The relationship between Scots and America began as far back as the early 1600s when prisoners, indentured servants, and free Scots traveled to the New World. Free Scots, or Scots who had traveled to America on their own accord, initially settled on the east coast. Generally speaking, Lowland Scots tended to settle in towns such as New York and Highlanders headed for the frontier, like North Carolina.
Before the Revolutionary War in 1775, it’s estimated that 150,000 Scots emigrated to America. This may seem like a small number in today's world, with 8 billion people in it, but it’s worth considering that at that time, Scotland's population hovered around just 1 million. These early settlers are who we have to thank for such a large community of American-Scottish people in the US today.
Why would an American wear a kilt?
With so many early Scottish settlers in America, as well as Scots that arrived after the Revolutionary War, the number of people with Scottish heritage grew exponentially over time. As a result, kilts have been prevalent in America since its conception and you don’t need to have been born in Scotland to wear one, you don’t even need to be Scottish at all. If Scots are known for one thing, it’s being proud of their heritage and that is applicable to Americans who have even just a little bit of Scottish blood in them. People wear kilts in America as an expression of their Scottish connection, for fashion, or even just for traditional Scottish events like Burns Night or highland games. Kilts and tartan are colourful and stand out in a crowd of suits, so really the question should be, why wouldn’t an American wear a kilt?
American-Scottish Heritage
There are over 100 annual highland games that take place across America and thousands of Burns Suppers that are celebrated every January 25th. In the 2020 census, there were over 8 million people who identified as fully or partly of Scottish ancestry. This is a significant figure as it makes America the place with the most Scots outside of Scotland. In fact, out of the 46 presidents of America, 34 of them have Scottish ancestry. With these figures, you could argue that there are probably more kilts in America than anywhere else in the world, outside of Scotland that is.
How to Buy a Kilt in America
With so many Americans with Scottish heritage, you would expect a traditional Scottish kilt store in every major US city but unfortunately, this isn’t the case. The craft of kiltmaking is an intricate art form that is learned through being taught by an expert. Sure, YouTube and other online videos are a great tool for learning the basics, but what makes kiltmaking a true craft is the knowledge and techniques that have been passed down for centuries. These can’t simply be learned online on your own, they need to be taught. There is also the issue of making the tartan, which also isn’t easy to achieve without the right knowledge and equipment. This is why the majority of highlandwear that can be bought in America isn’t quite comparable to authentic Scottish products.
So what is the solution? Fly from America all the way to Scotland for a new kilt outfit? Well, no that isn’t necessary. With such high demand for Authentic Scottish highlandwear across the pond, we decided to set up a Virtual Kilt Fitting Service, specifically for our international customers.
Virtual Kilt Fitting Service
Our kilt fitting service is conducted over video call with one of our highlandwear stylists. They start your appointment by getting to know you, they find out what your highlandwear requirements are and make personalised recommendations based on your specific needs. Our stylist will walk you through our range of over 4,000 different Clan and Universal tartans as well as help you discover the wide range of different highlandwear styles we have to offer. They will also assist you in taking your own measurements which ensures that once your highlandwear arrives, everything fits seamlessly.All of the kilts we make are made in Scotland by our highly experienced kiltmakers and all of the tartan we sell comes from our carefully selected Scottish mills. Our Virtual Kilt Fitting Service really is like visiting one of our stores. The people, the products, the service, everything is the same, the only thing that is different is you don’t actually have to travel to Scotland to experience it all.
Whether you’d like an 8-yard made-to-measure kilt or a traditional tartan trews outfit, why not try it for yourself? Click Here to book a Virtual Kilt Fitting appointment and get the Kings of Kilts experience from the comfort of your own home.
