New devotee in Chi-town!

[Alan H]

A good story for your first outing, and good on ya for just jumping right in!!

....though it is a bit sobering to realize that even with the kilt on you still rate lower than the TV with your daughter!!LOLOL

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Alan,

I know, but without the kilt I would just have gotten a Good morning Daddy!

Actually, I am glad that neither one of the girls saw it as a big deal. We are trying to raise them to be very open and accepting, so this was a good sign. And I haven't had an in-depth discussion with my wife, but she seems to not see it as a big deal. The real test will be when my Mother gets into town tonight and we go to the Celtic festival Saturday with me kilted. I warned her when she said she was coming up and she said it was OK with her, but we will see!

Later,
RJI

[Eujeankilt]

There must be something about that Nightstalker tartan that appeals to guys from Chicago...you're the third person besides myself that I've read a post from in the past couple of days that has gotten the Nightstalker from Stillwater. We could start Clan Nightstalker around here!

Best and welcome to the forum!

Argonian

It's not just guys from Chicago. I'm in Oregon. I got my first tartan kilt today. It's a Stillwater Regular Nightstalker. If looks as if the fit is fine. I just have to wait to go home, remove the basting stitches and wear it.

Tip: When you've ordered your next UK, PK, AK or FK and are jonesing, buy a Stillwater. I got it in four days.

Hey boss, can I go home now?

And Welcome, Windy City Kilters!

Dale

[Jerry]

Hello all!

After lurking for a little while, I have decided to join the ranks of the kilted! Actually, it did not take too much persuading, as I am a fairly independent sort and the posts and accolades on this forum and other for the kilting way of life were more than persuasive.

My initial interest in wearing a kilt came after we attended the Bristol Renn Faire (IL-WI border) for the first time back in mid-August. At first I thought it might be fun just to be part of the festivities in some kind of costume (hold on, I have already seen the light and error of that opinion from my lurking!), and thought that a kilt would be more fun and unusual than the rest of the participants in chain mail, armor, leggins, etc.. I then looked into where to buy a kilt in this area, and used my favorite tool, Google. In doing so I found links to much more about kilts than I could have imagined, particularly how comfortable they are and people's challenge to the "trouser tyranny" (which I am not sure is really a coordinated movement so much as peer pressure).

Anyway, I became very intrigued about jumping into kiltdom, and
in keeping with my habit of jumping head first right into whatever I decide to do, I decided to order 2 kilts. Now I did want to get a kilt quickly (i.e. instant gratification!), but I did not want to go completely overboard, so I settled on a standard Stillwater Nightstalker kilt for a more traditional/formal kilt and a Sportkilt in gun metal grey as an everyday informal kilt. I have received both already (only ordered them last Fri) and am very pleased. While I don't know how the SW stacks up to a higer quality custom kilt, I am very pleased with it for an initial purchase and believe that it will stand the test of time. The only change I will be making is to remove the lower buckle on the right side. I was not sure why there were 2 on that side and only one on the other and after reviewing some of Matt's posts here and on his blog, I see the that there is no real necessity for it. I will wear this for the first time this weekend at the Chicago Celtic Festival. Anybody else going?

I am also happy with the Sportkilt, though tomorrow will be the first time I will have a chance to wear it. I plan on wearing it home from the gym. I expect that I may get some comments, although when you work out in the early morning, most people tend to be rather quiet.

Anyway, sorry for the log intro. I already feel like know some of the members personally from reading through all of the forums, such as Hamish, a fine gentleman, and I aspire to be the Chicago version of him, Graham, who I would love to visit in Tasmania, Matt whose knowledge about Scottish history and clothing seems unrivaled, Doc who appears to be a fellow Heinlein admirer and devotee, and all of the other wonderful and regular contributors.

I look forward to beginning this journey!

RJI

Welcome to the forum. I too am a great fan of Heinlein.

[gmcdavid]

There must be something about that Nightstalker tartan that appeals to guys from Chicago...you're the third person besides myself that I've read a post from in the past couple of days that has gotten the Nightstalker from Stillwater. We could start Clan Nightstalker around here!

Another one here :-) I now live in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, but for most of my 54 years I lived in and around Chicago. Sure enough, when I first saw the Nightstalker I knew I had to get one!

Glenn

[Big Paul]

Welcome to the addiction!

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Well to properly cap this thread (but feel free to continue to say hello!), I should tell everyone about my first public kilted experience. I have mentioned in another thread that I wore my SK home from the gym yesterday morning, but to be honest, while I was had a little trepidation about it, most people were just not going to notice or comment on the kilt at 6:30 in the morning!

However, tonight, Friday evening at high dinner time rush, we went out to dinner with my wife, 2 daughters (4.5 and 2.5), and my Mother who is visiting us this weekend. Just after I got home from work, and before going to dinner, I took a quick shower and threw on my SK with a tanktop and flip flops (I did not know we were going to dinner at the time).

Anyway, poured myself a glass of wine and went to sit on the back porch where my wife, daughters, and Mother were chatting with our neighbors. When I first appeared at the screen door, my wife looked a little unsettled, but then my neighbor looked at me (the husband) and said nothing, and his wife also took in my clothes and did not say anything, so my wife decided to leave it alone. Still not sure about her reactions and views, although she made some comments after we got home that were positive, but un-suitable for family consumption.

To complete the story, we decided to go to a local restaurant and have some dinner. I did dress up the kilt (gun metal gray SK) with a plain, white, pocketed t-shirt and sandals. Nobody at the restaurant gave me any encouragement or grief, and I tipped the waiter a little extra for his constraint and tact.

Later,
RJI

[auld argonian]

I't's Saturday morning...I've been up for a while because of the dogs...everyone should have AT LEAST three dogs like I do...any Monarch of the Glen fans will, as I do, envy Hector and his considerable pack of mutts that follow him around.

So Chicago celtic fest starts at about 11 this morning and the daughter and I will be headed down there. Unfortuntely, her kilt hasn't shown up in the mail yet...it's coming from Nova Scotia and it seems to be held up in customs...they're probably afraid that there's some subversive Canadian stuff hidden in the pleats (like same-sex marriage certficates or Canadian Bacon or something)...so I have a very disappointed thirteen year old on my hands.

I'll try to keep an eye out for SWK Nightstalker kilts as it seems like that's what some of the other newbies have said that they will be wearing. Makes me think that I must order an "X-marks" kilt pin so that I can identify my fellow forum members at these events. I'll certainly be around the Scottish-throwing-stuff area and, cerainly, the Guiness stand. Hope to be able to spot some of you others there...I'll need the moral support.

best

argonian

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Argonian,

Look forward to seeing you there. Will have on the SW Nightstalker and have the kids, wife, and mother in tow. I should be easy to spot since I am 6' 3" and will be pushing a double stroller in my kilt!

RJI

[Big Paul]

At 6'-3", who in their right mind, would make a negitive comment to you... I should know, I'm 6'-1"... LOL

In all honesty I've never had a negitive comment about the kilt.. A couple of good natured jokes here and there, but nothing negitive...

Enjoy! Life is so much better in a kilt!