Tag: kilt

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Highlandwear

How to wear a kilt

Kilts for Hire stock a large and comprehensive range of kilts for you to hire. But as well as hiring out kilts, we would love to show those of you who are new to this type of Scottish attire, the answer to a question we get asked all the time – “can you show me how to wear a kilt properly?”

Putting on your socks , flashes & Sgian Dubh:

Firstly, when putting on your socks, ensure the ribs of the socks are straight , check the socks are sitting at the same height. Socks should be sitting just below the knee , about 3-4 inches below the kilt. The flashes go under the fold of your socks , sitting on the side of outer calf muscle. Having the sock fold just over the elastic of the flashes.

The Sgian Dubh goes inside your sock and is placed on the outer calf of your leg , this is commonly worn on the right leg but if you’re naturally left handed it would go on the left leg. The Sgian Dubh should be tucked in the sock about half way.

Lacing your Ghillie Brogues:

The best way to tie the laces is to cross the laces over and twist round 3 times. Hold the laces firmly at the ankle & wrap the laces round the back and round to the front tying in a bow to finish. If your laces are slipping you can try tying them slightly lower to prevent laces from falling.

Putting on your shirt:

Moving onto the shirt , ensure your shirt is ironed to prevent any creasing and also put your cufflinks on when putting the shirt on.

How to wear a kilt pin:

So how do you wear a kilt pin? The kilt pin goes on the front apron of the kilt, just in the bottom left hand corner about 2 inches in from the fringe and sitting 2 inches above the bottom of the kilt. The kilt pin only goes through the front apron. The kilt pin should not pin both the aprons together; this will result in the kilt not sitting properly. The purpose of a kilt pin is to weigh down the front apron of your kilt to prevent it from being blown up in the wind. Kilt pins are made from metal for this reason.

Putting a kilt on properly:

To put the kilt on , locate your inside apron (apron without the fringe), holding the inner apron against your natural waist, wrap the kilt round the back of waist and buckle the inside buckle. Continue to wrap the front apron of the kilt round the front of your waist and buckle your kilt closed. The kilt should sit high and snug on your natural waist , you can use your belly button as a guide on roughly on where the kilt should sit , the kilt rests gently on your hip bone. check the kilt is centred and use the centre line (if there is one) to guide you , pleats should sit at the back of the kilt with the buckles on your sides. When looking in the mirror the kilt should be straight and balanced holding an A shape, with the kilt bottom edge sitting in the middle of the knee.

Putting on your sporran and chain straps:

Starting off , you should clip the chain straps to the back of the sporran . Gently hold the sporran below the kilt waist and loop the chain straps through the belt loops and fasten in the back. This may be easier with a helping hand to hold the sporran while fastening. The sporran should be centred with the kilt and resting about 4/5 inches below the top of the kilt.

Putting on your belt and buckle:

The belt and buckle sit on top of the change straps at the back of the kilt, ensuring the belt buckle is fastened to the centre and sits 1/2 inches above the sporran.

Putting on your waistcoat and jacket:

Start by putting on the waistcoat and buttoning it , you can adjust the waist coat at the back. Followed up by putting on your jacket this is commonly left unbuttoned, ensuring the jacket is sitting straight and comfortably with everything including the buttons , tie , sporran , belt buckle & kilt and are sitting in a straight line. If you’re wearing a shoulder plaid you will want to fasten it with a plaid brooch only to the left jacket lapel. Complete the outfit with your bow , ruche or standard tie.

And there you go , you’ve successfully put on your kilt outfit like a professional. Well done!

We still recommend you do a trial run the night before or a few days before the event for some practice getting everything on.

How to wear your kilt casually:

When we look at how to wear a kilt casually, you may have seen people wearing kilts in an informal manner , Kilts can be seen in public settings , such as football games. When worn casually, kilts typically shouldn’t be worn with all the accessories for more leisure wear. It’s important to know how to wear a kilt in certain scenarios. Kilts can be styled with chunky boots or trainers and worn with jumpers , t-shirts , football shirts, Jacobite shirts & more.

For any additional information or guidance on how to wear a kilt or even how to wear a kilt casually, or for information on tartans , brochures or our buy collections please visit : www.kiltmakers.com or to view our hire range visit: www.kiltsforhire.com, You can also contact us via phone at 0141 889 4879 or email us at shop@kiltmakers.com.

Categories
Highlandwear

September Round-UP

As September draws to a close we are sharing some of our Highlights from the busy summer we have had as well as a message from our very busy Social Media Manager.

Prepare to be Wowed 

We recently made a very unique kilt outfit for Kris who celebrated his marriage to Tertulien in LA…
Working closely with Tertulien he had a vision of how the outfit should look, traditional but with a very contemporary twist and I think you’ll agree the end result is spectacular.
Villa Bologna in Malta was the beautiful venue for Mr & Mrs MacDonald’s Wedding…the groom wore Ancient MacDonald with a Silver Tweed and antique accessories but I think we know who stole the show!
Now a Message from our Social Media Manager…
Toby’s Paws for Thought

“I have been working my paws to bone to over the last few months to keep our socials upto date of all the exciting things we have worked on and our beautiful customer photographs.”
 
“I wanna see more of these stunning outfits we have created with you, please send them to myself at toby@kiltmakers.com, I can’t wait to see them.”

Categories
Highlandwear Made In Scotland Special Weave Tartans Weaving

Kilt Buying Guide – 3 Simple Steps to Buying a Kilt

Buying a Kilt can seem like a complicated process, but it is really quite straight forward. This guide will take you through the process step-by-step.

About our Kilts

All our Kilts are Made in Scotland. Our Kilts can be cut for growth so through time if you lose or gain weight your Kilt can be altered accordingly, ensuring your kilt lasts a lifetime.

All our Houston’s Own 16oz Heavyweight ranges K23b & K24 are Teflon Coated to Stain-Proof your Kilt from spillages, even Beer!

Time Scale and Price

Generally it takes 4 to 8 weeks to make kilt if the cloth is in stock, however we do offer an express service for delivery in 2 weeks at an additional cost of £50.

We recommend you start the process as soon as possible – if the cloth is out of stock at the mill it can take up to 4 to 6 months before it is rewoven.

The cost of a Kilt depends on your chosen Tartan, its rarity and your Kilt finish. Buying a full outfit as a Kilt Pack gives you an overall discount of 10%. Kilts start from £288 (£240 Tax-Free), and Kilt Packs from £620 (£517 Tax-Free).

Step 1 – Choosing Your Tartan

On our website, Kiltmakers.com you can browse through EVERY TARTAN, clan histories and clan crests using our Tartan Finder. Search through Sept names and Tartans anyone can wear!

The most common method of choosing a tartan is to pick one with links to your family name. For instance, if your surname is ‘MacDonald’, you could start by searching for all the ‘MacDonald’ tartans, and picking the design you like the most.

While you are searching you may notice that you find several variation of a tartan, such as Ancient, Modern, Hunting, Dress or Weathered. These colour variations are explained here.

In cases where a name does not have a direct match for a clan tartan, they might have a Sept match. Septs are surnames that, while not having their own clan, are associated with a clan. For example, instances of the name Reid can be associated with clan Robertson. Members of the Reid family should therefore wear Robertson tartan. Our Tartan Finder will bring up Sept matches to names, making it easy to find the tartan for you.

Along with clan tartans, there is a wide range of regional and district tartans. Example include tartans for each Irish County, American National Tartan, German Heritage, Irish National, Cornish National and so on. Even if your name doesn’t link with a tartan, a regional tartan could be a fine choice.

There is a wide range of ‘Fashion’ tartans, which can be worn by anyone. These are usually modern designs, though there are some blends of more traditional colour palettes. Houston’s exclusive Bute Heather range is an example of these tartans.

If you can’t find the perfect tartan from the selection available, why not have your own custom tartan specially woven? Houston’s owner Ken MacDonald is a renowned tartan designer and we can take you right though the process from designing the tartan to having it registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans and woven for you.

Step 2 – Choosing your Cloth Weight and Mille

Now that you have selected your tartan design, kilts come as standard in 8 yards (7.4m). Tartan fabric tends to come in 3 weights: Light (11oz), Medium (13oz) and Heavy (16/17oz). For a kilt we recommend a 16 oz Heavyweight cloth as the pleats sit and swings better, making you look a million dollars.

A Heavyweight cloth is NOT any warmer than a medium or light weight kilt – it is the weight of the jacket which builds up the heat.

You will notice the ‘Stain-Proofed’ tag on many of our tartans – these tartans have a special Teflon Coating which means you don’t have to worry about spills!

We are the only kilt shop to stock a 100% Fine Wool Super Lightweight. The custom cut of the jacket has been perfected over 20 years to give the best fit and each jacket has a stain proof coating.

Step 3 – Selecting your Kilt Finish

Kilt Finishes Explained - Explained

At Houston’s we offer a selection of different kilt finish across a range of prices. Our range of Kilt finishes are explained in more detail here: Kilt Finishes Explained

We recommend Kilt Finish No. 6 – Super Machine Understitched Kilt. It is made to the  same quality that we make Kilts for the MOD (Ministry of Defense) and all army kilts we make.

Additional Information

Upgrade to a full Kilt Packs, starting from £620 or £517 tax free. On all kilt packs over £600 you get a FREE shirt and tie value £60

Can’t make it to the shop? Our Self-Measurement guides and Videos on taking measurements will help you to get the perfect sizes.

We ship in the UK using Interlink Express and Worldwide using DHL. All orders are fully insured and tracked. Orders out with the EU receive TAX-FREE prices!

 
Hire & Buy Option

Why not take advantage of our Hire & Buy scheme, where you can buy a Kilt in ANY TARTAN and receive a loan of all the accessories for one week absolutely free!

Ideal if you have an upcoming event and would like to build up your Kilt outfit through time! (UK Only)

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We can post out FREE Tartan Swatches/Samples in the UK. Samples overseas require £5 p/p charge, which is refundable upon completing your order.

If you need any help with selecting your tartan, wish to make an order or anything other queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Categories
Burn's Night Highlandwear Kilt Hire Made In Scotland

Kilt Hire Guide – Find your Perfect Outfit

Houstons offer the largest and best range of kilt outfits for hire in the Scotland, with over 110 tartans, 20 styles of super lightweight jackets, three different button options and over 100 ruched tie colours 

Hires start from £75 and range to £145 depending on the rarity of the tartan selected, your jacket style and the finish of your accessories.

We have our luxury purple and grey tartan range with 22 grey designs and 15 purple designs. These tartans include our EXCLUSIVE Bute Heather range tartans.

Best to download our comprehensive 84 page Hire Brochure to view our exclusive range.

You can see our new range of tartans and price ranges in our latest Hire Leaflet.

Our Hire site can be found at KiltsForHire.com where you can see all Hire tartans, information and videos.

Special Offers – 6 Hires for the Price of 5!

Book 5 Hires and the 6th for groom goes FREE on 20 of our top tartans, 20 Styles of Jackets, 140 colours of Ruche Cravats and our Exceptional high quality service! Learn more HERE!

Wedding Extras

To make your wedding day extra special we take care of every little detail. We offer tartan ring cushions, hand ties, ladies garters, ribbon, ties, trim for dresses, handbags and button holes designed to match with your kilt design. Find our range of extras HERE, these can be made in ANY tartan on request.

We work closely with Joyce Young Collections who co-ordinate brides, mothers, bridesmaids’ and guest’s dresses with our tartans. She also has a factory outlet store open Saturdays in Glasgow, with up to 75% off.

Hire & Buy Offer

If you would like to buy a kilt in ANY TARTAN (over 14,000!) you can receive a loan of all the accessories for one week absolutely free!

Ideal if you have an upcoming event and would like to build up your kilt outfit through time! (UK Only) More details on Hire & Buy HERE.

Measurement and Shipping Information

Best to pop in to our store if you can to get measured. Your whole party does not need to get measured at the same time, they can come when available, they just need to mention the party name or groom’s name. If you can’t make it into the shop then you can use our easy to use Self-Measurement guide for HIRING a Kilt Outfit.

We ship in the UK using Interlink Express and Worldwide using DHL.

Categories
Highlandwear

Tartan Hero of Month

February

An interview with Mr Robert Keys

Mr Robert Keys, born in Uddingston, is a volunteer guide for Glasgow Cathedral which he does through The Society of Friends of Glasgow Cathedral. He heard of this unique volunteering opportunity by chance through an article in a paper.

Robert began this volunteer work in his retirement, before this he was in food and wine & spirit sales, and also briefly selling men’s clothes. His formative experience of kilts and highland wear was as a young teen in a pipe band. As he entered the working world he would attend licenced functions with his co-workers and dawned a kilt for these occasions.

Since his piping days, Robert has grown fond of highland dress and now owns 6 kilts! And he even has customisations for his outfits, such as a kilt made with only one buckle on either side for when he wears his Prince Charles jacket.

Robert Keys Outside Houston Kiltmakers with Ken Macdonald

Mr Keys views kilts as an investment and spoke proudly of how his wife chose the tartan for the kilt he came in to our store wearing, the Isle of Skye tartan. His favourite tartan is the Davidson Tartan, which is the catchment tartan for his surname.

Robert presents himself well wherever he may be going, and thus generally prefers to wear highland dress formally. His exception is adding a Jacobite shirt to make things a bit more casual.

Robert has also played a small part at tartan design, being involved in the process with Uddingston rugby club when they commissioned a cloth for their centenary dinner.

Mr Keys being shown points of pride in store at Houston Kiltmakers By Ken Macdonald

Throughout his life, Mr Keys has taken his kilts with him on his travels. He brings his kilts to rugby games or pipe band gigs, as well as corporate events. His kilts have seen places such as Canada, Italy, Greece and France.

Robert is not always all kilts and tartan. He enjoys Scottish music artists such as Barbara Dixon, Field Marshall Montgomery, Annie Lennox and Annie Ross. His favourite piping band are the Inveraray & District Pipe Band, who he has followed since their days as a juvenile band.

Roberts choice of 3 Scottish dinner guests, past or present, would be Robert Burns, Ricky Fulton and William Barkley. Some dinner party!

Categories
Highlandwear

Kilts: From Highland Dress to Fashion Week

The world has changed significantly in a short space of time. Our technological advancement’s within the past decade or so have led to the internet becoming a world-wide platform. This not only affected things like fashions that the kids were following, but also evoked a lot of social and political revolution.

Tartan, in one way or another, has always been associated with revolution. In the 18th century, the Jacobite’s wore it as a sign of allegiance to the Stuarts; in the 1970’s, punks “ripped up tartan shirts and adapted kilts as an anti-establishment message”. Japanese school girls have also adapted a style known as Kogal, in which they wear loose socks, microskirts (often featuring tartan), as well as having dyed hair. In modern times, the tartan rebellion is associated more often with ideas of gender non-conformity, individuality and freedom of expression.

In the world of fashion, those who are well established and respected are the ones who push the boundaries of what is acceptable, and if we the public take to it, it becomes a trend. Glasgow born Charles Jeffrey, who has been worn by artists such as Harry Styles and Tilda Swinton, is said to have taken influence from the punk subculture with regards to his designs, and is regarded on a similar level to Alexander McQueen. Designers Chopova Lowena are known for tearing up traditional textiles only to re-stich them in a new and unique way. They have dual British-Bulgarian heritage and their aim is to “Usher in a system of ethical consumption with a focus on appreciating skill, craft, time and consideration for impact on the environment”.

So, subcultures such as the punks have created an alternate association for the kilt and tartan; leading to clothes that were once heavily gendered becoming available for anyone wishing to express themselves, whether that’s stylistically or personally. The kilt has been significant in modern fashion expression due in part to its gender-fluidity. Times have changed and at Houston’s we will dress you to look your best, no matter what you’ll be wearing.

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Highlandwear Jackets Made In Scotland

Kilt Alterations, Adjustments and Repairs

A Kilt made by Houston’s, if cared for correctly, can last a lifetime. As your body changes over time there can be a need for alterations to be made to your Kilt to keep it fitting you perfectly. Houston’s owner Ken has had one of his Kilts for 30 years, having had 4 alterations to it over the years to keep it looking its best.

We offer a wide variety of alteration and repair services for your Kilt to make sure that through its life it still fits you perfectly.

Our in-house seamstress has over 30 years experience and with her skilled eye can identify solutions that can be made to keep you in your Kilt! Best to bring your Kilt into the shop where we can take a look at what alterations can be made.

Kilt Alteration Services:

  • Kilt Waist Alterations – Often Kilts made have some extra material left that can be let out if your waist size increases. Alternatively Kilt can be taken in if you lose weight and your Kilt struggles to stay up. When buying a Kilt from us, we ask if you wish the Kilt to be cut for growth – this means we will leave some extra cloth hidden in the seam, leaving you with more options to let the Kilt out at a later date.
  • Moving Kilt Adjustment Buckles – The buckles attached to your Kilt can be moved either out or in, giving more of less room. This can give your Kilt a better fit if your weight changes. Our seamstress takes great care in making sure that the tartan cloth attached to the buckle blends in as best as possible to where the buckle is moved too.
  • Worn Kilt Strap Replacement – Over time, your leather waist straps can experience general wear and tear after years of tightening and loosening and may need replacing. Replacing tired looking straps means that ever detail of your Kilt is looking great.
  • Adding Kilt Extension Straps – Extra long straps can replace standard Kilt waist straps, allowing for a larger fit if needed. This involves
  • Kilt Lining Replacement – Worn waist kilt linings can be removed and replaced with new material. The lining of a Kilt is there to protect the Kilt from general wear and tear, so may need replacing over time.
  • Kilt Shortening – A Hem can be added to your Kilt if it is too long. This can be let down at a later date if required.
  • Complete Kilt Remake – We can take apart your Kilt and reassemble it from scratch. This is quite an extreme solution and we recommend it as a last resort.
  • Jacket Alterations – Many fine tuning alterations can be completed on a Jacket, from  sleeve & shoulder adjustments to, Back & Side Seam alterations. More about Jacket Alterations can be read here

Jacket Alterations to Kilt Jackets

These alterations are available on a kilt by kilt basis – best to bring in your Kilt so we can take a look and see what solutions are available to us. Pricing is subject to the work done and quote available on request.

Get in touch with us with your query and we will be able to best advise what we can do to get you looking your best in your Highland Outfit!

Categories
Highlandwear How Its Made Made In Scotland

Traditonal African Cloth, Made into a Traditional Scottish Kilt!

Recently a customer came into our shop with material he had collected from his recent trip around Africa. He asked if we could make the traditional cotton African cloth into a traditional Scottish Kilt, and we accepted the task!

(Click on the Images to Enlarge!)

There were a few challenges to overcome to make this African Kilt a reality – the material provided wasn’t in the usual dimensions we use to make a Kilt, so the Kiltmaker had to carefully work out the best way to cut and restitch the cloth back together in an easier to work with shape.

The material was different to what we usually work with. Instead of a heavyweight wool this cloth was a lighter-weight cotton.

The unusual design on the cloth meant that working with it was quite different from Scottish Tartan, but there were still similarities. As you can see from the reverse of the Kilt, the Kiltmakers has still managed to incorporate the pattern of the cloth into the pleats on the rear.

We think that turned out great, a very unique look! What do you think of this different take on the Scottish Kilt?

Categories
Highlandwear How Its Made Kilt Hire Made In Scotland

Ruche Ties – Behind the Scenes – How they are Made

We spent some time in our In-Store workshop, watching many items being created by our wonderful seamstress Beth. In this series of articles we will take a closer look at a few of the Tartan accessories she has been crafting! This week we take a closer look at the Ruche Tie.

Mix of Tartan Ruche Ties

What is a Ruche Tie?

A Ruche Tie is alternative neckwear to the standard tie and bow tie. In terms of looks it is halfway between a standard tie and a cravat. Ruche Ties are wider than a standard necktie with an extravagant knot. They make for the perfect neckwear for your Highland Outfit, providing extra prestige to your formal attire.

Ruche Ties come in both plain colour, or in a tartan to match your Kilt. If you are having a Kilt made, please enquire about having matching neckwear crafted to match. Tartan Ruche Ties are a popular option with Kilt Hires and are available in boys sizes too!

How a Ruche Tie is Made

Our seamstress has been making Ruche Ties for many years, and has perfected her own take on this neckwear.

(Click Photos to Enlarge!)

Cut out the Tie Templates
Cloth for the Ruche Ties is cut from Templates

To start, the material needed is cut from templates. Cloth for the two tie sleeves, neck knot and neck loop are carefully cut out. If tartan is being used, extra care is taken to keep the design symmetrical and to incorporate as much of the tartan pattern into the tie.

The Parts for the Ruche Tie are sewn into shape
The cloth is stitched into shape

From here the cloth templates are stitched to create the shape of the knot, the two tie sleeves (one larger than the other) and the neck loop (like a tube of cloth now).

Press the Edges of the Tie into Shape
The Edges of the Tie are carefully pressed into shape

The edges are then pressed to give them their final shape. The pressing ensures that they keep their shape and there aren’t any unwanted bulges.

Ruche Tie knot stitched on to the rest of the Tie
The Knot is hand stitched on to the rest of the Ruche Tie pieces

The next step is to hand stitch the knot on to the top of the two tie pieces – this holds the whole tie together. The Ruche Tie is starting to take shape! Finally, metal hook are attached to the neck loop, and this in turn is attached to the knot. The tie is complete!

A Few Ruche Ties in Mens and Boys Styles
A Few Ruche Ties in our Exclusive Bute Heather Tartans!

Our Ruche Ties come in both Men’s and Boy’s sizes and can be made in over 130 colours to match your outfit, or in the Tartan of your choice! To find out more please contact us at Houston Kiltmakers!

 

Categories
Highlandwear Kilt Hire Made In Scotland Special Weave Tartans

Teflon Coated Kilts – Stainproof and Beerproof!

Houston Kiltmakers were the first to Teflon Coat/Stain-proof all of our own range Tartans. Since then many of the Tartan mills have followed suit and offer a Stain-proof coating on their Kilts. We provide this Teflon Coating on all our Own Range Tartans and on a range of Tartans from Selected Mills at no extra cost.

A Teflon Coating, applied to the cloth in the finishing process when the tartan is woven, creates a protective layer around your finished Kilt. This allows for rain and stains (even beer!) to simply run off or be easily wiped off your Kilt.

Over the life of your Kilt, we calculate that this simply protection will save you approximately £180 to £260 on dry cleaning as the garment will need cleaned less often. The Teflon coating lasts a minimum of 18 dry cleanings.

Look out for the ‘Stain Proofed Coating’ banner on the Tartans in our Tartan Finder to see which of our cloths come with a Teflon Coating – Free of Charge!

Stain-Proofed Tartan
Look out for the Stain Proofed Coating Labels in our Tartan Finder!

Teflon Coating is available on a wide range of stock Tartans, and also on Special Weave Tartans. If you are unsure if the Tartan your looking for has a Teflon Coating – just get in touch and we will let you know!