No matter where you buy online, shipment must be paid for. Within the European Union, it is rather cheap. Otherwise, the longer the vendor from Europe, the higher the shipment cost.
An exception is Pakistan, from where shipment in general is cheaper than from UK or USA. But take a look on the websites. You might be positively surprised.
All countries, not being part of the European Union, are considered 3rd countries which means additional cost:
Be careful with the
customs duty. On a kilt, amounting to 149 EUR, approx. 160 USD, no customs duty applies. But if it is 161 Dollars, you must pay 12% duty of kilt plus of shipment. And of this, also import duty. Therefore, just one Euro or Dollar too many can cost you around 30 Euro more in taxes.
A trade agreement between the Union and UK means that customs duty never applies,
provided the goods are
manufactured in UK.
If you from a British vendor buy a kilt and accessories, imported from Pakistan, and the value exceeds 150 Euros, customs duty must be paid.
Import duty replaces your country's VAT and is the same rate. When buying in UK, the vendor shall deduct the 20% British VAT, in order that you shall not pay it twice. Therefore, it is more or less neutral.
A
customs declaration fee to be paid to the courier company always applies for goods, shipped from a 3rd country. It varies with the courier but may be up to 20 EUR, making the fee the dark horse in the calculation. Some courier companies might charge you less for small orders.
Important
Pakistani kilt manufacturers will often register companies in Europe, US etc. If you order a custom kilt or accessories from a branch within the European Union, for example Germany and France, you
should avoid taxes, and
sometimes you may, but according to the business model, the goods
might be shipped directly to you from Pakistan. Obviously, a grey zone, for which this symbol is used:
This
might also apply for Pakistani vendors with a business address in UK and USA. But in this case, shipped from Pakistan might simply mean cheaper shipment cost. If in doubt, or it seems unclear, ask the vendor. By all means, be prepared to pay taxes.
Go to contents
Ready-made kilt, Holyrood tartan.
2. Ready-made traditional kilts
When buying your first kilt or you just want a kilt to wear in situations where an expensive wool kilt would be overkill, a ready-made kilt might be a good choice.
Ready-made means, that all you can choose is tartan and waist size. The length of the kilt shall, with very few exceptions, be 24" or 61 cm, take it or leave it. A kilt can be shortened but with five or eight yards hemline it is a bit moe complicated or at least more expensive than with trousers.
2a. Ready-made kilts sewn in Scotland, vendors:
Highland Store
2-yard wool off-the-peg kilts.
Highland Store has a physical shop in London, Holborn
66 Great Russell St, London WC1B 3BN close to British Museum.
Kilts4less x-hire kilts
Go to contents
2b. Ready-made kilts sewn in Eireland, vendors:
Eireland
Readymade kilt in pure worsted wool by OND - O'Neil of Dublin. The tartan, Stewart Navy, is no longer available. I have four of these kilts.
OND - O'Neil of Dublin
Lightweight kilts in pure worsted wool. Five different tartans. Length 59 cm/23 1/4"
Germany
In Germany, there are a few places where you can buy ready-made kilts, one of them being
Irish Berlin Shop/retailer
Gr. Hamburger Str. 36A, 10115 Berlin
Dienstag - Freitag 13.00 bis 19.30 Uhr
Samstag 10.00 bis 16.00
Ein sehr kleiner Laden mit einer kleinen aber guten Auswahl von Kilts, die aus Irland (O'Neil of Dublin) und Schottland stammen. Die Inhaberin, die seit 25 Jahren das Geschäft treibt, ist sehr freundlich und hilfsbereit.
Go to contents
1c. Ready-made kilts sewn in Pakistan, vendors:
Readymade kilts typically are 8-yard kilts, sometimes 5-yard, made of PV or an acryllic fabric and 24" long and sell at £50-60.
Most of them come from Pakistan, but they might also come from other Far-East low labour cost countries, as will practically all clothing today, even expensive brands, so
per se it does not mean inferior quality.
That said,
some might give you less value for money, if any. The problem is first of all the fabric, even if sometimes the sewing quality could also be better. Cheap PV/acrylic fabrics often peel, making in no time the kilt useless. High quality PV fabrics do not.
Peeling fabric.
United Kingdom
Tartanista
Tartanista on ebay
The Scotland Kilt Company
The Scotland Kilt Company on ebay
Germany
Scottish Things
Ludwina Helfert
Hauptstr. 5c
63457 Hanau - Großauheim
Di. & Do. 14:00 - 18:00 Uhr im Laden
Auch On-Line Verkauf, aber leider nicht mit Kreditkarte.
Sweden
Scottish House Stockholm
Spain
Galician Shop
The Netherlands
Celtic Webmerchant
USA
Kiltmart
Stillwater kilts
UT-Kilts
Go to contents
Custom kilt, Caledonia tartan
3. Custom kilts
Wanting a kilt which shall really fit you when it comes to waist and length and where you'll have a lot of tartans to choose from? Go for a custom kilt = made to your measures. It doesn't have to be that expensive - but it can be.
3a. Custom kilts sewn in Scotland, vendors:
Custom kilt, Gunn Ancient tartan. The kilt is worn with an anorak.
United Kingdom
Clan, a major Scottish kilt vendor, earlier known as Scotweb, has a very well designed and functioning web site.
To empahsise is their
Essential Casual Kilt, a 5 yard kilt sewn in Scotland to your measures in UK-made high quality poly viscose.
CLAN is also selling a five yard made-to-measure
Casual kilt in pure new wool "with a contemporary lower-waisted cut" which isn't a bad thing for a kilt to be worn casually.
Further they have luxury 8-yard kilts, leather kilts, camouflage kilts and denim kilts in their assortment.
Clankilts
5-yard 10 oz. Men's Casual Kilts.
Geoffrey Tailor
Most interesting for casual or active wear might be their machine washable, made-to-measure
4x4 Sportskilt with invisible side pockets. The fabric is 12-13 oz. polyester/viscose.
You can also have a
Casual kilt made of 4 yards pure new wool.
Their prices are without British VAT.
Houston Traditional Kiltmakers
Kilts4all
Kilts4less
Kilts 4 U
Kinloch Anderson
Lochcarron of Scotland
McCalls Highlandwear
Nicolson Kiltmakers
Paul Henry Kilts, UK
Paul Henry is in kilt forums renowned for his extremely well-made kilts. I have no experiences myself with Paul Henry kilts but should I one day be in the market for a kilt costing over 400 GBP, he should be the one, I should contact.
Slanj Kilts
Go to contents