"tanks" for the respect?

[switchblade5984]

i cant find the quote right now but

somewhere he (Steven Villegas) states they are mugs not kilts

[Rob Wright]

Not much difference where I live, a few more recognize the tartan tanks as kilts, but people are so unimformed that all my kilts get called skirts on an equal basis.

Rob

[Wompet]

In my experience,

1. tartan = kilt
2. solid non-traditional (PK, UK) without pockets (or pockets not obvious) = kilt
3. solid non-traditional with pockets (PK, RK, UK) = is that a kilt?
4. UKs seem to cause more confusion, because of the smaller apron and resultant extra pleats in the front.
5. Except for UK Workmans - no one is going to call something that looks like it came from Carhartt a skirt.

[NewKilt]

Retro Red,

Can I offer another key difference between the modern kilt (Freedom, UK, AK, etc) and the traditional wool ones besides material and where the kilt rides (waist vs. hips). When you wear your wool traditional do you also wear kilt hose? How about flashes? Sgian dubh? Kilt pin? Sporran? Glengarry? Balmoral? Fly Plaid? Kilt Jacket? Etc...

When you wear the traditional wool kilt, more likely than not, you also wear a host of accessories that fit the image of the kilted highlander that most people have (if they have any*).

I really like my UK Mocker, but to me I just don't feel right in it unless I'm wearing kilt hose, flashes, and my sgian don't (knife handled bottle cap openner). Those accessories make my UK a kilt in my eyes. I imagine it does the same for others.

Just one more factor to consider.

Cheers

I think Retro has a good point here regarding acessories with a contemporary kilt. I have 5 Amerikilts, and always wear them with hose, flashes, sgian dubh, and the Kennedy Clan crest on the cloth sporran flap. I also ordered the Amerikilts so I could wear them higher on the waist, and have the bottom of the kilt hit right at the top of the knee. I've gotten many compliments with them on how nice my "kilt" looked, including a compliment from a teenager, and an older woman rushing up to me to ask what clan I was. Same thing with my Buzz Kidder canvas solids. I have not noticed any difference in reactions whether I wear my AK's, my tradional style Buzz Kidder solids, or my wool tartans.

It's just my personal preference for wearing any kilt. I never dress down any further than what you might call business casual - no t-shirts, and I always make sure my shoes are clean and polished. I think kilt length, accessories, and your overall presentation can make a big difference on whether or not a contemporary kilt is recognized as a kilt by the general public.

Darrell

[michael steinrok]

In the bay area people are more up on the UKs. However , overwhelmingly more positive remarks are with traditional tartan kilts

[Alan H]

I always think of "tank" as referring to a kiltmade from seven-eight yards of mostly hand-sewn Scottish wool. I own one of those now, because I made it.

Nobody in the world but me can tell the difference between that kilt and the Holyrood Modern that I'm wearing right now,which is a 5 yard, machine-sewn casual kilt,with a traditional high-waistd cut.. Well, they could if they got down on their hands and knees and stuck their face 16 inches away from the material and inspected the stitching, but aside from that, they can't.

My Stillwaters, my USA Casual and my Bear kilt are all recognized as "Kilts", though I get more looks with the solid black Stillwater, until the confused viewer spots the sporran.Then it becomes clear.

[Roan Carter]

I'm not exactly sure why this is for me, but somehow the sporran is not a defining feature of a kilt around where I am. When I first wore a kilt, I neglected the sporran for lack of need and because it felt a bit pursely. I was certain no one else would recognize its Scottish origin.

Now that I've wisened up a bit and wear a sporran, I find that people still ask me what it is that I'm wearing with my kilt. Maybe it's something about how the young mind assembles the understanding of kilt accessories over time, but the sporran seems like less a celtic icon and more of a bizarre thing that needs explaining whenever I get asked questions.

Who knows, lol. But I applaud those who have the bravery to wear the non-tartan kilts. There's no way I could do that here. The sporran wouldn't help.

[Kilted KT]

I'm not exactly sure why this is for me, but somehow the sporran is not a defining feature of a kilt around where I am. When I first wore a kilt, I neglected the sporran for lack of need and because it felt a bit pursely. I was certain no one else would recognize its Scottish origin.

Now that I've wisened up a bit and wear a sporran, I find that people still ask me what it is that I'm wearing with my kilt. Maybe it's something about how the young mind assembles the understanding of kilt accessories over time, but the sporran seems like less a celtic icon and more of a bizarre thing that needs explaining whenever I get asked questions.

Who knows, lol. But I applaud those who have the bravery to wear the non-tartan kilts. There's no way I could do that here. The sporran wouldn't help.

In my experience, those who ask about a sporran usually don't know what it is called, or what it is for. They usually recognize a kilt, but the "purse-thing", while recognised as something worn with a kilt, is unknown to them.

Normally I simply respond "It's where I put the stuff that would go in your pockets. Kilts don't have pockets." A vast majority of the time this will satisfy they query, and the normal array of kilted questions follow.

Usually a good time, with a few laughs here and there.

[Chris Webb]

I think it depends on familiarity with kilts in the area you live in.

When I first started wearing kilts full time, about 3 years ago, tartan or not, alot of folks in Fort Worth and Burleson called it a skirt, or, knowing it wasn't a skirt, asked me what it was. When I said, "It's a kilt," they'd say, "Oh yea, a kilt!"

Now days, after having been seen by oodles and oodles of people over a 3 year period (and having my picture in Texas Monthly in a kilt) I often get, "Hey, it's that guy in the kilt!"

My Cammo kilts seem to get the most questions from guys. A Texan sees cammo and it's conjures up all that is Redneck ... and that's a good thing in Fort Worth, Texas.

Way more of the gals want to see their guy in a Utilikilt, though, than cammo or tartan. When I wear my Utilikilt Workman it's like I'm covered in pheremones ... the gals, married or not, squirm, gaze, lick their lips and elbow their guys ... "Why don't you wear that, Honey?"

As for the difference between kilts and Utilikilts, I've had lots of people ask me specifically, "Is that a Utilikilt?" When I say yes, they're always very excited ... if there is a truly 'American' kilt, then it's the Utilikilt Workman.

I'm thinking there are those who would wear a Utilikilt who would not wear a tartan kilt or any other brand of solid kilt. Utilikilt seems to be a garment all unto its' own. Judging from their website, I'd say the folks at Utilikilt would agree.

At the end of the day, I'm a SportKilt man ... but I've posted on that topic recently.

Kilt On!

Chris Webb