How many kilts do you own? The average Scottish man?

[New World Czech]

The OP asked both, as I interpret it:

"How many does the average Scottish own?
Yourself?"

The thread title, to me, also asks both:

"How many kilts do you own? The average Scottish man? "

That was my thought and since I had nothing to add regarding the Scots, I proceeded to my closet.
So, while I am here again, what I consider as my family tartan is my Czech National. If I had no other kilt it would and is worn closer to how the Scots wear theirs, but I do have other kilts so I choose to be kilted daily in my solid color utilities and the following tartans: American Heritage, R'lyeh, Celtic Nations, Tara, Holyrood, Auld Scotland, Isle of Skye, X Marks, Black Watch, Royal Stewart, McDonald of Clan Ranald and Ogilvie Hunting.

[scotswelshrunner]

Thank you for the responses ! I will now post a different question on the forum regarding this as to why the Scottish male ( or female and kilt skirts ) don't wear the kilt.

Seumas Dòmhnal Ross

[MacThomas]

I own 3 that I wear regularly!

[Stokegers]

My Dad is a Scotband he doesn't actually own a kilt - I own 1 - Maxwell muted.

[WillowEstate]

Hmm, are there any average Scottish men? I thought they were all exceptional !

Be that as it may, I'd go along with the general view that the answer is close to zero, except for pipers, hospitality folks and, of course, XMTS members.

The second question - I have two, one heavy weight military Mackenzie Seaforth and a lighter PV Mackenzie Modern for less formal occasions.

[Orionson]

I have worn the kilt from the age of 8. My first properly owned kilt from age 14 to 21, in Dress MacDuff. (As a callow youth, I didn't know better and opted for the Dress Tartan, only to find it too white and bright for my tastes and needs. It really is a Highland Dancers tartan, and I wasn't a dancer.)

At 21, I had a MacDuff Hunting Kilt (in the Modern colours) made by Geoffrey Tailor in Edinburgh which continues to serve me well to this day - 40 years later. I love the Hunting Tartan and the fact that one rarely sees it oot and aboot.

In 2014, after much research and planning, I commissioned Robin Elliot of Andrew Elliot Weavers, Selkirk to recreate the original 1790 MacDuff Tartan(graciously loaned to me by the Scottish Tartans Authority. (There have been two runs so far and a third is in the works.) With cloth from the first run, I had Paul Henry make me a second Knife Pleat kilt in the 1790 MacDuff. I now wear the kilt roughly 5 day out of 7 every week.

Here in Skye, those who don't know me sometimes ask the "Wedding question", but locals just take it in stride and frequently compliment my dress sense.

In Skye, I also think that the percentage of men who actually own their own kilts may be higher than on the mainland, but for all but a few, it is reserved for special occasions.

[MacGumerait]

In an effort to answer the OP's questions ... here's my two cents .

How many kilts does the "average" Scotsman own ?

Modern Day - probably none or maybe one in some cases .

In Days Gone By - my grandfather and great grandfather were Scottish immigrants ( I was raised by them ) and their answer would have been that they owned one . Of course , they were from a different time . Great grandfather passed at 97 yrs old in 1972 and grandfather at 92 in 1991 .


How many kilts do I own ?

I have been kilted since 1970 ( I'm 58 ) and the answer is three . Montgomery Blue , Montgomery Blue Green and Black Watch ( family connections to the Regiment ) .


Cheers , Mike

[O'Callaghan]

I'm not even vaguely Scottish (although I'm of Irish descent), and I think I own 7 kilts, albeit not a one is actually made of wool.

However, I do have Scots relatives.

My Uncle Archie in Scotland, who has now passed on, used to wear a kilt in some kind of weathered tartan when he attended the local highland games, an event that consisted of caber tossing and other highland sports for which they competed in a public park, there being no admission fee, no sideshows or vendors of highland bric-a-brac, and every man bringing his own hip flask of whisky, so a very different affair from what passes for the same in America. Truthfully, he was really a cousin by marriage, not an actual uncle. He programmed mainframes in Cobol in a Glasgow shipyard, long before it was trendy to be a programmer.

His younger son, something like my second cousin and about my age, does regularly wear the kilt I believe, although he didn't when he was younger. I think the last time I saw a picture of him he was attired in a Black Watch kilt, and the picture was taken in the front room, standing in front of the sofa. Curiously, we both graduated in electrical engineering. I'm not sure if he owns more than one kilt, but his father didn't, and his elder brother doesn't own one atall. The elder brother is a computer programmer, following in his father's footsteps, and that is not a trade you can often say that about.

[Angela Kaye Bodine]

Hi ! Not Scottish, but I love my kilts...I have 12 WOOL KILTS and counting ( but I'm putting a hold on more for a lil bit ) BUT I will get more in time a kilt withdrawal lol...12 is a good number so far lol... I wear my kilts almost every day .... I love them..This is my wardrobe for the rest of my life....Angie..

[MacRobert's Reply]

My father had one kilt that I remember and, as a younger man and a boy, I have photographs of him in others. I grew up wearing kilts, some passed down from cousins. As an adult I have had only one until a few years ago when I had a second one made for my son's wedding, both in clan tartans. Since then I have bought two others, one in clan tartan and one in Clergy. These last two were used but almost new. I am exceptional! Most kilt-wearing Scots (like my son and his friends) have one kilt. Most Scots don't own a kilt but hire shops do good business, especially for weddings.