The "Don of Fear"

[Manxstralian]

In the interests of science, in the five days since this thread started I've not donned trousers and kept a record of the responses I've had. Keep in mind this is only holding true for Melbourne, Australia, and I live in the inner city. Also, I have been in a moving vehicle twice in this time (a (taxi) cab to and from a party), otherwise I walk everywhere. In this time I've calculated I've walked about 30km, both day and night, alone and with one or two others.
I wore my Black Watch predominantly, but on two days my Manx Blue, always wear dark self-coloured kilt hose with knitted garters, and a plain black "regimental style" sporran, except at the party which had a "ceremonial" theme, where I had a pocket square, rose in my lapel, and my silver cantled wallaby fur sporran.
Also because it's getting cold here, I wore a tie, waistcoat and often a charcoal tweed jacket (I do find a higher level of formality makes the kilt less of an issue, based on previous experience).

The results so far (I'm considering doing this for a week in total, assuming I can get some hose to dry);
One obnoxious drunk (at the aforementioned party) asked if I was naked under my kilt, who got my obnoxious drunk response (implying I was also obnoxious and drunk): "close your eyes and open your mouth" (sorry if anyone is offended by that, but it without fail ends the conversation),
Three "you look fantastic" comments from complete strangers (one young man (25ish), and two women (about 30ish),
Sixteen "come hither" looks from young ladies (I should have kilted in my single days!),
One "Here's my number, give me a call", which has never happened to me in the past (as above!!!),
Three "going somewhere special?" questions from shopkeepers,
And one free pint from a Scotsman at a pub. (I also got a very "light" bar tab at the same place, which may have been simple miscalculation, but I don't think so).
Of course, my friends all complimented me, but they aren't the point of the exercise. And also as a self-employed guitar technician, I have a lot of leeway with my customers, so I haven't included their responses.

So from this I can only assume that if people notice the kilt, you have a less than 5% chance that you're going to get a negative response, and overwhelmingly it will boost your confidence to kilt on in future.

So, I say go with it! You have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Cheers,

Cameron

[KentuckyCeltophile]

"close your eyes and open your mouth" .

*Lauching my ar** (non-American swear word, so its ok for me to say it) off* I wish I were witty like that. I think where confidence is lacking, its good to have an arsenal of snappy remarks. I suppose a finite amount of alcohol would help too. Very funny. Great post.

KC

[Manxstralian]

*Lauching my ar** (non-American swear word, so its ok for me to say it) off* I wish I were witty like that. I think where confidence is lacking, its good to have an arsenal of snappy remarks. I suppose a finite amount of alcohol would help too. Very funny. Great post.

KC

It's my "safe area" response which I use when there's not a threat of violence, and only to irritating men (why this is of interest to them I have no idea). There was no way I was going to get into an altercation in that situation, because I had a crowd on my side (he was being quite annoying). In "public" situations, I generally go with "I'm a man of few words, give me your hand", which is apparently quite a classic response amongst older gents. Still, I found more hose in my drawer, so the experiment continues today! Care to join me?

Cheers,

Cameron

[Manxstralian]

Oh, and as an example, this is my standard attire (I'm in full "animated conversation" mode here, arguing about my favourite film). This was sent to me yesterday, apologies for the "hipsterfication" of the image, it wasn't my doing.

Cheers,

Cameron

[KentuckyCeltophile]

What the deuce are those people doing behind you???? You might have missed out on something there. Anyway, as you said you had darker colored tartans, mine is a Royal Stewart. It jumps out and grabs people. Sure to get some response.
KC

[Manxstralian]

What the deuce are those people doing behind you???? You might have missed out on something there. Anyway, as you said you had darker colored tartans, mine is a Royal Stewart. It jumps out and grabs people. Sure to get some response.
KC

I know, but I'm not saying... Actually, they are cleaning up, it just looks inappropriate.
But my Manx Blue is not so dark, and also not such a common colour, so it get more attention than you'd think:

[KentuckyCeltophile]

Here's a pic of my Royal Stewart. I wore it to church on Christmas Eve here in the states. It was 18 degrees F that night. Turns out it was a casual outfit. However, not too many people in Appalachia wear suit coats. As you can see it is bright.

[Sharkman]

KentuckyCeltophile,

You will stand taller and relish that feeling of pride that you have for your ancestors when you wear the Kilt. I was a little apprehensive myself a while back when I first started wearing the kilt. But I guarantee you that any negative comment or look that you may get is a reflection of their ignorance and lack of civility. All the more reason to stand tall and be proud of your heritage. And don't hesitate to smack'em down if they run their mouths! It is a small minded individual that would hazard a snide remark toward me whether wearing a kilt or not. I don't ever hesitate to give it right back to them when I get one. If you have to guts to try and insult me, I have no problem returning the comment in kind.

[rmccool]

I doubt that I am alone. Can anyone else relate to this feeling--the "don of fear" (being afraid to wear it)? Maybe most of you have grown past this fear and proudly sport your colors anytime of day. What can you say for the rest of us? Can you share any stories of your first time wearing your kilt?

In most of Kentucky, standards of dress tend to be conservative and there isn't the cosmopolitan, "live and let live" viewpoint that one typically finds in more urban areas. I'm lucky in that the Lexington area is a bit more relaxed about such things than other parts of Kentucky, but even so kilts are not exactly common in the Bluegrass. It was tough to put on my first kilt (a USA Kilts semi-trad) and wear it in public, but I did - and I found that most people ignored it. Since then I've received numerous compliments, a couple of rude remarks, but mostly just interested questions.

I wear both traditional and contemporary (modern-style) kilts, and I wear 5.11 Tactical Duty Kilts on a regular basis. (In fact, I'm wearing one while sitting at work, on my lunch break, typing this...) Because they don't look like traditional kilts, people sometimes take a little while to figure out what my TDKs are. Even so, I rarely hear any negative comments, and I really don't care what people say behind my back.

That, I think, is the ultimate point... that you can't let yourself be bothered too much by what other people think. I once overheard a couple of young (early 20s) construction workers laughing between themsevles about my kilt while I was in a home improvement store. It annoyed me at first, then my thought process ran something like this: "I've been happily married for almost 30 years to a woman who seems fully contented to have me. I've been kicking doors and arresting nasty people for a quarter of a century, I volunteer to rescue people from some tough situations that they can't get themselves out of, and I run into burning buildings as a hobby. Whenever I need the opinion of any young fellow who's barely old enough to vote about my masculinity, I'll ask him." It's just a matter of developing self confidence, or what I prefer to think of as a simple indifference to the opinions of people I probably don't even know. As many others have said, "Those who matter won't mind, and those who mind probably don't matter."

With that said, it is worth noting that not all occasions are appropriate for the kilt, if only because it might attract attention away from the person or activity that's the appropriate center of attention for that event. Father Bill's comment about not wearing a kilt to officiate at a funeral is an example. The same is true if you have a workplace dress code that doesn't allow for kilts, or if you need to wear specific clothing for an activity. (Firefighting and horseback riding, for example, are two activities that are decidedly not kilt-friendly. )

[thecompaqguy]

Am on a family holiday in Wales, most know I had an interest in kilts (they see it more as a 'fixation' ) and I brought along my Freedom Tartan (Gold Bros.) a Black Watch and a denim kilt, and have been alternating them. The Denim kilt first raised eyebrows, and a couple of 'what on earth is that?' remarks, as well as the usual 'skirt' quips. I just ignored it, the more you try to explain or justify, the worse it is. I wore the Black Watch, sans sporran but with a belt. It was implied being of colour, I should not have any interest in the kilt, especially as someone English as it was not my national dress. I said, as British, I can wear what I want (I didn't go into the details of how the small kilt was allegedly designed by an Englishman)... There used to be another fellow black kilt wearer, TChalla, who I've not seen around for a while on this forum, but being adopted into a white family probably makes things more of a challenge. So the 'don of fear' was there, but you just have to work thru it. But to back down and not wear it would indicate shame... But they just have to adjust to seeing me in a kilt and it will become commonplace