Most 'kilt-friendly' occasions?

**Kylahullu** · 4th November 14, 01:49 PM

Had to think about this.
Having used a kilt for less than one year now I have had mainly positive occasions. Those not so positive have needed a bit of sense of humour

.

Those needing a sense of humour have been:
- One not-so-close relative in a family gathering saying: "So, you have came out of closet".

Hadn't spoken with him for about 20 years, looks like no need to have any conversation with him during the next 20 years either.
- Walking in Riga (Latvia), seeing (late) teenage girls having their eyes widening open and bursting into laughter after getting to my back.

Well, seemed like Latvian people do not recognize a kilt as a male garment. The adults were more polite but seemingly wondering my garment.
- Strolling on a Portuguese local market place in a small town. Some women had some kind of own fun over my kilt. I just smiled.

Otherwise the experiences have been kilt-friendly. Amongst those experiences have been:
- A birthday party of a friend of a friend. She was 80.
- Many daily walks and visits to food and other stores in my home town.
- Midsummer party in an inn with about one hundred others. A mother asked me to tell about the kilt to her early teen son. Many conversations over the kilt.
- Attending an opera in a medieval castle in Savonlinna.
- A couple of bus-trips to Estonia and one to Latvia. Some partly kilted and one week-long fully kilted.
- Attending (as a spectator) a Highland Games in Finland.
- A 10 day trip to Portugal. Most of the time in Sintra and a couple of days in Lisbon. All time kilted the flights included.

My experience has been that when using a woollen tartan kilt (Roxburgh Red 8yd) it has been easier to be recognized as a male garment than wearing a black one (8yd budget kilt from Buyakilt). So most of the time I have been using the woollen one. During the visit to Portugal I used the black one on the hikes during the day and changed to the other for the evenings. Either way, there was at least three people a day asking to take a photo.

This summer I have had many friendly conversations, with totally strangers, that have started over the kilt and continued to other interesting subjects. I think I will continue kilting.

**Laird_M** · 4th November 14, 02:23 PM

Anytime, anywhere. Wore one fishing recently - no-one batted an eyelid, and who needs an excuse to wear it. If you want to wear it do so.

**brewerpaul** · 4th November 14, 02:37 PM

Kilt friendly occasions.. hummmm let me think

1)Monday
2)Tuesday
3)Wednesday
4)Thursday
5)Friday -usually a pub night also
6)Saturday
7)Sunday

Guess that covers them all for me.

**bwat** · 4th November 14, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by Kylahullu

- Walking in Riga (Latvia), seeing (late) teenage girls having their eyes widening open and bursting into laughter after getting to my back.

They're laughing because they didn't know how else to deal with something new. Kids like that need more experience so they can handle you better. When they get a little older they react differently.

I once had a family cycle past me when I was dressed in a kilt and tweed waistcoat and jacket. As soon as the little girl passed she shouted to her mum "Titta på han!" ("look at he"). I almost stopped the mother as she passed me. I was going to ask her to say something to her daughter. I mean, a child that age should know the difference between the nominative and accusative - it's "titta på honom" not "titta på han"!

**Highwayman** · 4th November 14, 09:14 PM

To clarify, thank you for all the encouragement, but I'm more concerned about the 'You're wearing a skirt?' crowd than the Tartan Police. I've run into very few people who even know the word tartan, I'm more just getting used to the general public looking at me and integrating it in situations where it'll be best received.

**bwat** · 5th November 14, 02:17 AM

Originally Posted by Highwayman

To clarify, thank you for all the encouragement, but I'm more concerned about the 'You're wearing a skirt?' crowd than the Tartan Police. I've run into very few people who even know the word tartan, I'm more just getting used to the general public looking at me and integrating it in situations where it'll be best received.

If they want to call it a skirt then let them call it a skirt. The only people who have called my kilt a "skirt" were people conversing with me in a language other than English so the word "kilt" was a new foreign word to them¹. A native English language speaker calling it a skirt is either woefully ignorant² or looking for a fight. You've surely dealt with these types before, no? Lots of people are just telling you to put on your kilt and do stuff and it's good advice. If you wore your kilt continuously then it would take less than a week for you to be completely at ease and not in the least self-conscious. Check out the threads here and see if you can find someone in your situation who took the plunge and regretted it.

1. Actually, the number of non-native English speakers I come into contact with that do know the word "kilt" is very high.
2. I mean, c'mon, in this day and age?

**Jock Scot** · 5th November 14, 03:07 AM

I have not read all the posts, but I think I have the gist of what has been said. I think that you have made a wise start in picking the time and place to start wearing the kilt and so far so good. I can't help but feel that a tartan kilt, armed with a we tad of knowledge about it, would be an easier route to take---certainly in Scotland-----as I think there is a good chance that more will recognise a tartan and give it some mild respect. Anyway, that is bye the bye, so what to do?How about going for a hike, or some such, where people are about, but not in great numbers? That may build your confidence up to the main event and in truth, as said above, wearing the kilt daily(even for an hour or two) for a week should get you well on your way to having complete confidence with kilt wearing.

You WILL get smart alec comments-----we get them in Scotland too------and you never know when, but sure as night follows day, they will come and if you can, ignore them and the comments WILL hurt, but for certain sure for every negative comment there will be at least a hundred positive ones. Go for it!

**Mikilt** · 5th November 14, 06:15 AM

I've only had one "Nice skirt" comment. I replied, "Did you think of that all by yourself?"

**OC Richard** · 5th November 14, 07:28 AM

I'll put in a different perspective, as I've done often before! I've been a kiltwearer for nearly 40 years now, due to being a piper.

I don't know if pipers are like this in other places around the world, but here in the USA serious competition pipers (solo and band) usually have an odd love/hate attitude towards the kilt.

They view Highland Dress as a necessary evil. They will delay putting on their outfit till the last possible moment, then tear it off as soon as possible after they play. I've heard pipers say countless times that they would much prefer being allowed to compete in ordinary clothes. So, these people only wear the kilt when required to do so, and tend to view people who wear kilts when not required as being eccentric. (In other words they are much like orchestral musicians who have to wear a tuxedo when they play, and who would find it odd were they to encounter a non-musician who wears a tuxedo when going shopping etc.)

Growing up with that attitude all around me (expressed by native Scot pipers as well as American ones) I tend to only wear Highland Dress when required, when piping. I'm at odds with my piping friends because I'll wear kilts at certain other occasions, say Scottish themed concerts and Highland Games and other events even when I'm not piping there. They all show up at such events in ordinary clothes.

I have absolutely nothing against people who wear kilts every day. Good for them! It does my heart good to see kilts in public, especially the rare sightings of traditional kilts. But it doesn't feel 'right' for me.