Upcoming first day outside..

[elitekiltedcommando]

I say go for it. Be an individual and don't let what other people think of you get you down. Best advice is take any of the bad comments for a grain of salt. Their comments just show their own immaturity. Have fun. Have comfort. Be kilted. Oh, and welcome to XMarks!

[gilmore]

So my question is : How have you overcome the stereotypes and peoples laughs and pointings... I am bit shy from my character but still, like a said to my friends, "none of you can go outside wearing something like this and be proud of it... "

How do you cope?

Tell them you have decided to become a transvestite. By the time they figure out it's only a kilt, they will have come to think of wearing one as normal behavior.

[ScottInNewHampshire]

I agree with beowulf about feeling more confident and self assured while kilted. I tend to be a bit shy in some settings but when I'm kilted, people seem to be driven to talk to me. This forces me to be more outgoing and friendly. Not a bad lesson for an Old Guy.

Have fun. You know this is something you've wanting to do. Trust yourself.

BTW, Welcome to XMarks from the Seacoast of New Hampshire (USA).

[GG]

Also I live in a society that has never had men wear any skirt type of clothing. Live in finland by the way.

So my question is : How have you overcome the stereotypes and peoples laughs and pointings... I am bit shy from my character but still, like a said to my friends, "none of you can go outside wearing something like this and be proud of it... "

How do you cope?

I have only been to Finland a few times for business – and without a kilt, so I can’t tell for sure how the reactions shall be, but being a Dane I come from a country which like Finland has absolutely no kilt tradition and people therefore no qualified knowledge about how a genuine kilt looks like. Most do know, however, that kilted men have some sort of a bag on the front. Therefore I agree to the proposal that you should wear a sporran with your kilt.
If people in Finland are just as tolerant (or indifferent) – which I think they are - as are most Danes, Swedes, Germans etc, you should hardly face any problems wearing your solid coloured kilt in public. Very, very few will take any notice, at all. So you hardly need to cope. Just do it.

Happy outing!

GG

[Martin S]

my advice is not to wear it until you have a sporran and some hose and flashes to go with it. Then it might be more recognizable as a kilt

Do you really think that people notice flashes, or pay more attention to anything, including sporran, compared with the way they look at the sk... , I mean, kilt?

My advice would be, if you feel unsure, wear a tartan kilt, that will be recognizable to most people in western Europe.

Don't worry about the laughing and pointing.

I'll go along with that.
What does it really matter what perfect strangers think?
Friends are different; one likes to have their approval, but, if they are real frinds, they'll listen to your point of view and probably come to accept it. The only thing is, don't make them uncomofortable by obliging them to go around in public with your kilt.

Martin

[McMurdo]

First off congratulations on the xkilt. I would agree with most all I have read here, this is my experience with wearing a kilt, I hope it helps.
When I started wearing a kilt a guy in my old apartment building was giving me the gears about it, saying things like nice skirt etc. I told him that it as a kilt, well he kept calling it a skirt, at first it really bothered me, however I came to realise that I could not change his ignorance, and why should I check with him about what I was to wear or not?
Well that was quite some time ago now, and I can tell you that the vast majority of times I only hear compliments on my attire.

I still dont wear a kilt everyday, but I am up to 5 or 6 days a week.

A funny thing happened to me the other day when I went into my local tartan shop (a dangerous place for me), I had been moving stuff from the old apartment to the new house, and so I was wearing jeans, well the woman behind the counter didnt recognise me without my kilt.

[Jerry]

While I've been kilted since 2004, I still do not wear it every day. When I do, I've been almost disappointed at the lack of comments. I'd say, "just do it". If others have a problem, then it is their problem, not yours.

[sjrapid]

I'd echo the sporran, hose and belt comments (flashes seem less important)

Tartan + pleats + tasselled sporran seem to fit into the 'Ah - that's a kilt' shaped hole that most people have in their mental landscapes.

Best regards

[Fearnest]

Congratulations!

I started out with an olive UK mocker, without sporran or hose or flashes... it's kind of like swimming. You can either dip your toe in, shiver, stand on the side, dip your toe in again, shiver some more... or you can just jump in the water!

I'd recommend the latter - just jump in and enjoy it! So what if the water is cold and shocking? You'll get used to it quickly that way.

Get your knees in the breeze!!!

[Eujeankilt]

Richard,

Welcome from western Oregon, USA. We have a Finn member here named Ackwell. He can probably give you more insight to kilt wearing in Finland.

I'd say show your SISU and wear it with pride.


Dale