to expand...

There was one supplier a couple of months ago auctioned off a whole bunch of new, many unworn, kilts that they'd bought for wedding hire - 16oz wool (typically only military kilts are heavier), 8 yards, properly pleated.... They were in one of the newer tartans that just wasn't popular. I hesitated as I'm losing weight, and then my size was gone. Definitely worth looking for ex-hire everything, though. My evening wear is ex-hire, and along with my (granted, acrylic) kilt, I put the entire outfit, including shoes, together for around GBP150. Now I've worn it more than twice, when you consider hire fees it's basically free.