Pakistani Kilts... The Cheap "casual" Knockoff

Part of the reason for getting into this whole "year of the kilt" thing was to learn about the culture and everything that goes into the kilt-wearing world these days.

One thing that I've learned is that... not all kilts are what they appear to be, even when purchased from Scotland.

As I mentioned in the 6th episode of Year of the Kilt, I purchased two 8-yard kilts from two different companies, both based in Scotland, at two very different prices. Lo and behold, they are made by the same manufacturer - this one based in a small city in Pakistan that specializes in scottish exports of many varieties: kilts, bagpipes, sporrans, you name it, they make it. Companies in Scotland import these cheap knock-off kilts, often made of acrylic-wool blend or almost entirely acrylic, which happens to be highly flammable and doesn't share any of the water-shedding properties of wool. Not to mention, it is far lighter than wool.

Interesting stuff.


Here are a few articles you might peruse before making your next knockoff kilt purchase.

A Word of Warning

Imported vs Made in Scotland (by buyakilt.com, the company I purchased one of my kilts from)

Cheap Kilts

After all this reading, I have come to a conclusion. To me, it doesn't matter one bit whether the kilt is made in Scotland, USA, Pakistan, whatever - as long as it fits, it lasts, and is comfortable. Some people are all into the Scottish heritage and hand-made blah blah blah. Not me. I'm not a Scot and I don't care where it comes from.

That being said, the leather on my Pakistani kilt looks to be fraying a bit, even after a mellow cycle in the wash and air-drying. That doesn't count as "lasting" and as such is a bit of a disappointment... but I will have to see how it holds up through future washes.