Quote Originally Posted by GMan
Austin,

I bet that you are glad that you started looking around here, aren't you?

What sort of reactions are you getting?
Yes, I'm very, very glad I found XMarks.

I haven't worn it outside my house yet. I will probably only wear it when I play Celtic gigs or go to highland games. I also plan to be kilted when I visit Ireland, Scotland, and England next year.

I showed it to my mother and she wasn't too thrilled with it. She is clan Armstrong herself and understands my desire for tradition and roots and all that, but she is having a rough time with it. She especially hates the sporran. ("Not only are you wearing a skirt, but you've got a purse, too!")

My father, though, is very supportive. I think he'll wind up kilted himself before long. He wants me to order a kilt in the Cornish National tartan and get some extra fabric to make a necktie and maybe a tam for him.

I showed the picture to some of my other friends, and they think it looks great on me. One guy with Scottish ancestry (clan Gordon) asked me to show him which tartans he should wear.

I am hosting a party on the 15th, and will be having a lot of friends over. Now, my friends span the spectrum from Agnostic to Southern Baptist to Orthodox Jewish, so the group at the party will be pretty diverse. During the party, I plan to disappear into my room, change into my kilt, and come back out playing the pipes. I'm sure there will be some interesting reactions.

Two of my most conservative Baptist friends have been the most supportive regarding the kilt. One of them has Scottish ancestry (his name is Charles Frazier, for crying out loud) so he completely understands the ethnic issue. The other is a Celtic musician with Irish ancestry, and he wants us to start a sort of pan-Celtic band and do Scottish, Irish, and Welsh stuff, as well as American Scots-Irish olde tyme.

I discussed the kilt with my rabbi, and he said it is fine as long as I don't go regimental and only wear it where appropriate (ie, don't wear it to the synagogue except on Purim). We Orthodox Jews aren't known for making fashion statements. Hmm, I wonder if I could get a tartan caftan...

(I hope this doesn't violate the prohibition of religious discussion. I've noticed that a few other people have mentioned their religion with respsect to kilting without rankling anyone.)

On the third Thursday of Jan. I will be playing my first Celtic gig in public. I hope to have my Armstrong Ancient tank by then. That will probably be my first kilted outing.