Other Stewarts

[Phil]

As a Scot,can I confirm that the kilt is rarely seen as "every day"wear,weddings,funerals,highland games and formal dinners would be the "norm".I as am a member of the "older generation"(not old)and from a somewhat traditional background,I find the wearing of many tartans difficult to comprehend.I wear my clan tartan proudly and that is fine for me,and I think many resident Scots of all generations would adhere to that convention.You colonials(no offence intended)have a happy knack of adjusting conventions to suit yourselves and quite right too!I also think that there are some of you colonials(sorry)who get very hot under the collar over what is correct,yes and some Scots too,but on the whole, wear what you are happy with seems pretty sensible to me.

Steady on Jock, unless you are a Daily Telegraph reader** that is, everybody else knows by now that we don't have any colonies any more. What you say about Scots is right, we only have one kilt (if we own one at all) and that might even have been a hand-me-down. If we don't we hire one for the sort of dress-up occasions you describe and then any tartan will do as the hire shops only stock a few popular ones. You can always tell hired ones, they are either Dress Gordon or MacKenzie with the odd Red Stewart thrown in. Remember that this is a kilt-lovers' site and like any other hobby it can become a bit of an obsession and a way of spending your cash on all the latest stuff. What's wrong with that and there's certainly nothing wrong with keeping our national dress alive and thriving. Nothing stays the same. I have seen the dress norms change over the years some good some bad but I still dress the way I like and feel comfortable. Probably a bit old-fashioned now but I like it and I wouldn't knock anyone else who has their own views no matter how ridiculous I thought they look.

**My history teacher told me many years ago you can distinguish readers of the Daily Express newspaper from those of the Daily Telegraph because while Express readers wished Britain still had an empire, Telegraph readers actually believed it still had one. Both staunch right-wing newspapers by the way.