The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Tourist tat ‘won’t kill kilt’
Linda Gorn
THE WORLD’S only kilt-making school has urged Scots to stop buying cheap imports sold in tourist shops.
Chairwoman Linda Gorn, who runs the Keith Kilt and Textile Centre in Moray, says a kilt is for life and should not be a £30 “throwaway” item of clothing.
“If you buy a cheap off-the-peg kilt, yes, you can throw it in the washing machine, but it’s not the way it was supposed to be,” he 65-year-old said.
“A kilt is a garment for life. It’s a Scottish tradition that should be woven in Scotland and made to fit the customer like a glove — no two should be the same, like the machine-made ones.
“The ones imported from Europe and Asia are also of a thinner quality, I certainly wouldn’t buy one outside of Scotland.”
Mrs Gorn is so against cheap machinemade kilts that when she spots them being sold in shops she will stop in her tracks and give the shopkeeper a talking to.
She said: “I have actually gone into shops on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and questioned the quality of their kilts.
“The owners weren’t very chuffed, but I feel a responsibility to put them right as some don’t even know how they’re supposed to be worn.”
Mrs Gorn’s kilt-making school is focused on teaching pupils how to make and wear Scotland’s traditional dress as it should be. Teacher Paula Hunter only takes on seven students at a time to ensure they get enough help to learn the complex art.
“It’s really timeconsuming and frustrating at times but I think it’s worth it,” she said.
“Once you master it, it’s a great skill to have.”
“I know some might think traditional kilt-making is dying out, but I don’t think it ever will.”
Mrs Gorn says the easiest way to tell if
“When they put that kilt on they walk differently — they’re like a peacock.”
a kilt is properly made is by looking at the “swing” of it — a movement she claims can transform the confidence of any man into that of a peacock.
She said: “There’s eight metres of material that goes into a traditional kilt.
“You cannot possibly get the proper swing in a cheap four-metre kilt because it’s the pleats that make the swing.
“If you watch a guy walking down the street with an eight-metre on, you can immediately tell it’s far superior.
“I’ve never seen a guy with a proper kilt on whose demeanour doesn’t completely change when they put it on.
“There is a pride, and even guys who are not Scottish, when they put that kilt on they walk differently — they’re like a peacock.”