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Kilt wearing advice and kilt sources

Started by groomporter, May 17, 2008, 08:34:38 PM

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Nighthawk

Quote from: groomporter on July 30, 2009, 08:59:44 PM
The Stillwater Kilts' black and dark charcoal "Nightstalker" tartan might be an interesting compromise if he wants something more subtle than a regular tartan, like a solid color, but cheaper than a utilikilt at $80.


I see Stillwater now has a solid black option now for only $52 in their economy kilt line.


Don't get the acrylic!! It doesn't breathe worth a damn and it pills HORRIBLY around the sporran strap! Oh, and it burns- voraciously! I know this all from experience... I own 2 and a HALF Stillwater acrylics. Their wool heavyweights, on the other hand, are excellent value for the money. I have 2 and wear them regularly.

Nighthawk

This thread deserves a bump! There's a ton of brilliant information in it!

Seaman Blurt

When attending Ren faire what tartan should you choose? Ancient, Modern, Hunter, muted?

groomporter

If you want more accuracy, something in "ancient" or muted colors would probably be best. The original kilt -the belted plaid, was basically peasants' clothing, so was more likely to have muted home-spun colors than the richly dyed fabric of the wealthy.
When you die can you donate your body to pseudo-science?

Zardoz

Just a warning  ;D ,   I see that Renniassance Magazine is planning another article on kilt wearing for their next issue. The last one they did was a rehash of popular fictitious myths, legends, and old wive's tales about kilts and tartan. Lets hope the "facts' in this one will be a little better! 
"Pants are for guys with ugly legs"
Member of Clan McLotofus,
IBRSC# 1619,
As seen in Renaissance Magazine

Zoë

#140
I know this might be a bit of a long shot, but does anyone know of a place that will rent kilts that also has a fairly decent selection of tartans? I've been poking around and although some of the rental sites have great prices for the formal packages, none of them have the tartan I'm looking for.

-or-

Does anyone know of a resource for finding if my family tartan had an alternate or fell under another clan perhaps?
Capitaine Zoë D'Arcachon
Elizabeth Covington
Fritzie the Fairy

groomporter

When you die can you donate your body to pseudo-science?

Zoë

I did. And while they seem to have the best rental prices/packages I've seen so far, they don't have the right tartan. Unless we can contact them and ask if they'll get it for us. Or we can find one that's really close.
Capitaine Zoë D'Arcachon
Elizabeth Covington
Fritzie the Fairy

Zardoz

Quote from: Zoë on October 03, 2011, 10:40:52 AM

Does anyone know of a resource for finding if my family tartan had an alternate or fell under another clan perhaps?

What tartan are we talking about??
"Pants are for guys with ugly legs"
Member of Clan McLotofus,
IBRSC# 1619,
As seen in Renaissance Magazine

Zoë

The tartan we're looking for is Bruce. So far we've located one website (kiltrentalusa.com?) that has it on a "limited" basis, so it's possible we might find it there. More than likely we'll end up going through Celtic Croft and get one that looks very similar or go for an All-Scotland tartan.
Capitaine Zoë D'Arcachon
Elizabeth Covington
Fritzie the Fairy

Zardoz

Well, I did a little digging, and Kilt rental USA does look about like the best bet to rent a Bruce tartan.

Forgive me being nosey, but what's the occasion for this? If there isn't a time crunch, and depending on what you want to invest, you could get a kilt made in your tartan.
"Pants are for guys with ugly legs"
Member of Clan McLotofus,
IBRSC# 1619,
As seen in Renaissance Magazine

Zoë

It's for my wedding. The groom and his party are going to wear their family tartan since we are going for a traditional Celtic feel. It's about a year away, so there's no rush in particular, but we are trying to be as cost-effective as possible since we need 5 of them. Renting just seems like a better option since these kilts will more than likely never be worn again, and renting the entire package gives us all the formal wear they'll need as opposed to just buying the kilt alone.
Capitaine Zoë D'Arcachon
Elizabeth Covington
Fritzie the Fairy

Zardoz

#147
OK Guys,

There are a lot of folks wearing kilts to faire these days, and for what it's worth I think that's really great, because I'll bet a percentage of people who get a kilt for faire garb may end up liking it enough to start wearing their kilt for stuff besides faire.

That being said, I saw some basic newbie "mistakes" in just the last two weekends at TRF that I think are worth mentioning. I would not bring it up if I had not seen more than a few examples of them in just a couple of days.

1. The pleats go in back! I know this may seem counterintuitive to some, sitting on the pleats etc.. but thats the way it is. Pleats in back, flat apron in front, buckles on the sides.  I saw at least 4 or 5 guys with their kilts on backwards, and at least one fellow with it on 'sideways' (right hand buckles in front) who also still had the basting stitches in. (see #2)

( a little side note here; if your "kilt" has pleats all the way around, it's likely not a kilt, and looks like more of a 'lifestyle choice')

2. Remove the basting!  If your new kilt comes with some rows of loose stitching across the pleats, these are the temporary 'basting stitches' put in to stablize the pleats during manufacture and shipping. It's cool to leave them in to try it for size etc.. as many vendors won't do an exchange without them, but they need to come out and free up the pleats before you wear the thing out of the house! Not only do they look bad, but they might actually damage your kilt.

3. Sitting down. There's a little technique to this, we call it "sweeping the pleats" done right you will keep your butt off the bench, the pleats smoother, and won't be sitting on a big wad of kilt  Practice this at home a little. I'd say get a girl to show you, but it seems many have never worn skirts these days.

4. Avoid the white socks! This is more of a pet peeve with me, but the white hose look so generic and plain. If you like them, ok, But they make kilt hose in all kinds of colors, find some that coordinate with a color in your kilt.


Happy kilting !  ;D


"Pants are for guys with ugly legs"
Member of Clan McLotofus,
IBRSC# 1619,
As seen in Renaissance Magazine

groomporter

Here, here!!
We've caught quite a number of guys at MNRF wearing their kilts backwards in the last couple years, even 3 at a reenactment we attend, and a couple who had not removed the white basting stitch from a round the bottom. We also had a guy wearing a "Got Kilt?" T-shirt with basically a table cloth around his waist not even an attempt at pleats.

This isn't meant to be snooty, just trying to save newbies embarrassment...
When you die can you donate your body to pseudo-science?

iain robb

Reminds me of the wee lad I saw at a Highland games. His rambunctious ramblings had resulted in his kilt being turned sideways, so the pleats were on the right and the apron was on the left.

His mom called him over, grasped the kilt at the waist and turned it 90 degrees ... so the pleats were in front and the apron in the back. Right there, amid dozens if not hundreds of (mostly) properly kilted men. (We won't talk about the guy is the really mini minikilt.)

I was about to go over and politely mention the problem, when I realized the lad was not wearing a kilt. The opening was on the wrong side. She'd put her son in a skirt, and then put it on him backwards. I decided that if she could put a girl's skirt on her son, backwards, in the face of all the correct examples around her, I probably wasn't going to make an impact on her.

Lads, no matter what Mom says, the kilt opens on your right, and a kilted skirt opens on the left, and the pleats go in back.