Rent or Buy Scottish Kilt: What Should You Do?

Kilts are a niche form of fashion but can be worn for a variety of different events, occasions, and functions. Most of us tend to only think of kilts in the context of Scotland and braveheart or Irish nationalism, but you would be surprised how versatile and in-demand kilts have become in the last 10 years. In fact, the classic kilts that you are familiar with are very different from many of the modern kilts that we see today.

If you live in an area that has deep Scotch and Irish roots or you happen to have deep family history or friends with a family history in Scotland or Ireland, you may find yourself in a kilt more than once in your life. You may even find that you need one every year or multiple times in a year.

So the question stands: would it be better for you personally to rent a kilt as you need one, or to buy a kilt that could potentially last you a lifetime? Let’s take a look at some of the top points of consideration if you are looking at buying or renting a kilt. 

What’s the cost of Buying vs. Renting a Kilt?

Right off the bat, you may think that it would be cheaper to rent a kilt than to buy one. That’s really going to vary from person to person. If you and your family don’t have Irish or Scottish roots and you don’t have friends or extended family with that either, you may wear a kilt once in your life. If that's the case, it may make more sense to rent one. Even then, we recommend shopping around for good deals. You may be surprised to hear that sometimes you can buy a kilt for just as cheap as you can rent.

Take a quick inventory of your friends and family to get an idea of how many potential times you could be wearing a kilt over the next 5-10 years. If you find that your rental fees for those events are going to total greater than the price of just buying a kilt for yourself, you’ve got your answer. 

What’s your Family History?

Typically, one of the biggest predictors for buying a kilt vs. renting one can lie in your family history. If you have deep Irish or Scottish roots and a big extended family that likes celebrating in a traditional manner, there’s a high probability that you could be wearing a kilt often. If that’s not the case and you just need a kilt for the rare, one-off special event, it might not make that much sense to splurge for a kilt that is just going to gather dust in the closet. 

Are you Comfortable in a Kilt?

Another excellent question to ask when you are looking at buying vs. renting a kilt is if you are comfortable in a kilt. Sure, kilts come in a variety of different fabrics that can make them more or less comfortable, depending on the weather that you wear them in. The fact still remains that kilts are made for more of a niche audience, and for the most part are worn far less common than suits and formal wear. For a variety of reasons, you might just not be as comfortable wearing a kilt to a party as you would a suit.

How often are you going to wear it?

We have addressed this more or less, but another thing that you should keep in mind when you are looking into buying or renting a kilt is how often you are going to be wearing it. If you already have a good idea of what your family roots are, you can put together some rough numbers of weddings, birthdays, events, and parties that you could potentially wear a kilt to. If that number is on the high end, renting could cost you multiple times more than it would to just go ahead and buy your own kilt.

What’s the difference in the fit of rental kits vs. bought?

Another consideration that you should take into account when you are shopping for kilts is the fit. If this happens to be for a big occasion like your own wedding, you may want to opt for buying your own kilt, purely on the basis of fit. Rental kilts may be snug, baggy, short, or long as they are meant to fit a broad audience of renters. Buying your kilt is going to give you the ability to customize the fit, materials, design, and fabric. This will undoubtedly make the kilt look better in pictures and make you more comfortable.

All to say, there are a lot of factors that go into the decision to either buy or rent a kilt. If you have more questions about kilts and kilt rental, contact us today.