Belted Plaid as Casual Attire?

[turpin]

The kilt is not cumbersome if it fitts you and is well made!


So you are saying that you only wear the kilt once or twice a year? - No, no - you can't be saying that!

All of my kilts are tartan - (or to use your term -Belted plaid) - and that is what I wear. I am going on my second year without wearing pants! And I have been wearing the kilt as standard attire for close to 14 years.

I just remember the last time that I had on a pair of pants, as being close to two years ago - 16 September 2005, to be exact.

Casual, dressy, formal - the kilt fits all needs. I tend to, pretty much always, wear hose, flashes, belt and sporran, except for strenuous or really dirty work.

The kilt is comfortable, easy to wear, care for and does not get weird looks. I have been in many situations and many different countries, and everybody recognizes the kilt for what it is.

Was that your question?

Am I confused, or are you, Mr. James?

Are you saying you have only worn the great kilt for the last two years? That's what the thread is about; wearing the great kilt as a casual day-wear garment, as opposed to the tailored, sewn to measure kilt we are all so familiar with. If you only wear the Feileidh Mor, and do it every day, the guid oan ye, but wow, is all I can ay. I'd never be ale to get dressed in time for work.

[Phil]

Yes, we usually see a few great kilts here around festival time but it is more a "re-enactment" outfit nowadays.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Looks like there is some confusion of terms going on here. Just to clarify, these terms are all eqivalant:
belted plaid; feilidh-mor (large wrap); breacan feile (tartan wrap); great kilt

"Great kilt" is no doubt the more common term today, though it is the most modern. All refer to an untailored length of cloth, some 3 to 6 yards in length, some 50" to 60" wide, gathered and belted around the waist.

The term feilidh-beag (small wrap), often Anglicized as "phillabeg" refers to a single width length of cloth (25" to 30" wide) that was gathered and belted about the waist.

So the diference between feilidh-mor and feilidh-beag is width, not length, as some of the posts here have seem to have implied.

Some will use the term feilidh-beag to refer to the modern tailored kilt, but many (myself included) follow the convention of using feilidh-beag to refer to the untailored small kilt and reserving "kilt" for the tailored garment.

Here is a brief timeline that summs up these different stages of the kilt's development:
http://www.albanach.org/generations.html

[MacWage]

Am I confused, or are you, Mr. James?

Are you saying you have only worn the great kilt for the last two years? That's what the thread is about; wearing the great kilt as a casual day-wear garment, as opposed to the tailored, sewn to measure kilt we are all so familiar with. If you only wear the Feileidh Mor, and do it every day, the guid oan ye, but wow, is all I can ay. I'd never be ale to get dressed in time for work.

Turpin,
James did not realize that the belted plaid is the older name for a "great kilt." So, he was reading the thread as if it meant a regular "kilt." See apology on page 2 of this thread.

As for wearing one in a "modern" format:


(Same jacket with a "normal" kilt:



My personal opinion:
There is NOTHING wrong with wearing a belted plaid in a "regular" (non-faire/games) context. However, the more "old-style" accessories, the odder it looks. In fact, the more it is worn as one would wear a "normal kilt," the more "normalized" the belted plaid looks.
When worn in a regular context, I used modern hose, flashes, sporran, and the like. People's brains associate the accessories with the kilt and make the connection.
When worn with more "period" stuff, it looks more and more "costume"-like.

So, just like a kilt, a belted plaid depends heavily on HOW YOU ACCESSORIZE or "excessorize," as the case may be.

[Mael Coluim]

Yesterday, for Kilted Friday I did wear a belted plaide (Great Kilt, Feileadh Mhor) to work and then to Kilt Night. I really enjoy wearing, even more than my kilts but it was a first to do so to work. I had my doubts but wanted to give it a try in following up this post of Robin Hood’s.

I remember Matt Newsome’s advice in wearing it, to experiment and just have fun with it. I adjusted the plaid constantly most of the morning till I found a comfortable and workable approach in having part of the plaid across my shoulder. I normally would drape the left side over my chest to meet the right side coming over my back and clasp the two together on my shoulder. The weather was too hot for that to be comfortable. What I finally settled for was tying the plaid over my shoulder directly below to another part in a knot. As pictured below. I thought the epaulets on the shirt might help. They didn’t as most of the weight of the plaid just pulled my collar opened more on the left. Pinning the clasp to my shirt left two nice holes in my shirt. I didn’t want more holes! The clasp in the photo is purely ornamental, around the plaid and not holding anything on.

What I did notice were more comments on the wearing of the belted plaide than the kilt. There seemed to be greater admiration. At the end of my work day, there was a farewell party for a couple departing the community. I was asked to stand with them for a photo. Needless to say without the attire, the invitation would not have been made!

Would I wear it, again to work? Yes, I plan to!

Yes, that is dandelions on the bonnet!

[Nick]

It's not casual, but here's another greatkilt in a modern setting:



Cheers,
Nick