2nd day wearing a kilt

[Nick Sweeney]

It's my 2nd day wearing a kilt and I just realized it's awesome. Why did I not do this sooner?!?!

[Livonian]

I had a similar realization, and I would be of the mind that there are a few basic things that keep men from wearing the kilt:

1. Most people think it's strictly for Scottish cultural events and for the most special of occasions.

2. Eccentricity is frowned upon, at least here in the US. One could be turned out very smartly and traditionally and still be written off as just plain weird due to the presence of a kilt.

3. The kilt is not the most practical of garments in the modern world... tends to get wrinkled if one is not sufficiently fastidious. I almost think that a well-secured belted plaid would work better, as the lower yardage means that the pleats can be gathered up, leaving a flat length of tartan under oneself to allow ease of entry into automobiles. This would also allow the aprons and sporran to cover one's nether regions, even with the legs in full spread. /offtopic

I am glad that I made the choice to wear the kilt as an item of daily apparel, even if some folks test my resolve. The confidence that the kilt has drawn out of me has resulted in my losing 25 pounds (down to 260 from 285 in the beginning of the summer, when I started kilting), landing a job (although I am not kilted at work, nor was I kilted at the interview), dropping a toxic relationship, raising my GPA to a 3.6, and growing a beard (another thing I'd wanted to do but hadn't mustered the confidence for).

So, yes, I agree 100% that kilting is awesome. It's also addictive, and really brings out your inner peacock (despite Saxon attire's best attempts at caging it).

[Tarheel]

Nicely put Livonian. We have our share of peacocks here for sure, but the ease and comfort issue of kilting trumps every debate. It never hurts to be "eye candy" for the masses though.

[Livonian]

Eye candy... very true. There's something about Highland Attire, even at its most conservative, that catches and holds one's glance. The ease and comfort, in my opinion, are what lead to it. Rarely can one so effortlessly and so comfortably dress so splendidly as when one goes clad in Highland Attire.

[MizzouScotsman]

I have been kilted now for 2 years and am only sorry I didn't do it sooner. I have received nothing but positive comments and it allows me to talk of my heritage. Much to my wife's chagrin, I have had numerous ladies as for their photo with me (I learned early to have them get the wife's ok first....lol). I even went kilted when we traveled to Nashville and the Wild Horse Saloon where no less than three bachlorette parties requested photos with me (I was even a part of a "scavenger" hunt with one bride to be's mom asking if I would be the man who would kiss the bride on her cheek).

It may or may not be seen as being a peacock but I consider it marching to the beat of my own drum...something Scots did and still do.

[Archxpat]

I too am new to kilt wearing and wish I had started sooner. It's a great conversation starter.

[auld argonian]

2. Eccentricity is frowned upon, at least here in the US. One could be turned out very smartly and traditionally and still be written off as just plain weird due to the presence of a kilt.

Well….this is where I sort of disagree with you, Liv…..eccentricity being a relative term. If you look at the "hipster" fashions that seem to be proliferating (at least here in Chicago) it's getting hard to tell what's eccentric. When you're talking to somebody with huge ear gauges, pierced facial parts and a ZZTop beard it's difficult to NOT be thinking eccentric. Though I know that there are a few forum members that may have the afore mentioned decorative bits, you have to admit that they are something of a deviation from what's considered "the norm". From my perspective, the guys who go the camo-and-beard-Duck-Dynasty look or the (Lord preserve us!) "lumber-sexual" look would be considered eccentric in my local context while they might look perfectly in sync in their own part of the world.

My point kinda being that I will wear a kilt and get comments and questions (and the odd insult) while people seem to be reluctant to comment on others with extreme tattoos, body piercings, beards, hairstyles or clothing. Now to me, growing up in the time that I did, something like an extreme beard or a shaved head or a serious tattoo was considered a statement. Now, though, stuff like that is pretty ubiquitous and the statement seems to have lost any of its power. Interesting to me that wearing a kilt creates a stir and is, therefore, STILL a statement that has some power. There's so much talk on the forum about "the power of the kilt" and I think that the fact that it will create more of a reaction than most of the other "eccentricities" mentioned above proves that the kilt does, indeed, possess a power…at least around here; in Scotland, it's standard operating procedure and doesn't create such a dramatic response.

So, Nick, carry on proudly!

Best,

AA

[Livonian]

I think the line for eccentric in the eyes of most is when you have different "stuff". The one thing all the hipsters, lumberjacks, punks, goths, etc, etc all have in common is that their attire is

1) Cosmopolitan in style (meaning that a punk in the US pretty closely resembles a punk in Italy, and neither wears anything that the general public would consider tied to a certain nation or era)

and

2) Has common elements with general Saxon attire or cosmopolitan world-wear. Jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers make an appearance in many of the "subculture" looks, and many subculture looks incorporate tailored Saxon wear in unconventional ways.

We, on the other hand, have a totally different silhouette than what people are used to, wear odd bits and baubles with funny names, often end up dressing more nicely than those around us, and are generally doing something completely different sartorially than the vast, vast majority of the public. Most subcultures wear the same items, just differently and in different combinations with different frequency. We wear different stuff, but (often) with an otherwise "conventional" style.

As for those with hardcore tats, piercings, and really punked-out stuff... they aren't as approachable for comment as someone who is wearing traditional dress. Who would you rather tick off: A)Mr. Billy Joe Bad-Butt with the 2-foot beard, sleeve tattoos, piercings and gauges, knee-high lace-up boots, and studded leather from head to toe or B)Mr. MacEksmarks with his kilt, tweed jacket, university tie, tattersall shirt, suggestively-placed pouch, and funny socks with ribbons sticking out the cuffs? Chances are Mr. MacEksmarks would probably not even be ticked off, and would engage the person in pleasant conversation while articulately explaining his choice of attire. Mr. Billy Joe Bad-Butt might do the same, but there's that risk that he might jam one of those knee-high lace-ups far enough up your hindquarters that you'll be answering the age-old question of whether or not Kiwi Shoe Polish actually tastes like Kiwis.

This is the best I can explain why the kilt has the impact it does, and is entirely my own two cents on the matter derived my own limited experiences.