21st Century Kilts. 48 Thistle Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1EN
When I first moved to Edinburgh, dark mornings of ‘dreich’ Scottish weather were brightened by an unusual sight on the school run. A smiley, young, bearded dad on a bicycle, cute son bringing up the rear in his own bike seat: a nice enough scene in itself. But the really good bit was that rain or shine, whatever the season, this chap was always wearing a kilt. Not just any old kilt. Never a traditional, run-of-the-mill tartan kilt. No long white socks, furry, hanging sporran or shiny-buttoned ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ jacket in sight. No. The kilts this guy wore — every single day, riding that bike — were made in nice heathery tweeds, a smart grey wool pinstripe, sometimes even army camo fabric, blue denim or black leather. Their details were eye-catching, too: some featured big external detachable pockets, reminiscent of cargo/utility trousers, while the trims, linings and often the undersides of the kilt’s pleats showed a flash of eye-catching, contrasting fabrics. He also wore his kilts in a striking, uniquely casual way, with slouchy wool socks, lovely big leather boots (laces artfully undone), and a signature ‘airline seatbelt,’ low-slung round the waist. On the top half, he wore whatever you’d normally wear with a pair of jeans – a leather jacket, a wooly jumper, a cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up, sometimes with a well-fitted, shorter-cut wool jacket or waistcoat. And of course, for the school run, a florescent ‘high-vis’ jacket, flung over it all. It didn’t take long to find out that this enigmatic figure was Howie Nicholsby, owner of Edinburgh’s 21st Century Kilts.
Howie is a man on a mission. His personal aspiration, his business plan and the whole point of his shop is what he calls a ‘radical evolution’: to bring kilts out of the realm of strictly formal, wedding attire, rugby matches and Braveheart lore and into the everyday wardrobe of modern men, around the globe. This might seem a vaguely outlandish goal – until you meet Howie and visit his beautiful shop on Thistle Street, in the heart of Edinburgh’s historic New Town.
21st Century Kilts is just two small rooms, packed to the brim with rolls of beautiful, richly coloured and textured fabrics of all description: from purple faux-lizard skin to Harris tweeds. The rustic stone walls of the shop are lined with custom-made copper clothing rails that give it an industrial feel – these are hung with rows of ready-to-wear kilts and kilt-jackets in Howie’s signature styles. There’s a well-lit corner for one of Howie’s kilt-makers, Valerie, to make orders before your eyes, and gallery walls chock-full of framed images.
He didn’t have to change much. When you stop to think about it, skirts are just naturally better suited to the male physique. Our ancient male ancestors were skirted — Howie informs me that trousers were actually only invented for horseback riding — and anatomically-speaking, kilts are simply more comfortable than most two-legged garments. They are thus, Howie claims, all the better to safeguard male fertility. That said, the traditional military model of kilt wasn’t quite perfect, in Howie’s eyes. His 21st Century Kilt is cut lower on the waist. Howie calls them “hipsters;” but this adaptation is comfort rather than fashion-driven. In-built pockets at the back and on the inside are another distinctive feature, with the option of detachable external pockets as a modern alternative to the traditional sporran – another practical element for modern men.
Fabric-wise, the sky’s the limit for Howie. His own background has given him creative carte blanche — the Nicholsbys are Jewish and don’t have a family tartan. Sporting an ‘adopted’ clan tartan can be tricky because kilts are a natural conversation piece; “an ice-breaker” and so, as Howie puts it: “if you choose a Cameron tartan because you like it, and you meet a Cameron, and they ask you about it, you’ve got a problem.” Of course, there are safer tartans to choose – like “Hollyrood,” an Edinburgh tartan that Howie, a native of the capital, often wears – but one of his successes as a businessman has been to recognize the limitless possibilities beyond traditional tartan wool. The wide variety of colour and combinations of fabrics on offer at 21st Century Kilts point less to a desire to be trendy than to a highly respectful attitude towards individualism, and yet again, an eye to the garment’s wearability, above all else. In short, Howie’s goal has been consistent from the start – to open up the wearing of kilts to a wider audience of men.
So, apart from inspiring a continued evolution in modern kilt wearing, what lies ahead for 21st Century Kilts? Howie tells me something that may sound counter-intuitive: “My plan in life, at 36 years old, is to never open another shop.” His formula works and Howie has built a strong brand: custom-designed ‘lightening bolt’ 21st Century Kilt-pins are so sought after, he had to stop selling them separately after spotting them moonlighting on cheap, tourist-shop kilts. But instead of expanding, Howie (with the help of his freelance kilt-makers and assistant Fraser) simply plans to make what already works well, work even better. Perhaps, as his mission grows more and more successful, he’ll reach out to grow the wholesale business — but Howie recognizes that what he’s got is special. “It’s not about the money,” he tells me. “It’s about people understanding the ideology of the movement of 21st Century Kilts.” After just one visit to Howie’s shop, I think I do. So much so, that I’m now on a mission of my own – to convert my half-English, non-kilt-owning husband to the cause of Howie’s radical evolution, and get him into a made to measure 21st Century Kilt of his own by his next ‘big’ birthday. It may take an initial leap of faith, but I’m convinced Howie’s passion will persuade him. Then I’ll have to sit back and allow the other mums to admire him on the morning school run.