0. Contents
1. Buying online - EU-Citizens
All countries, not being part of the European Union, are considered 3rd countries which means additional cost:
1. 12% customs duty - if the value is exeeding 149 Euro (or the equivalent in other currencies within the Unionn), and then calculated of price of goods plus shipment cost.
2. Import duty = your country's VAT rate.
3. A customs declaration fee to be paid to the courier company. It varies with the courier but may be up to 20 EUR, making the fee the dark horse in the calculation. For example, it also applies if you buy a cheap pair of kilt socks, costing no more than 14 GBP!
Exception:
A trade agreement between the Union and UK means that customs duty never applies,
provided the goods are
manufactured in UK.
The flags, used below, relate to the vendor's (groups of vendors') business address = from where the goods are shipped - but with reservations.
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. If in doubt or it seems unclear, ask the vendor. By all means, be prepared to pay taxes.
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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:
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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
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2b. Ready-made kilts sewn in Eireland, vendors:
Eireland
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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Custom kilts sewn in Scotland, continued.
St Kilda Kilts
St Kilda, a Glasgow based kilt making company, is offering what might be the most affordable
casual kilt, made in Scotland. Having now one of these kilts, I can say that it is a kilt, which I can highly recommend. An attractive price, combined with excellent crafmanship and high-quality PV fabric from British Marton Mills makes this kilt a 2024 Best-Buy.
St.Kilda Casual, MacKay tartan
St. Kilda Kilts also have an interesting
5-yard casual wool kilt, as well as more expensive kilts.
Germany
Kilts & More Europe
Mühlhausen bei Heidelberg
Hauptstraße 74
D-69242 Mühlhausen
Mo-Fr: 10:00 bis 14:00 Uhr
Kilts are made in Scotland.
Most interesting are a 6-yard PV
'Sports Kilt´ made to measure and a 4-yard
box-pleatedwool kilt. Very few kilt vendors offer box pleated kilts. Also, the fact that Kilts & More Europe is based in Germany means that EU-citizens shall just pay the price including German VAT. Freight within EU is favourable.
Note: Kilts & More Europe is not to be confused with Pakistani Kilt & More/Schottenrock.de!
Kilts & More Europe also has a base in Scotland, but warehouse and physical store is in Mühlhausen, Germany.
The Netherlands
The World of ScotlandKilts are sewn in Scotland.
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3b. Custom kilts sewn in Austria
Austria
Austrian tartan kilts and fashion.
Don't miss the .The link gives you access to by now 20 beautiful magazines. They are in German only, but if you don't understand the language, just enjoy the pictures.
In fact, no kilt maker or vendor I know of does so much as Rettl when it comes to promoting the kilt and making high quality kilts become fashion.
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3c. Custom kilts sewn in France
France
Lady Chrystel Kilts
Lady Chrystel is a specialist in making box pleated, double box pleated and kingussie pleated kilts.
3d. Custom kilts sewn in Canada
Canada
Burnett's & Struth
MacIsaac Kiltmakers
Tartantown
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3e. Custom kilts sewn in USA
USA
Alexis Malcolm Kilts
Barb Tewksbury
Barb Tewksbury is not only a professor of geoscienties, but also a well-known kiltmaker and author of the book
The Art of Kiltmaking.
J. Higgins
Kathy Lare
Kiltshop.com
Being really light weight the Sport Kilt is just perfect in a hot climate. For informal occasions where you might otherwise feel comfortable in shorts, it is great – provided you don’t expect it to be a traditional kilt. I don’t. And it is not. It’s an unpretentious kilted garment of its own and for the mentioned purposes I can highly recommend it.
Sport Kilt, Loch Ness tartan.
The Celtic Croft
The Scottish Lion
USA Kilts.com makes a very nice 4 yard kilt according to your measures, called USA Kilts Casual. Being closed by means of Velcro it is more flexible regarding waist size, and when a kilt is worn together with a wide belt no one can see that the buckles and straps are missing. The lack of metal parts also means that it shall set no alarms at airports.
And then it is washable, dries up in no time and needs very little ironing afterwards. Last not least, the USA Kilts Casual is practically indestructible.
High shipping costs from USA to Europe, customs and no VAT to deduct are the ONLY problems I have with this kilt.
USA Kilt Casual, American Heritage tartan. No kilt socks.
USA Kilt Casual, American Heritage tartan. White kilt socks go with most tartans.
Interesting web-site. Prices seem attractive, and qualty good. UT Kilts operates with cheaper shipment to Europe than other American kilt shops (FedEx).
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3f. Custom kilts, probably sewn in Pakistan
Pakistani kilts used to be ready-made and many still are. Accordingly, they would not fit all men wanting to wear a kilt, those then having no other choice than having their kilt custom made – in Scotland or Canada or USA.
But since some years, you can also have Pakistani sewn kilts customized to YOU, in the length you wish, and made to your waist and hip size, with the fell length you might prefer and in a lot of different tartans. And to about the same price as a ready-made kilt. The idea is brilliant. No need for neither manufacturer nor vendor to invest in inventory or worry about the best mix of kilts in ten different tartans and six sizes. Also, production to order is good for environment. And you, the customer, shall get a kilt to really fit you.
Another good thing about these kilts is that they are basically 5-yard, which I think is much better for casual wear in general and especially on a hot summer day than 8-yard kilts, but should you want it 8-yard, it is possible too.
But are they good (enough)?
Yes, for most tasks, related to casual wear, the good Pakistani kilts are good enough or more than that.
However, and a bit confusing, several Pakistani kiltmakers have started to also offering kilts costing 100, 150, 200, 300 and even 400 dollars, pounds or euros and without even trying to justify these prices compared to their $/£/€ 50-70 kilts. Is the fabric better? Is it wool? Does it come from British mills? I doubt it, and at such high prices, they are no longer competitive. As can a Skoda never sell at the same price as an identically sized Mercedes-Benz.
The kilts are either shipped to you directly from Pakistan or from another country. Especially kilts ordered from American and British vendors might come from the respective countries. For EU-citizens, it is of no importance. Unless from an EU-country, calculate with taxes. If made in Pakistan, UK is just another 3rd country in relation to the European Union.
Some vendors below are Pakistani-owned and driven, some are independent.
Germany
A 5-yard Pakistani Kilt by Kilt & More, Moffat tartan, ordered in October 2021 from their German branch (EU). Price 38€, Shipping 17€, fast delivery by German UPS, and I payed no taxes and fees on top.
Today this kilt is 50€, but kilt prices in general have increased. However, it took me to find it again on their website, which is in a mix of English, German, and Duch languages.
I very much like the tartan. Measures are as ordered. Sewing quality has proven to be very good. Pleating is fairly accurate, without being perfect. Important: Tartan quality seems to be better than average for ‘affordable’ kilts. And it is not too heavy weight.
From a normal distance between people no one shall observe the few flaws in pleating, and should they, are all things in their own life, car, home etc. perfect?
Would I order another kilt from Kilt and More/Schottenrock.com.de? Yes, definitely. If you want a good, cheap kilt, I can recommend this vendor.
France
Scottish Kilts
United Kingdom
Clan Kilt.co.uk
Euro Kilt
Kilt Experts You decide waist and length.
Tartan Kilt Co UK
UK Kilts
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Custom kilts sewn in Pakistan, continued.
USA
Champion Kilts
8-yard kilt from
Champion Kilts in Hebridean Heather tartan. Overall quality is extremely good. The fabric is fine, sewing excellent, high precision in pleating. Everything is better than on any other kilt from Pakistan, I know of. High value for money. Definitely a Best Buy and Champion Kilts thus deserves my highest recommendation.
Cheap Kilt
Fashion Kilt
Kiltailor
Kilt & Jacks
Kilt Experts You decide waist and length.
Kilts Shop
Liberty Kilts
Royal Kilt
Scottish Kilts
The Kilts Company
UT Kiltstore Not to be confused with UT Kilts.com
Pakistan
Kilt and Sporrans
Kilt Master
Prime Kilts
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Pleats only at the sides, none on tha back of the kilt. 4-yard, wool, Elliott tartan.
4. Neo-traditional kilts
Solid coloured, patterns instead of tartans, other fabrics, or by design deviating from the traditional kilt.
United Kingdom
Expensive top quality kilts where innovation is based upon tradition.
According to
Howie R. Nicholsby, founder and owner of 21st Century Kilts, the kilt should be an alternative to trousers and for every man to use, casual or formal:
“My aim is to give men throughout the world a realistic alternative to trousers. Pioneering the next step of its evolution, 21st Century Kilts is true to the original kilt which was everyday clothing. Casual or formal a kilt should be an option for any man from anywhere who can realize they are part of the history of an international garment."
Paul Henry can not only make you a traditional tartan kilt sewn by hand but also kilts in tweed, linen, denim and cotton.
By Clan by Scotweb you can buy some nice made-to-measure
Camouflage Casual Kilts in four different patterns. Or a
Denim Casual Kilt as well as a
tweed kilt.
France
Despite the brand name, indicating man skirts, the people behind Sous les Jupes des Hommes are positioning their products as kilts. Neo-traditional kilts they could be called, very well-designed and should definitely have future potential.
Lithunia
Linen Wedding Dress
A company making handcrafted wedding dresses in linen, but on top of that also men's made-to-measure kilts in the same fabric. They are not traditional kilts, but what you might call a new take on kilt design. Made by hand in Lithunia.
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Leather sporran in tan
5. Accessories
Most kilt vendors will also sell you all kinds of accessories to go with your kilt, like sporrans, belts, buckles, kilt pins, garter flashes, and kilt hose.
One of them is
Probably the vendor, where you shall get the most for your money - when it cones to kilt accessories.
But you'll also find enterprises specializing in accessories.
Sporrans, belts & buckles
Day wear leather sporran.
Belt and buckle.
Centaur Design UK
Morrison Sporrans UK
Kilt hose/socks
Kilt hose by W. Brewin & Co.Belt and buckle.
This company sells some very nice kilt hose at very favourable prices and in several colours. Highly to recommend. Distribution via Amazon means low shipment cost, and you
might avoid import duty and customs declaration fee.
Under your kilt
Should you feel tempted to go commando but are also concerned about hygienic aspects, the solution is wearing kind of "under kilt" or half slip, which - when worn under a kilt - is called a kilt liner.
Kilt liners are to have from
Activ Skin / G. Liebermann & Sons and come in two models:
Black nylon tricot
Sheer black nylon
The Black nylon tricot is opaque, the Sheer black nylon is 'see through'. Whether the last one is closer to going commando is not to say.
Webmaster's opinion
If it is ok with you that it is opaque, you might, instead of an authorized kilt liner, go with a
skater skirt, sometimes called a
circular skirt. It makes the perfect, roomy kilt liner or kilt protector. But you have to find it in women's stores. Or order it online. You could, of course, also just look for a short half slip.
If it is OK with you to wear something from the women's section, a skater skirt under your kilt makes a perfect kilt protector.
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Utility kilt made by UK Expo International. The company operates on the B2B market, making kilts and other high land equipment.
6. B2B
Business to business
Thinking of making kilts a business?
Pakistan
Having had the opportunity to try on a utility kilt from UK Expo International I must say that I'm most impressed by the sewing quality, the fabric and overall design.
UK Expo International also makes tartan kilts and kilted skirts for the ladies.
Greenland Pipe Co,
Thistle Rose Enterprises
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Buchanan tartan
7. Tartan mills
D.C. Dalgleish
House of Edgar
Lochcarron
Marton Mills
Strathmore Woollen Co.
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Holyrood tartan
8. Tartan finders
House of Tartan
The Scottish Register of Tartans
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