About Us

Welcome to St Kilda Kilts, Scotland. We are proud to make the finest kilts, kilt jackets, trews, ladies Highlandwear, sporrans and all the Highlandwear accessories and Scottish gifts you could need. We are an internet only business. We do not have a shop or showroom, but hope you will find everything you need here on our website.

Our philosophy is to make, as far as practicably possible, everything we sell, here in Scotland. We have two factories containing six workshops in Glasgow: our tailoring workshop is in Broad Street, while our offices, design team, leather working, wood and plastic turning, metal casting and dispatch workshops are in Grovepark Street. Our sister company, R.G. Hardie Bagpipes also have their workshops here. We may not make steel and ships, but we continue the proud tradition of actually making things in this great city. In a market full of the dreaded 'tartan tat' and cheap foreign imports, we aim to make quality Scottish-made Scottish goods. 

OUR NAME

We're named after the evacuated isle of St Kilda, as our founder's family were islanders there. 

Christina MacDonald MacQueen left St Kilda in 1910, not long after two of her brothers were drowned when their boat capsized. Island life was in freefall at this point, only to get worse after the First World War, as there wasn't enough labour to sustain the islanders, and little chance of outside help. The St Kildians are remembered as expert cragsmen, but they were also noted weavers and tailors. By sheer accident we continue that tradition. A visitor to the island, John MacDiarmid in 1870 remarked:

'The men of St Kilda are mostly all tailors, shoemakers, and weavers; in every house there is a loom. Some of the men, attracted by the pattern of our Ulster coat, began to handle and examine it closely, when suddenly one of them, with a beaming countenance, which plainly indicated that the intricate deftness of the textile fabric had dawned upon him, exclaimed 'Dheanadh sin fhein sud!' (we could manufacture that ourselves!').

Two postcards sent to family members in the USA

WHAT WE DO

We are manufacturers of the worlds largest range of clan-crested products and are constantly adding to the number of clans supported and the range of products. We employ historians to research historical designs, as well as to improve the written histories of the Clans and Kindreds of Scotland. The first major landmark in this effort has been the revision and re-publication of Romilyy Squire and George Way of Plean's the Scottish Clan and Family Encyclopaedia. This book details all the officially recognised leading clan and kindreds, based on the armorial registers of the Lyon Office in Edinburgh. 

In Scotland, the chief of a clan/kindred will have their own coat of arms, consisting of the shield, supporters, crest and so on. Followers of that chief may show their support by bearing the crest of these arms in a strap and buckle – the familiar clan crest badge. Scottish Clansfolk are not permitted to use the chief’s full coat of arms, just the crest, and this is all part of Scotland’s ancient laws of heraldry. 

Our design team using cutting edge CAD and 3D printing techniques to devise historically-informed and researched items, made using traditional methods in the workshops. These designs are made into moulds, which are then sent to casting, or other workshops.

All the parts from casting, wood turning and even plastics, can then be assembled. Our Sporrans workshop, for example, take un-worked leather sheets, and a range of furs, to make top-quality, hand-crafted products.

And over in Broad Street, our highly trained tailors use traditional methods and produce garments to the highest quality.

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