How Did You Select Your First Kilt?

[tripleblessed]

[QUOTE=Karl R;1370473]This may not have been your intent, but your statement comes across as extremely judgmental.

If I agreed with you on any of that, I wouldn't own a kilt. Given that Bluethunder90 specifically stated that he's not of Scottish descent, he's probably not choosing a tartan as an act of self-definition.

Out of all the possible statements my kilt can possibly make, the one that most closely represents who I am (and what I care about) is this:
[I]"If you're going to judge me negatively because of my appearance, then I don't care what your opinion is.QUOTE]

The question was asked here, not out on the street. It is a fact that those statements and sentiments are said here.
Not judgments, just what can be read. The question was what people here consider when choosing one's first kilt.
My intent was to be informational, not judgmental. It is almost never my intent to be judgmental. I certainly wouldn't
be accurate if I said it's never happened, but in nearly 72 years I've said many things that did not come out as intended.
Or were heard to have meaning that never entered my mind. I have spent more than half my life being asked for help
with finding ways to improve the quality of one's life. Forgoing judgment is pretty high on that list. I work at it. I'm
better than fair at it. Rarely met is the man who is perfect.

The OP stated he wants military tartans to reflect his service, indicating that he is taking symbolism into account in his
choice. He asks our thoughts. I offered some. You ask for my knee-jerk reaction to a photo that doesn't appear here
or by link, and yet the answer is simple. Like most people everywhere, I recognize very few tartans. Some folk here
know more than most, but there are thousands. My statement speaks to the that very fact - few will recognize any
tartan you choose, but you can count on being asked what tartan it is, and/or why you chose it. I think I can say with
a fair amount of certainty that many will have a judgment about your choice, rightly or wrongly. In that example, I am
betting those questions will arise. I clearly stated I am willing to support any choice one makes; I am advising clear and
broad thought should the choice be other than one's clan, district, or service affiliation. Some of the questions will get
old very quickly, but are easily avoided by careful consideration beforehand.

Should you care to look through the pictures from past Stone Mountain Highland games and the Conyers Celtic Tavern
gatherings and Burns suppers, you will will see I am much closer to your position on other peoples' opinions than you
apparently gathered from this one post. More clearly, I don't care so much what your opinion is, only that should you
choose to have one that it be based in some awareness of the relevant facts. I do have a willingness to discuss it with
you at great length, as long as we both can hang with it. My respect for who anyone is is pretty large, and I'm always
interested in how someone has come to be who they think they are, and how accurate their assessment is.

And note my close in the quoted post. I am (hopefully) clearly saying these are my own thoughts. They may not be
worth as much you paid for them, but they were offered in good faith, good intent, and good humor. If unsatisfactory,
I will happily refund as much of the purchase price as I can muster.

Should you make it this far from home, please let us know far enough beforehand to get a kilt night together. Others will attest to having had a pretty good time with us, and you'll find I don't bite. Or at least, not often. And not without appropriate foreplay.

[Karl R]

My intent was to be informational, not judgmental. It is almost never my intent to be judgmental.

Fair enough.

The OP stated he wants military tartans to reflect his service, indicating that he is taking symbolism into account in his choice.

Maybe, but there are other possible reasons for his choices. For me, the concept of "permission" influences my choices. (I realize that I don't need anyone's permission to wear any tartan in the world, but I'd prefer to be able to shut down any "kilt police officer" who believes that I do need permission.) The firefighter's memorial tartan looks awesome ... but I'm not a firefighter. I don't know any firefighters. I've met a couple firefighters in my life, but that connection seems a little ... tenuous ... for my personal preference.

Instead, I'll find some other tartan that I like equally well ... where my connection to the tartan can be a little more substantial.

If you think about his choices in terms of "permission," they still make sense. He's been a member of the army and navy. Black Watch is universal. And he's also asking about Laphroaig as a potential connection to the Argyll District.

My statement speaks to the that very fact - few will recognize any tartan you choose, but you can count on being asked what tartan it is, and/or why you chose it. I think I can say with a fair amount of certainty that many will have a judgment about your choice, rightly or wrongly.

Stated that way, I agree with what you're saying. People will ask. Have an answer. But to quote Rocky from USA Kilts: "Context." If I were the one wearing the Laphroaig tartan kilt, I'd be a little uncomfortable explaining my tartan at Aunt Barbara's funeral, or at a hoighty toighty black tie event. But if I was wearing the kilt to a pub ... no problem.

In that example, I am betting those questions will arise. I clearly stated I am willing to support any choice one makes; I am advising clear and
broad thought should the choice be other than one's clan, district, or service affiliation. Some of the questions will get old very quickly, but are easily avoided by careful consideration beforehand.

Heh. Did you look at Bluethunder90's avatar? I'm guessing that he's going to get far more questions that you or I do. They won't be easily avoided regardless of the tartan he chooses. And he's probably already prepared for that eventuality.

Kudos to him.

Should you make it this far from home, please let us know far enough beforehand to get a kilt night together. Others will attest to having had a pretty good time with us, and you'll find I don't bite. Or at least, not often. And not without appropriate foreplay.

I might take you up on that sometime, should circumstances permit. Where are you from?

[tripleblessed]

Fair enough. I might take you up on that sometime, should circumstances permit. Where are you from?

Atlanta area. If you pack tonight after work and start driving, you have time to get lost once or twice and even
catch a Laphroaig or three in New Orleans and still make it to Conyers for our Burns supper Saturday night. I'll
save you a slot for a Burns song.

Stray thought: how would your family feel about having Aunt Barbara's funeral at her favorite pub? That way,
your Laphroaig tartan would earn points for multi-tasking.

Oh, and you're right - many kudos to Blue Thunder. I would love to hear some of the stories he's gonna pick up
along this journey.

[Karl R]

If you pack tonight after work and start driving, you have time to get lost once or twice and even catch a Laphroaig or three in New Orleans and still make it to Conyers for our Burns supper Saturday night. I'll save you a slot for a Burns song.

I think that might irritate my better half. She's expecting me to drive her to a conference in the opposite direction. I didn't live this long by pissing off redheads.

Stray thought: how would your family feel about having Aunt Barbara's funeral at her favorite pub? That way, your Laphroaig tartan would earn points for multi-tasking.

Probably wouldn't go over very well with my folks. They're damn near teetotalers. And when I look up my family tree (English, Irish, German, Scottish, Eastern European, French, ...) I have to wonder ... Who in the hell did they inherit that trait from?

In my case ruminative stuff like that was far from my mind... I just went to a local fabric shop and bought some cloth that was passably tartan-like.

I'm with you. My wife bought my kilt because she knew I'd like the colors. (And she bought it off the rack, so it would arrive by Christmas.) My first (and second) kilts are about figuring out when, where, and how frequently I want to wear a kilt. If I decide to get a nice kilt, that will be the recipient of deep consideration.

[tripleblessed]

I think that might irritate my better half. She's expecting me to drive her to a conference in the opposite direction. I didn't live this long by pissing off redheads.

Two things: 1, sounds like priorities in order, and 2, potential for long and happy life.

[OC Richard]

I didn't live this long by pissing off redheads.

How this rings true with me! A sister, a wife, a son, a daughter... I'm surrounded, and I surrender.