Kilt Do's and Don'ts

[DWFII]

...the vast majority of kilted locals are t-shirted. Will the latter fashion last long enough to become a tradition? I, for one, suspect that it will. In the US.

If and when it does, will those in the kilt-and-t-shirt culture have a right to tell those in the jacket-and-tie culture that they are not adhering to the "rules" of tradition?

I don't know...I don't think so. Part and parcel of tradition...and I guess you have to decide on a personal level whether to give it due deference or not...are the founding principles and the cultural context that beget tradition. And/or...whether there is a cultural context in the first place.

It might be instructive to consider the non-traditional kilt. On some level, at least for the distant observer, it is hard to make any connection between a non-trad kilt and the traditional dress of the Highlands and/or a deferential posture toward Scots history and ancestry.

Given that, I wonder...are non-traditional kilts fashion? What (where) are the cultural antecedents? Will they disappear from common or even uncommon usage over time? To this observer, there is no connection to tradition nor is there ever likely to be one if for no other reason than that it is very hard to discern any long lasting cultural association for the non-traditional kilt (maybe that's why we call it "non-traditional").

Again, I think this tends to zero in on the distinction between "fashion" and tradition.

For that same reason, T-shirts may be a fashion that has a long tenure...it remains to be seen...but, in general, T-shirts by themselves have no significance to anyone , and certainly not on a culture-wide level (some wear Nike , some wear Coke)--they are a cultural phenomenon but I doubt they are or ever will be a tradition associated with kilts.

But more importantly, for all the reasons given above, I don't think that this kind of "tradition" can spring up on foreign soil, so to speak. Again, there are no cultural antecedents and because of that it seems (to me at least) a little arrogant for those with tenuous (at best) connections to the "founding principles" to be trying to "teach their old granny to suck eggs."

Maybe a quick review of the kilt as a military uniform will bear me out. How has the kilt and the traditions of wearing it changed--in Canada, in the Colonies, in New Zealand, in Australia? Not much, if at all or so I am given to believe.

[Standard]

Enough talking, we need more pictures. I think we need to keep this the light hearted thread that it started out as IMHO.

[DWFII]

Enough talking, we need more pictures. I think we need to keep this the light hearted thread that it started out as IMHO.

Oh come on...the talking isn't preventing anyone from posting pictures.

That said...do be careful wi' tha sickle, lassie.

[Jock Scot]

Oh come on...the talking isn't preventing anyone from posting pictures.

That said...do be careful wi' tha sickle, lassie.

I have never ever seen anybody dressed like that, in my fields!

[DWFII]

I have never ever seen anybody dressed like that, in my fields!

That's from a Victorian "diorama"--you know a stereoscopic slide. I cut off the other side which was for all intents and purposes, identical. It's called "Comin' through the Rye" and was probably purpose shot.

But he's a clan chieftain, no mistake and she's about to geld him. So watch who you're kissin' and where. Personally, I would at least make her drop the emasculator.

[Jock Scot]

That's from a Victorian "diorama"--you know a stereoscopic slide. I cut off the other side which was for all intents and purposes, identical. It's called "Comin' through the Rye" and was probably purpose shot.

But he's a clan chieftain, no mistake and she's about to geld him. So watch who you're kissin' and where. Personally, I would at least make her drop the emasculator.

The fellow has only one feather, which makes him an armiger(he has a Scottish coat of arms),a clan cheiftain has two feathers and a Clan Chief has three feathers.The feathers have also to be eagle feathers and the feather in the picture does not look like any eagle feather I have seen. As to the "emasculator",well, it would be far too close for my liking!

[DWFII]

The fellow has only one feather, which makes him an armiger(he has a Scottish coat of arms),a clan cheiftain has two feathers and a Clan Chief has three feathers.The feathers have also to be eagle feathers and the feather in the picture does not look like any eagle feather I have seen. As to the "emasculator",well, it would be far too close for my liking!

I didn't know that about the feathers...thanks...I was trying to be a bit tongue in cheek, though, that's why I said it was probably "purpose shot" (staged).

Maybe it's a turkey feather?

[ThistleDown]

But more importantly, for all the reasons given above, I don't think that this kind of "tradition" can spring up on foreign soil, so to speak. Again, there are no cultural antecedents and because of that it seems (to me at least) a little arrogant for those with tenuous (at best) connections to the "founding principles" to be trying to "teach their old granny to suck eggs."

This has been a superb exchange and we are finally getting to the crunch, I think. If I read you correctly, we are still on the wave-length. I do have one question, however: who is "granny"?

[DWFII]

This has been a superb exchange and we are finally getting to the crunch, I think. If I read you correctly, we are still on the wave-length. I do have one question, however: who is "granny"?

Why the "auld sod," of course--Caledonia and Eire and...Rue Britannia

[ThistleDown]

I don't know...I don't think so. Part and parcel of tradition...and I guess you have to decide on a personal level whether to give it due deference or not...are the founding principles and the cultural context that beget tradition. And/or...whether there is a cultural context in the first place.

...T-shirts may be a fashion that has a long tenure...it remains to be seen...but, in general, T-shirts by themselves have no significance to anyone , and certainly not on a culture-wide level (some wear Nike , some wear Coke)--they are a cultural phenomenon but I doubt they are or ever will be a tradition associated with kilts.

But more importantly, for all the reasons given above, I don't think that this kind of "tradition" can spring up on foreign soil, so to speak. Again, there are no cultural antecedents and because of that it seems (to me at least) a little arrogant for those with tenuous (at best) connections to the "founding principles" to be trying to "teach their old granny to suck eggs."

And there we have it, boys and girls. "Tradition is a body of long-established customs and beliefs viewed as a set of precedents" and "Fashion is the prevailing style (as in dress) during a particular time and place."

The tradition is that of the Scottish Highlands translated to Scottish National Dress. As such, the tradition is only that of Scotland. The fashion of today can only be viewed within the culture: that is, Highland dress as worn today in the "new world" is not as Scottish National Dress is today worn in Scotland (that's where "granny" lives).

So where was this photo taken and is there any need to critique what he is wearing within the fashion of that place? Or is he just mixing two cultures?