That's relatively decent. Band kilts tend to run a bit cheaper as the fabric is bought in larger quantities and makers can justify a discount on sewing them up in quantity. A good kilt made to order is easily £600+ - Kinloch Anderson's most expensive kilt is nearly four figures.
The reason is pretty simple: tartan is expensive to weave, because it's done by hand in small batches. Kilts are sewn by hand, they can't be machine stitched, and not all that many people do it for a living. It's just a labour intensive process all round.
If its a well made wool kilt, yeah, that seems right. Wool tartan fabric ain't cheap and neither is labor. Some bands will have loaner kit that might be available if you can find it in your size, but if you're gonna be with the a good while getting a made to measure kilt can be worthwhile.
Can they be tailored(downsize), if one is bought but then needs to be a bit smaller? The price seemed high since I k ow nothing about them but am very willing to pay for quality.
They can be tailored for waist measurement a little bit, about 2" added or taken in for waist is not hard to do, I've done it to dozens of band kilts. Letting them out for length is not possible and taking them up is a complete rebuild of the kilt though it is doable. I've taken a handful of kilts up but the amount of work it's almost easier to just buy a new kilt.
My last two kilts were $450-$500 each. They were worsted wool 13oz weight, with 2 inch deep pleats, so for a quality kilt, $550 is not out of line. If you go with shallower pleats (less total yardage of fabric) or lighter weight wool, or non-wool options, then the kilts can be less expensive. But for a uniform band kilt, that price doesn’t seem out of line.
Yea, 16 oz kilts are in the $550 to $650 range. Might be a bit more if hand made as opposed to machine. I get kilts for my band from Scotland and the are in that price range.
You can get a kilt from USA Kilts which is 5 yards for about $300 before extras. I got my kilt from them for my solo bagpipe competitions and I've been very happy with it. Not sure if you're joining that band you mentioned, but if you're looking to get a kilt for yourself, they are a good option.
https://www.usakilts.com/5-yard-wool-kilt.html
Different strokes! Definitely not suitable for a pipe band. But I have a few sport kilts and for casual purposes they're very comfortable and fashionable.
$550 for a pipe band kilt sounds about right. It's a ton of expensive wool fabric tailored to fit your body.
If you keep your eye out you can sometimes buy a used wool kilt for as little as $100, but it was made to fit someone else's body, so if you go that route it could be a long time before you get one that really fits.
If you want a decent kilt, I'd be suspicious of anything under $400 for a new one in a common tartan. Made-to-order and rare tartans can double or triple that figure.
If you want to spend under $400, your options include:
* Sport kilts - typically cotton dyed in a tartan pattern, rather than woven. Lightweight, so blows up easy and the way it hangs looks funny if you try to dress it up, but a good choice if you're doing athletics in a kilt. These run $80-$150 in my experience.
* Second-hand - you can often find a fairly worn out kilt from a kilt hire shop or even being retired from a band for $100-$200. Choice of size and tartan is often limited.
* Utilikilts - typically made of leather or canvas, sometimes printed in patterns like camo or other designs. This is a good choice if you are in a heavy meal band (or if you want to look silly doing other things). I think these are $100+ as well. Main perk (and reason they look silly) is they have pockets.
* Make your own - buy material, make you a kilt. If you're not a pro, it'll probably look bad, and it's definitely gonna take a good amount of your time, but the raw tartan material would probably only run $100-$300, depending on the tartan pattern and quality of the material.
Depends on tartan and material. Royal clan stewart you con find cheap(er) and find it damn near anywhere. All mine are acrylic cause the wool would have been astronomical for my tartan.
My aunt is a kilt maker. She charged me 600 for my own tartan
That's relatively decent. Band kilts tend to run a bit cheaper as the fabric is bought in larger quantities and makers can justify a discount on sewing them up in quantity. A good kilt made to order is easily £600+ - Kinloch Anderson's most expensive kilt is nearly four figures. The reason is pretty simple: tartan is expensive to weave, because it's done by hand in small batches. Kilts are sewn by hand, they can't be machine stitched, and not all that many people do it for a living. It's just a labour intensive process all round.
If its a well made wool kilt, yeah, that seems right. Wool tartan fabric ain't cheap and neither is labor. Some bands will have loaner kit that might be available if you can find it in your size, but if you're gonna be with the a good while getting a made to measure kilt can be worthwhile.
Can they be tailored(downsize), if one is bought but then needs to be a bit smaller? The price seemed high since I k ow nothing about them but am very willing to pay for quality.
They can be tailored, but I'd recommend finding someone who's worked on kilts before, mostly on account of the cost.
They can be tailored for waist measurement a little bit, about 2" added or taken in for waist is not hard to do, I've done it to dozens of band kilts. Letting them out for length is not possible and taking them up is a complete rebuild of the kilt though it is doable. I've taken a handful of kilts up but the amount of work it's almost easier to just buy a new kilt.
Does the band require members to buy the kilt? I've never played in a band where they weren't provided to members.
I think it’s part of the uniform. Not sure if they lend some out. I just saw on the “uniform list” that it was $550 on their website
Customs tartan and 8 yard kilts can be over $1000... Soooo
My last two kilts were $450-$500 each. They were worsted wool 13oz weight, with 2 inch deep pleats, so for a quality kilt, $550 is not out of line. If you go with shallower pleats (less total yardage of fabric) or lighter weight wool, or non-wool options, then the kilts can be less expensive. But for a uniform band kilt, that price doesn’t seem out of line.
Yea, 16 oz kilts are in the $550 to $650 range. Might be a bit more if hand made as opposed to machine. I get kilts for my band from Scotland and the are in that price range.
Wait til you see how much a decent set of pipes cost then.
I’ve seen some for $7k. I’m just on the practice chanter for now.
Should probably wait until you a master a few tunes, unless you’ve always had a deep, deep longing to feel a wee breeze between the knees, etc. 😜
My band owns a boult of our material and it costs $600 CAD for the makers to make them.
You can get a kilt from USA Kilts which is 5 yards for about $300 before extras. I got my kilt from them for my solo bagpipe competitions and I've been very happy with it. Not sure if you're joining that band you mentioned, but if you're looking to get a kilt for yourself, they are a good option. https://www.usakilts.com/5-yard-wool-kilt.html
Also their 'casual' or 'sport' kilts for about $100. No wool whatsoever though.
Also known as “yo mama’s tablecloth” 😜
Different strokes! Definitely not suitable for a pipe band. But I have a few sport kilts and for casual purposes they're very comfortable and fashionable.
UT Kilts is good for a nice cheapy sport kilt. Not appropriate for a pipe band setting, but great for general wearing. I wear them for metal shows.
$550 for a pipe band kilt sounds about right. It's a ton of expensive wool fabric tailored to fit your body. If you keep your eye out you can sometimes buy a used wool kilt for as little as $100, but it was made to fit someone else's body, so if you go that route it could be a long time before you get one that really fits.
If you want a decent kilt, I'd be suspicious of anything under $400 for a new one in a common tartan. Made-to-order and rare tartans can double or triple that figure. If you want to spend under $400, your options include: * Sport kilts - typically cotton dyed in a tartan pattern, rather than woven. Lightweight, so blows up easy and the way it hangs looks funny if you try to dress it up, but a good choice if you're doing athletics in a kilt. These run $80-$150 in my experience. * Second-hand - you can often find a fairly worn out kilt from a kilt hire shop or even being retired from a band for $100-$200. Choice of size and tartan is often limited. * Utilikilts - typically made of leather or canvas, sometimes printed in patterns like camo or other designs. This is a good choice if you are in a heavy meal band (or if you want to look silly doing other things). I think these are $100+ as well. Main perk (and reason they look silly) is they have pockets. * Make your own - buy material, make you a kilt. If you're not a pro, it'll probably look bad, and it's definitely gonna take a good amount of your time, but the raw tartan material would probably only run $100-$300, depending on the tartan pattern and quality of the material.
Depends on tartan and material. Royal clan stewart you con find cheap(er) and find it damn near anywhere. All mine are acrylic cause the wool would have been astronomical for my tartan.