Today is my 'one full year of only wearing kilts out and about' anniversary

[pugcasso]

On October 12 , 2011, I walked into the local small store which sells some kilts (the Plaid Place) and got my first kilt (a 'Scottish National' tartan one). I walked out of the store wearing it and have been wearing kilts every time I've gone out for a year today. (indoors I just wear cheap cloth wraps)

I wish to celebrate by getting a new kilt but I'll have to settle for my current two for a while yet.

Many people in the general populace may look at one as insane or 'odd' for wearing a kilt (or wearing anything out of the ordinary, especially for males I think) but I look at a lot of 'normal' clothes and trends and think they are insane (and just because 90% of the population does something doesn't make it any more sane). There have been many positive comments and some photos with tourists and strangers so it's been an interesting experiment in that way too.

Everyone would have their own reasons for wanting to wear kilts daily (or as often as one wants). I had been researching ancient clothes around the world for some time and saw that for centuries and millenia, men often wore a certain form of clothing (knee-length wrap or tunic, leggings, etc). I was already in disagreement with many aspects of how I see modern "civilization" (or our template of "civilization") and I think wearing kilts makes me feel outside a system I feel isn't quite right. I also think it makes one feel closer to natural forces. When the wind blows your clothes around, you feel automatically feel more a part of natural forces. And kilts just look darned good too!

[GMan]

Good for you. A grand feeling is it not?

[BruceBC]

Well done and well said.

[auld argonian]

Good on ya' for having the persistence to go the full year...these days, I've gotten to be a very occasional kilt wearer so you have my admiration.

Yeah...how can people look at a kiltie and think that he's strange with all the "fashion statements" going around these days? I've seen guys wearing plaid shorts that were so baggy that I had to take a second look to see that the shorts weren't a kilt. Yesterday I saw some young guy wearing shorts with too-short pajama pants under them and some cutesy little stocking cap with animal ears on it....tres chic, no? Mentioned to my ma that I was going to try to remember to wear the kilt downtown one day so I could check out some of the jackets and vest at the newly opened branch of Hot Shop that we have here now..."Why can't you just carry it and put it on at the store?" Because, ma, those of us who wear the damn things are actually happy to wear 'em and if somebody has a problem with it, it's their problem and not ours!

Carry on, sir...you are acquitting yourself well.

Best

AA

[RogerWS76]

Those baggy plaid shorts you saw were just bifurcated kilts! They are everywhere these days!

[Clockwork]

I can totally relate you on this, OP. Life is what you make it; if you find common traditions or trends illogical, you'll be happier not following them. Instead, live life as you feel is logical, regardless of whether or not people end up viewing you as eccentric. Like you, I found unbifurcated clothing more logical from an anatomical perspective than bifurcated clothing as they exist today, and that lead me to purchase my first kilt. I've not gone back pants or shorts since then, unless I'm required to wear them or a particular activity calls for them. For instance, working around heavy machinery, especially any of which has exposed moving parts, would be much safer if one was wearing close-fitting clothing as opposed to loose fitting clothing. Same idea for many sports (could you image the amounts of skin lost from kilted baseball players sliding about on dirt? Ouch ). I know what you mean about our civilization too. So many everyday activities really make no sense. I still haven't figured out how we came to the conclusion that consuming milk (note: milk from cows, specifically designed and intended for consumption by cows, not humans; we already have milk designed and intended for us to consume) long after infancy is okay. It's just one of those things we're mindlessly raised to do.

Anyway, congrats on not only wearing your kilt regularly, but also for taking that initial step to purchase one in the first place.

Cheers,
-Jake

[plaid preacher]

Congratulations on your one year anniversary. And remember that famous Celtic blessing:

May the road rise to meet you,
May the rains fall softly on your fields;
May the sun shine upon,
And may a gentle breeze blow up your kilt.

[Chas]

A Year! Well Done! Here's to the next and the next and the next ...

Regards

Chas

[MizzouScotsman]

Happy anniversary!

[pugcasso]

Thanks folks...

A grand feeling is it not?

Yes, I feel like I have done what I felt like and wanted to regardless of any public opinion which may not understand.

Well done and well said.

Thank you!

"Why can't you just carry it and put it on at the store?" Because, ma, those of us who wear the damn things are actually happy to wear 'em and if somebody has a problem with it, it's their problem and not ours!

Although I'm not really into doing things for shock value, I also feel if anyone is annoyed or shocked at attire similar to what men wore for millenia in various cultures, then it is their problem, not mine.

I sometimes view older photos from the 1800's and early 1900;s of various locations in the world and they are still wearing tunic-like clothes or just cloth wraps (like in some warmer places). Before places started getting so changed by western culture, I think their attire was much more authentic and primordial.

could you image the amounts of skin lost from kilted baseball players sliding about on dirt? Ouch

This is why Scottish sports all involve throwing large or heavy objects about and not sliding on the ground :-))

May the road rise to meet you,
May the rains fall softly on your fields;
May the sun shine upon,
And may a gentle breeze blow up your kilt.

A gentle breeze is ok but yesterday was darned windy here and walking up a hilly street downtown to an intersection was almost a Marilyn Monroe moment (or at least it feel like it might be). I took a short-cut across the back hill of Citadel Hill and it was so windy ... the grass was blowing in visible waves and the pleats were being tossed hither and tither by the goddess of the breeze - it was refreshing and excessive weather always make me feel connected to nature more - but excessive windy weather surrounded by cars at an intersection is another story).

A Year! Well Done! Here's to the next and the next and the next ...

Yes, I don't feel like doing anything different. Now that Autumn (oh is it ever nice to have autumn roll around again - much better than summer in my opinion) and then winter are here, it is getting a bit chilly but that's fine. Winter days are mostly fine but some days of -20 C wind chill aren't as kilt-friendly so I'll do what any sensible person would do and wear some bright red long-johns underneath (sacrilege! But better that than frozen inner thighs).

Happy anniversary!

Thank you. To celebrate, I got a tall bottle of 'Barleywine Style ale' from Moylan's (at 10%, it is dark, rich and warm and good for a cold evening) and another of there's called the "Kilt Lifter" (at 8% it's like a lighter version of the first). All the way from California to Halifax, Nova Scotia, they make some nice beers.