My wounded Saffron pride!

[slohairt]

Earlier today I was at a wedding for my wife's friend. I went kilted of course: I was wearing my saffron kilt with my green Kilkenny jacket. Anyhow, the couple getting married had many friends and family from all over the globe. I was approached by a young Scotsman and his friends who snickered and asked why I was wearing a skirt. I replied that it was an Irish saffron kilt, not a skirt. He then told me in a most authoritative manner that kilts were only tartan and only for people from Scotland! (I noted he was wearing boring khakis and a blue shirt).
He needlessly regaled me with all sorts of nonsensical quasi-history as if I were some fool who fell off a turnip wagon yesterday! I told him I was a kiltmaker and that kilts can be made in a variety of materials. I told him that I wore the saffron for my Irish heritage. (I was born in Bunbeg, Co. Donegal-but we moved to Canada when I was 4).
Fed up with his nonsense, I told him that being from Scotland made him no more an authority on kilts than me being from Canada made me an authority on maple syrup! His friends laughed at that and wandered away!

Has anyone else encountered this kind of behaviour?

[Mr. Kilt]

I wore my SWK Saffron kilt to my parents place last week for Thanksgiving. My mother has grown accustomed to seeing me in kilts over the past 3 years, but when she opened the door she exclaimed "Now THAT looks like a skirt! Kilts are supposed to be tartan". Tried to explain the Irish angle of the solid kilts, but she seemed stuck on the tartan idea. Sad, really, especially since my grandfather came from Co. Antrim.

[McClef]

You probably do know more about maple syrup than he does about a kilt!

Sounds like this guy had a very dog in the manger attitude besides being unbelieveably ignorant despite the Scottish education system.

[slohairt]

Actually you're probably right, I seem to remember attending a few "Sugar Bush" school trips as a kid!

An Bhreatain Bheag go brath!

[David Dalglish]

It is usually Scotsmen that have never worn a kilt that have this narrow minded attitude to others wearing one. I am glad we are not all of the same opinion. Wear your kilt with pride

[slohairt]

It's sad but it seems whenever I wear an Irish kilt (solid-coloured) I usually have to wear all the kilt accessories with it to make the layman realise what it is.

[Blu (Ontario)]

It is usually Scotsmen that have never worn a kilt that have this narrow minded attitude to others wearing one. I am glad we are not all of the same opinion. Wear your kilt with pride

I was wondering about that possibility myself. And if he had, it most assuredly would have been in the protected confines of his own little group.

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[Riverkilt]

I live in a tourist area. Its not unusual for Scots to ask polite, curious, questions about my solid color Utilikilts. Their attitude has always been positive.

Once in Las Vegas while wearing a traditional hand sewn kilt I was approached by a "lady" who claimed to be Scottish but had an American accent. She berated me for something but I couldn't understand her because she was very intoxicated and her vocal cords, tongue, and lips weren't moving the way she thought they were to produce the sounds she wanted to make. Still wonder what she wanted to berate me for.

And that, I suspect, is the case with your young Scotsman. Guessing he "approached" you at the reception AFTER he'd had a few drinks....?

In any case, you have my high admiration for such a glorious retort. I'm working on adjusting it for being American so I'm ready in case it happens to me again.

I do love these stories.

Ron

[scoutniagara]

Every three years or so, a group of Glaswegian scouts travelling with their kilts, visits Niagara Falls. I act as host and arrange a restaurant meal for them. While hosting them this summer, I greated them in my tan Sportkilt. They thought it was neat! They'd never seen a non-tartan kilt before, and seeing a cotton/poly solid colour kilt "tickled their fancy". I wore that kilt while grocery shopping with them and never noticed a glance from other shoppers. I changed for dinner, and wore my SK black stewart. I save my Burnetts and Struth hunting MacIntosh for dress-up occasions and travelled all over the UK with it.

The scouts' leader (and now friend) was my host in Glasgow while I visited me gran'mither's birthplace, Dunoon.

[Blu (Ontario)]

.... While hosting them this summer, I greated them in my tan Sportkilt. They thought it was neat! They'd never seen a non-tartan kilt before, and seeing a cotton/poly solid colour kilt "tickled their fancy"....

Niagara Falls is a fantastic kilt friendly place.... I've had many wonderful compliments - on both sides of the border. Many very attractive women there giving winks and thumbs up. Never had a single negative comment there. (Just be careful on the grate stairs at Niagara Glenn.)

I plan on wearing my solid color kilt there next spring.

.