Scottish Dress

The Kilt The kilt represents the primary garment for displaying our clan tartan, so after my first year as the Georgia Commissioner for Clan Moncreiffe, the time had come to acquire one. Until that time, all kilts pretty much looked alike to me. Thanks to Alex Cameron and the Wild Highlanders, I learned the difference between the great kilt (feileadh-mor) and the more common tailored kilts (feileadh-beg). The 2005 Stone Mountain Highland Games provided a great opportunity to learn more and decide which kilt was best for me. The first step in the process is choosing the tartan. For me this choice was easy, as I wanted the tartan most common to Clan Moncreiffe. The material is a 12-ounce weight cloth woven by the House of Edgar under a special order by our Clan President. Several other tartan options exist for Clan Moncreiffe, including Murray, Murray of Atholl, and Black Watch. Fortunately for me, our Clan President was able to supply me with the tartan at Stone Mountain, saving me the cost of shipping and insurance. Cost of the tartan: $35 per yard. For my first kilt, I decided the feileadh-beg would be best: comfortable for daytime wear at the games, yet suitable for wear to more formal occasions. Two vendors at the games posed under another decision for me: knife pleats or box pleats. Geoffory Tailor of Edinburgh specializes in making the knife-pleated kilt. Eight yards of material are required and the tailoring is done at their shop in Scotland, requiring shipping of the tartan material to Edinburgh and return shipping (with taxes) of the finished kilt. Estimated cost for the knife-pleated kilt: 8 yards of tartan at $35/yd. $280 Tailoring $390 Shipping, Insurance, and Taxes $100 Estimated Total $770 Matt Newsome of the Scottish Tartans Museum in Franklin, North Carolina makes a box-pleated kilt that offered several advantages: The kilt is well tailored and historically accurate. The kilt uses half the material of a knife-pleated kilt making it much cooler and more comfortable to wear in Georgia’s hot summers. The kilt-maker is much closer to home should I need repairs or alterations. Actual cost for the box-pleated kilt: 4 yards of tartan at $35/yd. $140 Tailoring $220 Total $360 An excellent kilt for less than half the cost of the knife-pleated version. This was definitely the right kilt for me. Archives The following past articles are available to active members of Clan Moncreiffe. Please submit your request to Mark Smith at GaMoncreiffe@numail.org. Footwear – the Cuaran The Kilt

Kim and Emily Smith display four yards of Moncreiffe tartan. Outside of the finished kilt. The inside. The box pleats. Kilt-maker Matt Newsome and new kilt-owner, Mark Smith.