Kilts in the old west

[macwilkin]

The OP was asking about a kilt worn with cowboy boots, cowboy hat, cartridge belts and holsters. I'm thinking he was toying with the idea of such an outfit for "cowboy action shooting", perhaps? At any rate, a kilt worn with such an outfit would be a total anachronism. The examples cited of fur-trade era Scots explorers and military types don't really apply to what the OP had in mind (but I could be wrong!)....

Exactly. As Brian well knows, open displays of ethnicity by individual immigrants didn't happen much in 19th century America, especially by non WASP immigrants, unless you lived in an immigrant community, or you happened to be serving in an immigrant military unit. Szasz notes that even among the largely accepted Scots, you generally didn't see overt displays of "Scottishness" unless it was at a function of the local St. Andrew's Society/Burns Club/Presbyterian Church.

One of the best examples of this is Norman Maclean's father, the Rev. John Maclean, in A River Runs Through It. In the movie depiction, the only kilt shown is worn by a piper at the Presbyterian Church picnic.

T.

[sydnie7]

Another SoCal forum member, Calico, is active in the OP's area of interest. Based on our conversations, he seems to keep kilting and those other interests totally separated.