Advice for Kilt Wearers

A Kilt is basically a pleated, wrapped skirt. The back half of the kilt is pleated, the front half is the made of two overlapping panels. A true kilt is completely handmade. The tartan kilt has been the most famous cultural tradition of Scotland. The first tartans were designed by individual weavers and later adapted to identify individual districts and then clans and families. The plaid now has become more of a fashion garment for the elite. The precise manufacturing and replication made possible by the industrial revolution has allowed the mass production of the plaid. The modern tailored kilt is box-pleated or knife-pleated, with the pleats sewn in and the lower edges reaching not lower than the centre of the knee-cap. The kilt is traditionally for men only, although in the modern era, women have also taken up the kilt as well as dresses patterned after kilts. Girls wear Kilten skirts. Scottish kilts, tartans, highland wear; kilt hire and kilt accessories are available on sale from various scottish retailers and manufacturers. Around the turn of the last century, several companies--including Utilikilts, Twenty-First Century Kilts, and Pittsburgh Kilts--began producing garments that are often not tartan, and referring to their products as kilts. Beware! Scottish kilts are not Scottish any more. The BBC reported on December 1st, 2005 "Companies which imply tartan products made in India are the product of Scotland could face tougher sanctions. The Department of Trade of Scotland has agreed to conduct an investigation into concerns raised by Scottish tartan manufacturers about unfair trading practices." So you must be clear whether kilts, which you purchase, are made in Scotland. Particularly for a product like tartan, you need to have confidence that you are buying genuine Scottish made goods.