With time more diverse kilt wearing

[SteveB]

OK gang, I posted earlier on the styles of wearing the kilt that I personally found important to me. I do not believe the same opinions or standards should be had by all. Life would be a real boring bummer.
I would not coordinate a pair of threadbare Levi's, worn out sneakers with a ruffled shirt, black bow tie, cummerbund, and dinner jacket and even dream of attending a formal event. Nor would I nip down to the corner grocer in full top hat and tails either. I feel that much the same applies to the wearing of the kilt. I respect the Scottish identity that the general public tends to favour on a kilt that has a plaid or tartan fabric, whether a ****-kilt or an Anderson full wool. If the kilt is of plain colour, whether in traditional knife pleat, fringed apron pocketless, or Utilikilt type with visible or hidden pockets, I treat it as an American garment, similar to cargo shorts, and wear it far more casually. This is only my take on it. I know of musicians that have decorated tartan kilts in a manner that reflects the "Punk" music movement. Some have posted here. That is their choice and I respect them for it. I enjoy wearing the tartan kilt in public. I have worn the other forms around the house and in the area. I have found that after a short period of constant kilt wearing, the kilt is a natural part of how I kit. It is now so natural that I do not have to think about it in public. I know with confidence that everything will be proper as I amble about my day kilted. Somehow I convey being a little more proud and confident of myself whilst kilted. That is how I honor my very diluted Scot heritage.
I respect whatever others do with theirs.
I will soon master being confident in a great kilt. I right now am practicing the pleating, belting and wearing using some cheap plaid fabric while around the house, before going out in public in real tartan.
I certainly will not be so disrespectful as to visit Glen Coe in a Campbell tartan.
----Steve

[string]

Just don't take up knife or hatchet throwing!

I have a friend who is quite good at that actually. She's been doing it for years, but for the most part she's pretty careful although quite relaxed around sharp objects.

[Chef]

What you have said is that "a proper kilt is not that casual a garment."

That I did say. A proper kilt is (even in it's less expensive forms) a tailored and somewhat costly item of clothing. It doesn't fit with clothes that are meant for mucking out horse stalls. I wouldn't wear an expensive pair of tailored trousers to muck the horse stalls either.

You have said that people with "slovenly" or "grundge" styles shouldn't wear a kilt.

No I said it bothers me. I also said I wouldn't call my congressman to ask for legislation against it. In other words I respect your right to be a slob, I just don't have to like it.

You have stated that people who don't wear the kilt in the manner that you do are not respectful of the kilt's origins.

No I didn't. I said I wear it in a certain manner because of what it means to me. My problem is with those who disrespect the opinions of others for whom the kilt has a meaning.

I think that we can agree to disagree right here and respect that each of us wears a kilt in our own way for our own reasons.

I can only presume we disagree since you have put words in my mouth to disagree with.

The one thing I will ask of you is to recognize that even though I wear my kilt with a muscle shirt, ranger vest, and sandals I respect my Scots heritage and I am damned proud of it. I'm a slob, I'll admit it, but that does not mean I don't respect my ancestors.

My final shot here is to say that anyone who says I don't respect my heritage can kiss my pleats.

I never said you didn't respect your heritage and, as a Scotsman, I am glad you are proud of it. All I ask is that you respect why I may not like with your views on kilts, even though you don't agree with it.

And based on your own admission of being a slob I think I'll pass on the pleats if it's all the same to you?

[Raphael]

I actually started by dressing up casually in my Utilikilts with boots, regular socks, regular shirts and regular jackets. As time went by, I have dressed up in a proper jacket, hose, sporran, kilt pin and dress shirt. However, I still don't see myself wearing flashes or Sgian Dubh.

I wear kilt hose when the weather is cold. If the weather is warm enough, I would not bother.

I assume that most people tuck their shirts in, but I only do it half the time.

[DireStraitsFan]

I always wear the kilt correctly; wrapped around the waist, pleats in back, apron in front, dangly parts out of sight, and absolutely not upside down or inside out.

There is really only one rule governing how we are to dress; when in public, keep your naughty bits covered. Sometimes we can add "no shirt, no shoes, no service" but that is in no way universal.


I wear my kilts with t-shirts and sandals. No sporran. No hose. I sometimes wear athletic shoes or work boots, as the situation may require, and with those, plain white socks (only because hygiene requires it) scrunched up at the ankle. And sunglasses, always sunglasses.

Why do I dress this way? Because it's comfortable and I like it. If I were to dress the way others seem to suggest I must, I would not only have to spend considerable amounts of money on new clothes, but I would also be far less comfortable, and as a result, far less agreeable. A happy slob is definitely better than a pissed off snob.

Honestly, why should I wear clothing that I find uncomfortable and generally unappealing? To satisfy the demands of total strangers? Sorry, but I don't live for the approval of others. You don't have to like it. Hell, you can call it the single greatest abomination in the history of the world. I don't care. Why should I be any more concerned about your opinion than you are about mine?

Anyone who throws a fit about how I dress clearly has too much time on their hands. Really, what does it matter? My clothing is my own business. If it offends you, I suggest looking away, and possibly therapy, as that just isn't healthy.

The only way anyone will ever get a say in how I dress is if they are paying and/or dating me. For anyone else, if they want me to lose the casual attire, they'll have to take it. And if they manage to do so, they'll suddenly find that they are in possession of stolen property, and facing a large, angry, naked man. Believe me, you'd be better off just accepting the t-shirt and sandals.

If anyone prefers to dress formally, semi-formally, casually, or like a total slob, that is their own concern. Let everyone decide for themselves how they prefer to dress, and don't be bothered if someone makes a choice that you wouldn't have made. There are so many other things for us to all worry about. This is right below "dandruff in polar bears" and just above "the problematic temporal mechanics of the back to the future movies" on the big list of things we should worry about.



So, to answer the original question, no, I don't find that I have gotten more casual, as I have nowhere to go but up. If anything, I have gotten slightly less casual. With the kilt, I keep my shirt tucked in.

Well said. Very well said.

I prefer to be "neat" when dressed in a kilt in public. I have no reason why. It's not because I feel I have to consider someone else's ridiculous notions of how I should dress, I just like to be neat in my kilt. But what I consider to be "neat" may not cut it for someone else.

I think you hit the nail on the head with that post. Thank you for saving me a rant.

[duchessofnc]

I wasn't going to post initially because I'm a chicken. But I'm going to do so now. All the bells and whistles that make a kilt look like a piece of formal wear is all well and find. It does look good. But in some ways it can be intimidating to the average person who has Scottish Heritage.

This thread has brought up many points. But I think what it boils down to is this point: Had the English not been so brutal in trying to take away the Scottish Heritage that kilts would have become much more versatile than formal.

Of course nobody wants to see someone truly slobbish in such a garment but then that applies for general dress code as a whole. The term I am striving for is neat casual. As long as the tea shirt matches the kilt and doesn't have anything offensive written on it, then I don't see that there is anything wrong.

[DrewO]

Why hasn't a mod squashed this yet?

For a forum where people speak of the "freedom" of wearing the kilt and expect acceptance of their attire I'm amazed by the amount of judgments passed on and the frequency of these p!ssing matches.

[macwilkin]

Why hasn't a mod squashed this yet?

For a forum where people speak of the "freedom" of wearing the kilt and expect acceptance of their attire I'm amazed by the amount of judgments passed on and the frequency of these p!ssing matches.

So far, Drew, folks have remained relatively civil to each other in this thread. As of this point, there's no real reason to "squash it" yet.

This thread has brought up many points. But I think what it boils down to is this point: Had the English not been so brutal in trying to take away the Scottish Heritage that kilts would have become much more versatile than formal.

A bit simplistic, really. One can make a very compelling argument that without the Highland regiments of the British Army, Highland attire might not have survived at all.

T.

[DrewO]

So far, Drew, folks have remained relatively civil to each other in this thread. As of this point, there's no real reason to "squash it" yet.

Perhaps it has been "relatively civil", but it still comes down to people arguing over what's right and wrong, proper or not.

It's been done before and goes nowhere. Just because A doesn't like B's kilt or what C wears with his doesn't mean any of it is or wrong, just different. To have any back and forth about it is nonsense and the thread should be closed. If people choose to bicker, they can do it in PM.

I'm hardly an interweb pacifist, it just takes away from what is otherwise agreat forum.

[macwilkin]

Perhaps it has been "relatively civil", but it still comes down to people arguing over what's right and wrong, proper or not.

It's been done before and goes nowhere. Just because A doesn't like B's kilt or what C wears with his doesn't mean any of it is or wrong, just different. To have any back and forth about it is nonsense and the thread should be closed. If people choose to bicker, they can do it in PM.

I'm hardly an interweb pacifist, it just takes away from what is otherwise agreat forum.

Drew,

I'll be happy to submit your suggestion to the other mods for review; you're always welcome to do the same as a PM or report a post/thread if you feel it violates forum rules somehow.

Regards,

Todd