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The kilt is a garment steeped in history and tradition. Born in the Scottish Highlands centuries ago, it is now worn by Scots and Scottish descendants across the globe. People frequently have many misconceptions about this unique and historic garment. Often it is assumed that the kilt, as we know it today, has been preserved from some ancient time in Scotland's past, unaltered and unchanged. Such is hardly the case. The kilt, at its core, is clothing and fashion, and as such has changed in style over time.
The typical modern kilt contains, on average, eight yards of tartan cloth, arranged in knife pleats, pleated either to the sett (the pattern of the tartan is preserved in the pleating) or to stripe (the same line is centered on each pleat).
However, it was not always so. The kilt, as a tailored garment, first appeared on the scene in the last decade of the eighteenth century. The earliest documented tailored kilt is a Gordon regimental kilt, c. 1796. These first tailored kilts contained, on average, four yards of cloth, and were box pleated – in the military, to the stripe, and for civilian wear, to no pattern at all. Early in the nineteenth century civilian kilts also began to be pleated to the stripe.
The four-yard, box pleated kilt, pleated to the stripe, was the norm for most of the nineteenth century, and has been called the "epitome of the kilt." The Gordon regiment was the first in the military to make the switch to knife pleated kilts, in 1854. Civilian kilts soon copied the style. As the nineteenth century progressed, the kilt was worn less often as part of regular daily dress and was reserved mainly for ceremonial occasions. When clothing becomes ceremonial, it also tends to become more exaggerated and stylized. More and more cloth went into the making of kilts, and by the turn of the twentieth century, the eight yard knife pleated kilt was the norm.
Go to any Highland Dress retailer, kilt maker, or tartan shop today and you will easily find available eight-yard knife pleated kilts. Since the 1990s, there has been a revitalized interest in regular daily kilt wearing, which has caused many to look back in time to the hey-day of the kilt, when less yardage was the norm. Many kilt-making firms today offer a four-yard kilt, knife pleated and machine sewn, as a less expensive alternative to the eight-yard kilt. These are typically referred to as "casual kilts" and are considered a step-down from their standard, hand sewn, eight yard kilts.
Very few of today's kilt makers, however, offer the original tailored kilt – that is, a four-yard, hand sewn, box pleated kilt. This style was completely forgotten until it was revived in 1983 by kilt maker and Highland dress historian, Bob Martin. Since then, a small number of kilt makers have added the traditional box pleated kilt to their repertoire. I am the only one, to my knowledge, to specialize in this style almost exclusively. Trained by Bob Marin (now retired) in 2005, I have since that time tailored over 400 kilts (as of December 2009), nearly all of which have been in the traditional box pleated style.
The four yard box pleated kilt has been a staple of my Highland dress wardrobe since I wore one for my wedding in the year 2000. I have found them extremely comfortable, and well suited for both formal and casual kilt wearing. I am pleased to offer them through this web site and through the Scottish Tartans Museum to the kilt wearing public.
Please browse through the menu at left to learn more about these kilts. Each kilt is custom made, and is a very personal item. Therefore, before I make a kilt for you, I'd like to discuss the details with you personally. After you have looked around this site, please email me at eogan@albanach.org to talk about your kilt. Thank you!
PRAISE FOR BOX PLEATED KILTS: Ron, of Ontario, Canada, has purchased a few box pleated kilts from this site (a Black Watch, Gordon of Esselmont, and a non-named tartan tweed). He writes: "Just wanted to tell you that I wore one of the tweed kilts to the Spencerville, Ontario, Highland Games over this week-end, and I had loaned my Gordon of Esselmont kilt to a friend for the same occasion. As well, the chap to whom I had sold the Black Watch kilt showed up at the Games as well. The three of us pretty well spent the day together fending off fans of the box pleated kilts we were wearing! I'm not kidding, we were questioned separately and together about these fabulous kilts by probably no fewer than twenty people! Wish I had had a hand full of your business cards; they would have been gone by the end of the day, for sure. Anyway, needless to say, they were greatly admired -- and people went crazy trying to figure out where my tartan came from (the green/purple tweed!). And, I should add, of course they were all 4-yard kilts -- MUCH cooler than the usual 8-yard jobs, as it was a blistering day."
Erin from West Virginia writes: "I received the kilt today, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I love the color, and the craftsmanship is really just beautiful. (I honestly couldn't be more impressed.)"
Glen, from Alaska, had just received his Brodie Hunting box pleated kilt, when he wrote: "The kilt is absolutely stunning. The tartan looks better than I imagined, and your workmanship is beautiful! The kilt fits great. I'm surprised just how different it feels to wear this kilt compared to a Utilikilt. It just feels more tailored, more handsome, and it has a presence that the other kilts lack. My wife thinks it looks quite handsome too."
"I am attaching a much-overdue photo of the gorgeous box-pleated kilt you made for my husband this past summer, in the Grant Modern tartan. He has received an overwhelming number of compliments on your craftsmanship and he finds it much more comfortable to wear than the knife-pleated style. Not only does his kilt turn heads as a result of the rich colour, but because of the traditional pleats."
Click the image at left to enter our customer photo gallery.
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All content ©2005-2010 Matthew A. C. Newsome Albanach.org | The Scottish Tartans Museum | District-Tartans.com Member of the Scottish Tartans Authority
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