Kilt Discussion Panel

[macwilkin]

Great posts!

Speaking only for myself I think I had to develop a really solid sense of personal confidence before I started wearing kilts. All the reasons mentioned for not wearing kilts most certainly applied to me.

Before kilts become mainstream I think that 'man' kind will have to address the issue of declining personal confidence. We are just fancy animals, mammals to be exact.

Every time I approach my dad's dog he comes up to me with his tail between his legs ... for reasons unknown he just lacks the confidence to come up to me, head high and tail wagging.

A dogs tail is like a man's trousers ... in a difficult world with increasing tensions more and more men, fancy mammals all of them, are inclined to cover themselves with trousers, just like a frightened dog covers his genitals with his tail.

Kilts are awesome. Kilts make sense in an anatomical way. Kilts, when worn, shout confidence. So to increase the number of men wearing kilts, to get them into mainstream society, it will be necessary not so much to eliminate the reasons they are not worn, but to increase the one single reason they are ever worn ... personal confidence.

Of course, I really could be wrong. I only know that it was personal confidence that finally got me past all the doubts and detractors.

Kilt On.

Chris Webb

Chris,

I'm sorry, but I can't agree with you here. I don't think that wearing trousers makes someone a "whipped curr dog", as you are implying -- there are many of us here who do not wear kilts full-time, yet that doesn't make us somehow "less confident" than those who do. I feel just as confident in a pair of grey flannels and a blue blazer as I do in my kilt.

Regards,

Todd

[Chris Webb]

Chris,

I'm sorry, but I can't agree with you here. I don't think that wearing trousers makes someone a "whipped curr dog", as you are implying -- there are many of us here who do not wear kilts full-time, yet that doesn't make us somehow "less confident" than those who do. I feel just as confident in a pair of grey flannels and a blue blazer as I do in my kilt.

Regards,

Todd

Sorry, Todd, I wasn't trying to paint all those who wear trousers yella, as we say in Texas. I was only pointing out that it takes a great deal of confidence to wear a kilt, not that one has no confidence if he wears trousers.

Lord knows there are lots of confident police officers, firemen, soldiers and even just plain ole working folks in trousers. Obviously, the wearing of trousers does not denote a lack of confidence ... but, wearing a kilt smacks of confidence.

I hope this helps clarify my true point. I didn't mean to imply anymore than this.

All the Best and Kilt On,

Chris Webb

[Zardoz]

Well, I just got home from the Sci-Fi con, I had not been online all weekend but I see this thread had a lot of reponses.

The con in general was great, and there where at least 8 or 10 guys there who where kilted full time. Mostly in UK's but a couple of traditionals too. I was wearing my USA Caledonia or SWK Nightstalker most of the time, casual, but with appropriate accessories, etc. The fellow who MC'd the show and awards was wearing a UK during the day and then that night for the show had on his family tartan and a full-on Prince Charley rig, a real crowd pleaser!

I constantly heard "There sure are a lot of guys in kilts at this deal" as I would pass by hallways and rooms, and my favorite; women asking their mate:"why don't you get one of those?" All reactions I got where 100% positive, everyone at the con, other guests at the hotel, the maids in the halls, all ages and sexes, all very complimentary! Honestly, if I wasn't married my 'dance card' could have been full!

The Kilt panel went well too, all the panelists were kilted in UKs except me in my USA and one guy in pants! We had a good turnout too, about 40 or 45 people in the audience, almost a full house! Several guys in kilts in that crowd too, but our audience was about 70% female! In the end we concluded that based in part on the crowd at the con, kilts must be making headway, but apparently mostly UKs. Most of the UK owners present got their first one at celtic or rennie festivals or even other Sci-Fi conventions, and most owned at least a couple, one fellow had 10. I gotta hand it to UK, they are marketing outside the box, and it shows. If they had a booth at our deal, their sales would have been worth the trip! I bet any store with off the rack tradional style kilts would do well too. These Sci-Fi crowds range from 7 to 70, and they have money, we had an art auction were folks bid up to a couple hundred bucks for original works.

There was so much UK talk, I sort of went into salesman mode for USA and Stillwater! Quite a few of the kilted folk at the panel were unaware of reasonably priced 'traditional' kilts, they are now! I handed out a bunch of fliers I made with info and some links to various online kilt sources. I think I may have got Rocky at least a couple of customers. So while I still think there is a long way to go, I left the con feeling pretty good about the future of kilt wearing!

[smaughazard]

Sounds like an interesting con! Should we be on the lookout for a bunch of newcomers with names like "TexasDorsai"? (I'm assuming your fliers included XMarks info!)

[Zardoz]

Sounds like an interesting con! Should we be on the lookout for a bunch of newcomers with names like "TexasDorsai"? (I'm assuming your fliers included XMarks info!)

It could happen! the first two links on my handout were for Xmarks and Kiltday. We got a few pictures, I'll try to get them on soon

[Mattg]

My biggest holdback was cost. I never looked into kilts much, my brother did all the looking and I remember him telling me that it would be $600 to $1000 for a kilt!! Well, that was out of the question. But with the casual $60-$100 kilts, I think they will be seen more and more.

[Zardoz]

Here's a link to a photo of the "Kilt in America" panelists;

http://www.midamericon.org/photoarchive/06apollo4.htm

I'm the bald(est) guy, 3rd from left. I'm afraid the gentleman to my left with the giant sporran may be a candidate for kilt don'ts, but we were the only guys in 'traditional' kilts that day. That morning getting dressed, I just kept asking myself; would Hamish approve?

Feel free to look around that album and see the other wacky Sci-Fi stuff!

[smaughazard]

I'm afraid two of the gentlemen are definite candidates for a "beer-gut cut".

You look very sharp, Zardoz! I think Hamish WILL approve!

And that's the biggest d*mn sporran I've ever seen!

[Panache]

Zardoz,

The outfit you wore looks well coordinated. You represented us very well. The gentleman next to you with the ...err...robust sporran would benefit from our forum.

cheers

[Zardoz]

Thanks guys, :mrgreen: That was only the second outing of my new USA Kilts Caledonia. I paired it with a dark green polo and hose, and a black belt and sporran from Buzz Kidder. I was pretty happy with the look, considering I'd been partying like a rock star till 4 AM the night before, it came together OK. Like Fernando Lamas said; "It's better to look good than feel good"