Category Archives: New Items

Ladies items now available

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We’ve had numerous requests for ladies items in the past, and having listened to these, we have sourced a great selection of items. Any visitors to buyakilt.com will now see that we’ve been able to add a ladies wear category.

For ladies, tartan is a classic fashion staple, it never truly goes out of fashion and each year it’s seen throughout the seasons on catwalks and being worn by high profile celebrities. These are the ones who obviously have style.

For formal occasions many ladies choose to wear a sash to match their partner’s kilt. We have a range of 4 tartans to choose from including the Black Watch, Freedom and Heritage of Scotland tartans that correspond with the men’s kilts. A sash is also a popular option for Scottish weddings, allowing the bride to wear a small piece of tartan with a traditional white dress.

We have also added ladies kilts and corsets. The kilts are available in a range of lengths and tartans to suit all tastes. My favourite being the Bruce of Kinnaird for the vibrant colours.

Our ladies range also includes shoes, hats, scarves and beautiful stoles (just in time for winter)

Let us know what you think of our new additions on Facebook or Twitter.

Kilt Outfits Explained

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You may remember back in June I blogged about some subtle changes we made to how we display the great range of kilt outfits we have on buyakilt.com. Well we weren’t quite finished there and as such have been busy beavering away in our efforts to offer an even better, streamlined experience for any intrepid outfit hunter.

As a result we are proud to present our new, improved, life enhancing (well, maybe not that last one..) range of kilt outfits! Now the first thing you may ask yourself is: where have all the outfits gone? This would be a perfectly reasonable thing to ask as it is by far our biggest change – we have cut our range from a staggering 54 outfits down to 34, and 10 outfit categories down to 6.

This was done to maintain a more streamlined approach and surprisingly you will find that even though we have cut the amount of outfits by roughly 40%, the actual choice within those outfits is as good as if not better than it was previously. Let me explain…

Previously for all formal kilt outfits we had a contemporary version and a traditional version of each style (eg. Contemporary Prince Charlie Budget Outfit and Traditional Prince Charlie Budget Outfit). At the time this made perfect sense as it allowed us to offer a choice of styles within the range, but what we found was that it led to a rather inflated amount of outfits. Now, as both outfits were essentially the same (with a few key differences such as shirt, tie and waistcoat) the most logical thing to do was to combine the outfits (eg. Budget Prince Charlie Kilt Outfit) and offer a choice of outfit styles within the outfit. It seems so obvious now that we think of it! This led to a dramatic reduction of outfits in the formal range.

Within the casual range we had a whole host of outfit styles – Casual Outfits, Deluxe Casual Outfits, Rugby Casual Outfits, Irish Casual Outfits etc etc etc. In other words, way too many for any sane person to make their choice. Again, with a bit of clever tinkering we were able to combine a whole host of these outfits and brought them all together under the fantastic title – Casual Outfits.

Now again you may think that your choice of outfits has been greatly reduced, but that is where our Create Your Own range come in. Our Custom Formal Kilt Outfit and Custom Casual Kilt Outfit have all the options you could get in any of the budget outfits but with the added beauty of being able to pick which items you do (or don’t) want. Combine this with a whole host of added options spread through all our outfits and we hope you will agree that these changes will not simply streamline your shopping experience, but also improve it!

Love the changes? Hate the changes? We look forward to any thoughts. As always you can find us in the usual places on Twitter and Facebook.

 

New Doublet Jacket Range

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In our ever continuing pursuit of providing highland wear to suit any occasion we are proud to present our new range of doublet jackets. These jackets offer another alternative to the more formal Prince Charlie jacket and with their snug fit give a retro style that we hope will prove popular with visitors to our site.

Doublet Jackets are similar to mess jackets (military style jacket commonly used in the 30′s as an alternative to the white dinner jacket), with buttoned gauntlet cuffs and some styles have no lapels. They are more typically worn with a lace jabot (a clothing accessory worn around the neck) and cuff set, and a high-buttoned waistcoat. The highland doublet is Jacobean in style and may date to that period or earlier.

They are traditionally made from velvet material but modern kilt doublets are more likely to be made with 100% wool, with satin lapels and may feature epaulettes.

Most kilt doublets have a row of silver heraldic buttons on each side and styles such as Montrose and Sheriffmuir are always worn with a belt over the jacket.

As doublet jackets are more traditional in style they are usually worn with full dress sporrans for formal occasions.

Please do let us know what you think of this new range via the usual outlets of Facebook and Twitter.

Kilt Outfit Sale!

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Being the nice people we are here at Macdonald Sporrans we felt it would be a good idea to put some of our most popular kilt outfits on sale for those seeking to look the part at any upcoming weddings or events. We feel that it is always nice to buy a great quality outfit but even better to buy it it for a low low cost. And so, our Kilt Outfit Sale was born! The sale has been running for a month now and it has been such a success that we have decided to extend it for a further month… So if you are looking for a formal or casual outfit for any occasion this Summer then now is the best time to get some great bargains!

While we are on the subject of kilt outfits it seems appropriate to point out some subtle (but important) changes to our kilt outfits. Regular visitors to our site may have seen that we sell three different levels of outfit – bronze, silver and gold. We previously had two different types of bronze outfit however: our “Bronze Outfit – Stock Kilt” and our “Bronze Outfit“. These packages were named as such because one had our stock budget kilt and the other had a custom made kilt. Confused yet? Well we were too, and therefore decided to rename our “Bronze Outfit – Stock Kilt” to be “Budget Outfit“. Simple!

This means we now have four different level of outfit of which you can see a brief description of each below:

Our budget range offers a low cost quality outfit and includes our best value items for those looking to keep costs low.

Our bronze range offers a complete package at an affordable price, with a custom made 5 yard kilt and choice of Scottish sporrans available.

Our silver range includes a custom made 8 yard kilt and classic accessories, to give a superb all-round outfit.

Our gold range is carefully selected to include the most exquisite and luxurious components available to create truly elegant outfits. Most of the items in the outfit will be custom made for you, so can be altered upon request.

Another change we have made is to remove the 8 yard custom made kilt from our Bronze Outfits and instead include a 5 yard custom made kilt. This was decided in order to make the Bronze Outfit a nice midway compromise between our Budget Outfits, which include a poly-viscose kilt, and our Silver Outfits, which include an 8 yard custom made kilt. What it also means is that all our Bronze Outfits are now roughly £130 cheaper than previously!

Our Prince Charlie Budget Outfits have also undergone a small tweak. These outfits previously included a Scottish made full dress sporran which was incredibly expensive (almost 1/3rd of the entire outfit cost!). In order to achieve a more affordable competitively priced outfit we have now replaced this sporran option with a choice of imported sporrans. This has meant the Prince Charlie Budget Outfits have dropped roughly £70 in price! For those looking for a Scottish made sporran please don’t worry – these outfits all have the option to upgrade to a Scottish made sporran. Plus you will still find that 80% of our outfits include Scottish made sporrans.

As always please let us know what you feel about these changes and any other points of interest you may have, on Twitter and Facebook.

Clan Crests & Badges

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Having worked at Macdonald Sporrans for well over a year it has quickly become apparent to me how much people value their Scottish roots. People as far flung as the USA, Canada and Australia feel a very strong link to their Scottish heritage and take great pride in discovering their family history. It is only natural then that people are keen to show off their heritage in the form of tartans and clan crest items.

Most people are aware of what a tartan is, but what is a clan crest? And why are they so important? A clan crest is a heraldic badge worn to show allegiance to an individual or membership in a specific Scottish clan. Clan crests consist of a crest and a motto/slogan and because these elements are heraldic property they are protected by law in Scotland.

Clan crests may be worn by anyone; however, those who are not entitled to the heraldic elements within, wear a crest surrounded by a strap and buckle. Those who own the heraldic elements within, may wear a crest surrounded by a plain circlet. The strap and buckle represents that the wearer is a follower of the individual who owns the crest and motto.

It is said that the traditional clan crest style is derived from Scotland’s turbulent past, where it was the custom for Clan Chiefs to give their followers a metal plate of their crest; to be worn as a badge of allegiance which fastened to their clothing with a strap and buckle. When not in use the belt was coiled around the crest and this convention is used in the clan crest badges of today.

It is common even nowadays for people to display their Scottish heritage through the means of clan crests. The most obvious way to do this is as part of a kilt outfit, but smaller clan crest items can be found such as belt buckles, cap badges, sgian dubhs and sporrans.

As many people are unsure of their heritage and which clan they belong to, this subject can sometimes be quite confusing. Luckily there are many websites out there dedicated to the topic and we would recommend checking out The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs website for further information. They even have a handy clan search tool!

We hope you found this blog informative and please feel free to share your clan history with us on Twitter, Facebook or the comments below.

FYI In case anyone wondered, it seems my family name Shand is a sept of the Mackintosh clan, who played a large role in the Battle of Bannockburn!

Like Father, Like Son

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Let your children enjoy the excitement of wearing a highland outfit and matching the adults amongst your party. It’s great to have boys in matching boys kilts and with our  new range of boys kilts, boys kilt outfits and boys kilt accessories for children you can now make this happen. They are perfectly sized and proportioned to give your wee man his first taste of highland dress. Ideal for weddings and formal occasions, we can supply outfits for ages 0-12 years old.

Our new range of boys kilts include the popular tartans of Black Watch, Hamilton Grey, Heritage of Scotland, Royal Stewart and a plain black option. We also sell the adult outfits and kilts in the same tartans to allow you to create matching outfits. These are made to the same quality as our adult equivalent, just a little bit smaller.

These outfits will surely make your wee man the centre of attention and will display your Scottish heritage with pride for you and for him.

With Prince Charlie Jackets, waistcoats, belts, buckles, shirts, sporrans and hose to compliment the outfit, you can ensure that your boy looks stylish on every occasion.

To go directly to our new range click here

We’ve Finally Perfected Tartan Paint

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We’re thrilled to announce a breakthrough product, available exclusively through buyakilt.com. Tartan Paint is the latest addition to our website and it has taken years of scientific and technological advances to allow us to be able to supply such a unique product to the Scottish community in a cost-effective manner.

We have employed the talents of Prof Hamish McTavish from the University of Edinburgh to create the hugely sought after Tartan Paint. This patented formula was perfected in Edinburgh and is exclusively available on buyakilt.com. It utilises micromolecular viscosity technology to keep each colour separate in the pot and during application. Similar technology has previously been used by NASA to help keep volatile rocket fuel stable during take-off, due to the heavy pressure exerted on spacecraft. You can read more about the technology behind this in the item description here.

To make it even more Scottish, the secret formula contains traces of Haggis and Irn Bru to colour the browns and oranges in various tartan patterns.

Tartan Paint is available in over 3,000 tartans and we are sure this will be a welcome addition to those in the building trade particularly young apprentices who are often tasked with the difficulty of finding this product. No longer will their search go in vain.

Thanks to all who responded to our April Fools Prank. Whilst tartan paint would be a wonderful creation unfortunately the real science hasn’t quite caught up our fictional creation.

Did we find a few Gowk’s today?

April fools day was originally the 1st Day of the new year and after it’s change to January 1st people who ignored or had forgotten the change were subject to being called fools.  In Scotland this tradition is also known as Hunt-the-Gowk Day with the gowk being the recipient of the joke.  “Gowk” is Scottish for cuckoo (an emblem for simpletons). It is celebrated over 48 hours whereby jokes are made on 2nd April are devoted to jokes involving the posterior. This is credited as being the origin of the “Kick Me” signs and is called Taily Day.

Latest Addition – Stewart Black Budget Kilt

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At Macdonald Sporrans we like to offer a large selection of products. Our budget kilts prove a popular and affordable alternative to having a kilt custom made and we have now added the Stewart Black tartan to the budget kilt range.

You may recognise the similarities between the Stewart Black and the traditional Royal Stewart, not only with the name but with the colours used to create the tartan. Essentially the black and red have been swapped to create a striking alternative to this popular tartan. These tartans belong to the collection of Royal Tartans which for several centuries have been associated with the House of Stewart

The Stewart Black tartan is the permitted fabric for kilts worn by officers of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The soldiers of this regiment usually wear the Royal Stewart tartan since being given this permission by King George VI.  The formal outfit of this regiment is completed with the Royal  Scots Dragoon Guards Piper Sporran. This handmade sporran is worn by members of the pipe band and can be seen at events such as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. We are pleased to offer this high quality and unique item on buyakilt.com The home headquarters of this regiment are at Edinburgh Castle and examples of the clothing worn by this regiment can be viewed at their museum located within the castle.

The budget kilts are ideal for general wear and can also be purchased as part of an outfit giving you the option to wear at both formal and informal events. They are ideal for wearing to sporting events and an essential should you be visiting Edinburgh for the tattoo this year.

 

 

New Tartan Cloths Added

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We are constantly reviewing and developing the extensive range of tartan cloths that we offer and as a result we look to increase our selection wherever possible. We are pleased to say that one of the mills we are partnered with, Marton Mills, have unveiled more than 50 new tartan designs which we have now incorporated into our Tartan Finder.

We have worked with Marton Mills for a number of years and have found they offer an affordable quality product which has proved popular with our customers. Marton Mills was founded in 1931 as a textile manufacturer but changed from predominately knitted production to a weaving base in 1980 in response to a changing market. Based in West Yorkshire this family-owned and managed business take pride in every order, independent of size, to ensure they meet their aim of weaving high quality, good value fabrics which are fit for purpose and delivered on time.

All of the new cloths are from Marton Mills’ Jura range, which is a 16oz 100% wool – the traditional heavy weight ideal for kilts. Using their sulzer loom they are able to produce using a tuck in selvedge ideal for the hem and as standard all tartans are finished with a Teflon coating which ensures if you have any spills you are able to wipe clean easily and quickly.

Within this new range of cloths on sale there are some completely brand new designs to be found. We are sure cloths such as Casey, Grey Highlander, Scottish National Black and Eternity will be very popular for customers looking for items such as kilts, fly plaids and trews.

We hope that these tartans will be just the beginning of an ongoing effort to increase the range of tartans we offer. Possible links with more mills across the UK are hopefully due to be made in the near future and this is just part of our determination to give our customers the best choice for the best price.

St Andrew’s Day Gifts

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On the 30th of November, Scots around the world celebrate our national day. St Andrew’s Day is the feast day of Saint Andrew and is normally marked by parties and events across the globe.

Recent years have seen this occasion marked by a series of significant cultural events in Scotland. At Edinburgh Castle, on St Andrew’s Day 1996, the Stone of Scone was returned to Scotland. Two years later the Museum of Scotland was first opened to the public. On St Andrew’s Day 1999 the Queen officially opened the restored Great Hall of Stirling Castle. The first 50 members of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame were formally inducted on St Andrew’s Day 2002. In 2006, more than 60 nations around the world held events celebrating Scotland’s patron saint.

To mark this occasion we are pleased to announce a new range of items themed with St Andrew’s in mind. This range incorporates the official Armorial bearings of the Royal and Ancient Burgh of St. Andrews. They depict St. Andrew, the Patron Saint of Scotland, holding the St. Andrews Cross (The Saltire), the wild boars that used to roam the area in medieval times and bear the Latin motto of the Royal and Ancient Burgh of St. Andrews ‘Dum Spiro Spero’ (‘While there is life, there is hope’).

We have a beautifully made Sgian Dubh with St Andrews badge and blue stone top. To compliment this item we have a sword Kilt Pin with St Andrews badge and themed Cufflinks, Lapel Pin and Brooch. For that extra special gift, a set of three of the items is available in a magnificent presentation case.

These items are produced in old fashioned Pewter, with a plated finish of Palladium (ensuring that they are scratch resistant and tarnish free); and are beautifully presented in a leatherette blue box.

We hope you like these new additions and we ask you to get those orders in quick so that you can celebrate our special day with these fantastic items.