I had a fun Mother's Day in a kilt today. Every year for the last 10 years I go to the Davis Whole Earth Festival at U.C. Davis. This "Festival" is rather liberal and "hippie" for lack of a better word. Tons of tie-dye, dreads (dreadlocks), people wearing pajama-like pants, vendors selling crafts, and lots of political/activist groups. This year I went kilted in my khaki X-Kilt. I figured that I would be a non-conformist amongst other non-conformist who all look the same.
Shortly after arriving my future brother-in-law told me he just saw another guy in kilt walking around. I failed to see him. Shortly after that I saw a guy in a black Utilikilt and I made it a point introduce myself by saying "I glad to see another man in a kilt." He was with his mom who laughed when she noticed I was in a kilt too. My guess was she, like my mom who was with me, was glad to see someone in a kilt there too.
Awhile later as I was looking at some crafts I heard "Hey Utilikilt!" from behind me. I turned around and saw the guy I missed earlier. He and I talked and he said there were about 6 of us there at that time. Both of us had been doing head counts.
Finally, just as I was leaving I heard a man say loudly "It's nice to see someone who knows how to dress for this event." Guess who he was talking to? I turned and saw an older man sitting and wearing a (another) Utilikilt. We talked and he was also able to describe the other kilt wearers at the event. Again we came up with 6 of us.
Rather than the kilt wearers no one, to my face, said anything. One woman, a rather old woman, said to her male partner, right after I walked past them, "I could dress you in a skirt like that guy." She said this right in front of my sister who was lagging behind. My sister said "No, that's a kilt, and he made it himself. He loves them." I don't think she was impressed.
All in all it was rather fun being among hippies and not being a square, or a hippie. It was interesting that we kilt wearers made it a point to greet our peers. It was so much fun I think I'll go kilted to the State Fair when it starts.