Flat Caps. No no and thrice no! Suitable hats when wearing your kilt. Discuss

[Good Egg]

The problem you have here Courtmount is you're trying to interject your opinions into others by speculating upon their intentions (such as they are trying to look traditional). For example, the above you have speculated that you feel like Raphael is appearing to be traditional because of his flat cap when in fact you have no way to know what is going on in his head, or the rest of his outfit (who frequently wears utilikilts and the like).

Nor do you really know what is going on in the head of the other "natives" that do compliment American's on the combination. It could *gasps* be that they DO in fact like it and are NOT in fact being sarcastic and mean. It might be something that you would do but by and large I have found that a compliment is usually given in the vein that it is meant to be sincere.

On this board there are more non-traditionalists than traditionalists but that does not give you the right to be condescending to the non-traditionalists by saying you're embarrassed for them. It is in a word: rude. My apologies for my wee rant.

I know I will raise the hackles of many but I am like Raphael. I could care less what is on a persons head. I like the look of a flat cap because it has a french appearance that I find attractive. It must be the French blood that runs in my veins.

It looks as if they are trying to be conventional but have made a mistake. I may be wrong and they may have deliberately chosen to go against convention but it doesn't look as if they have.

I have already said I have no right to be embarrassed on others behalf, but as an Amero-phile (is that a word) I can't help it when I see somebody who I empathise with making (or appearing to make) an error.

You may also be right, maybe the compliments are sincerely meant but you will have noticed on this thread that the majority of unhyphenated Scots are in the anti flatcap/kilt camp so is it likley that you'd be getting sincere compliments, also we may be more culturally aware of how are fellow country men behave. There is a heavy leaning towards sarcasm and irony.

I do fully understand: its the fashion in America to wear a flat cap with a kilt. It is therefore thought to be conventional and American-Scots cannot understand why it might be thought of as a faux pas. The unhyphanated Scots cannot understand why our American cousins don't get it and won't be told and find this a bit embarrasing but. Ho hum... There are no rules. Just conventions.