Kilt at the Office

[Mithosphere]

My workplace supposedly allows kilts, something I will be testing next weeks during a somewhat formal event with a bunch of “higher-ups” present. For normal days, what can I wear that would be appropriate for an officer environment?

Surely some of you work in an office and could give a little insight?

I have a gray kilt (new) and a blue one, and an old khaki Mocker from Utilikilts (no cargo pockets).

Do I need to wear long hose/socks and flashes or are shorter socks and dressy sneakers doable?

I mostly wear jeans and slacks (non-customer facing job) and a long sleeve collared shirt.

[Father Bill]

All of that depends on your corporation, not on your kilt. It's frankly their choice, not yours.

[RichardtheLarge]

To my mind, a kilt without proper long hose and flashes looks “off”, as if one researched what a kilt is but not how to wear it or anything else about it. You frequently see people like this at the games.

Tell us a bit more about the event and about your solid color kilts—are they wool? Polyester? Are they in the Utilikilt style?

I’m of the opinion that a canvas or synthetic Utilikilt basically can’t be “dressed up” the way a traditional kilt can—that is, I don’t think it looks good to wear one with a kilt jacket and tie. I own one but it’s for hiking and working outside of the office.

[Jumpmonkey]

Having come to kilts through the TDK and a couple of Stumptown Kilts. I think they can be dressed up a tad, hose, sporan and a jumper or button-up and vest can elevate it a bit. That said, having just picked up my first traditional kilt (USA Kilts Casual Kilt, Holyrood tartan), even though it's a "casual" kilt it really kicks things up a few notches in the "formal" department over a modern, utility-type kilt. I've been thinking to myself the last few days, I feel like the Casual Kilt is like khakis. They're much nicer than jeans, but not formal.

A quick note: While I think you can elevate the modern/utility type kilts with some proper accessories, I find it pretty tough to do, especially when it comes to vests. The material of my vests (wool or woolish in some cases) looked terrible alongside the cotton of my stumptown kilts.

[McMurdo]

I wore the kilt every day for 6 years at an office job, working on computers, I do not have that position now and so do not wear it to work every day but do wear it from time to time. I think a good place to look would be the 1 kilt 10 looks thread, there are some of the looks there that work perfectly in an office setting.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-attire-46888/

Here are a few recent photos from when I've worn the kilt to work

[KiltedSergeant]

I think a good place to look would be the 1 kilt 10 looks thread, there are some of the looks there that work perfectly in an office setting.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-attire-46888/

Glen's photo's are intact, but most of the pictures in Jamie's list are missing (at least on my computer, should it be a function of my browser, or whatever). Do we know why?

[Jumpmonkey]

Glen's photo's are intact, but most of the pictures in Jamie's list are missing (at least on my computer, should it be a function of my browser, or whatever). Do we know why?

I think that post is antiquated. I've never been able to see a number of those photos in the year I've been at x-marks. Maybe our good-natured brethren could update it.

[GMan]

I was fortunate in that I was self employed, so it was not an issue for me. A lot of it may be the corporate culture,

Good luck to you.

[SunriseEarth]

My workplace supposedly allows kilts, something I will be testing next weeks during a somewhat formal event with a bunch of “higher-ups” present. For normal days, what can I wear that would be appropriate for an officer environment?

Surely some of you work in an office and could give a little insight?

I have a gray kilt (new) and a blue one, and an old khaki Mocker from Utilikilts (no cargo pockets).

Do I need to wear long hose/socks and flashes or are shorter socks and dressy sneakers doable?

I mostly wear jeans and slacks (non-customer facing job) and a long sleeve collared shirt.

IMHO, Utilikilts are the equivalent of jeans and could be worn how you would normally wear them. If nice sneakers are permitted with jeans at your office, they could work with the kilts. I think kilt hose and loafers could dress it up somewhat. Boots could work well with socks of any length.

[glynrb]

In 2014 it was confirmed that I had an epididymal cyst. Women don't get it - Look it up if you can handle gore. I was a self employed IT consultant working in a UK hospital. The problem was that it would be 2 months+ before the cyst could be operated on, I had a project on that was critical to the operation of the hospital, and trousers were NOT an option. AND I needed to earn my keep!

I remembered seeing an elegant gentleman at a social event wearing a Utility Kilt (as I later discovered). As a result I purchased a Utility Kilt and, with some trepidation, wore it to the "office". All of my colleagues were interested. My main customer asked about it. No one complained. The really interesting bit was when I was out in the "public" part of the hospital. I found I had to allow an extra 5 minutes or so to each visit because patients, usually women, would want to discuss my utility kilt with me. I never had a negative response from anyone, directors, staff or patients.

Over time I purchased more utility kilts and traditional kilts. I gained the impression that a utility kilt with a smart shirt (no tie), long black socks and brogue shoes was best for most purposes. Flashes seemed to be a bit too "flash".

Traditional Scottish kilts seemed to distract people a bit too much, but when wearing a traditional tartan with flashes, etc, I DID get a LOT of attention from female patients.

When my operation came around it wasn't an immediate success ("collateral damage from a mis-spent youth" was how the surgeon described it). So I had to wear kilts for another 6 months. At the end of that time I decided I wasn't going to go back to trousers and since then I have worn jeans or trousers on about 10 occasions.

In conclusion:

Utility Kilt with T-shirt replaces Jeans
Utility Kilt with smart shirt and brogues replaces "smart casual"
Full Scottish Tartan without flashes is the equivalent of a smart suit and tie

Hope that helps