Knowing what we all know now ...

[possingk]

I went to high school in the late 80's early 90', I wore cowboy boots and a hat to school every day, wore jeans to my senior prom (with a cowboy hat, matching boots) it obviously didn't bother me much to draw attention to myself. I wore a red jacket to my wedding (see aviar). I had a speech impediment when I was young, so I used to draw attention to what I was wearing hoping people wouldn't notice how I talked. I guess that has stuck with me to this day. The nice thing about the kilt is that people come up to talk to you about it.

So if HoseHead had gotten me into them sooner I would have worn them then as well. Kilts are much more comfortable than the jeans I wore back then.

[KiltedPilot]

Interesting question, Derek. I found I changed quite of lot over time.

When I was around 9 I had to wear a kilt for some special occasions at school (in Scotland). I recall I just hated it, as did most of my friends.

Ten years later, at university, I wore a kilt to a ball and just had a fabulous time. I did it to be different really, but it was just such a great thing to wear -- comfortable, and got a great reaction from the girls. I went on to wear kilts at several special university occasions.

Despite that success, I think most teenagers are desperately concerned how they appear to their peers. I hesitated to wear the kilt outside of special occasions. If sites like this had existed then (1970s/80s), it might had pushed me to wear a kilt more often. It would have given me some external validation that it was OK to wear them often.

Now, at 39, I don't really care what people think. All those teenage concerns about ones peers have largely gone.

I suspect financial cost, versus a limited student budget, would have prevented me from wearing kilts full time at school, even if I could have got over my hesistation. I am sure, however, that I would have worn them more.

KP.

[GMan]

I wish that I was "gutsy" enough back in High School, I was somewhat of a go with everyone else. Not until I was in college did I ever think about expressing my individuality. I wish that they were part of my life then, but alas they were not as I was not "thinking out of the box".

Hindsight would say I wish I did, but reality came late for me, and boy am I making up for lost time.

[Mr. Kilt]

I tip my hat to the younger members here who have no qualms about wearing a kilt to school. The respect I have for you is immense. I certainly wasn't secure enough to do it when I went to HS in the late 70's. Like pdcorlis said in his post, I didn't have the foggiest idea of who I was back then, and the less attention I drew to myself the better. Now, at almost 43 years of age, I just don't care what others think of me. I dress for "me" now.

[UmAnOnion]

When i was in high school i was ostracized enough as one of very few persons of color in a predominently white school. and when you add in that i was a lower middle class scholarship student surrounded by spoiled brat rich kids, you can see the situation would have been perfect for me to start my kilt wearing then - NOT!!! I got harassed to no end there - well at least until they realised i had a smarter mouth than most & coudl give them a dressing down like no other (a talent that continues to this day but i do reign it in a bit), but was still an outsider.

Now that i am older, wiser (& in much better physical shape than many) and have the confidence to not care about what others think, do i dare to don the kilt.

I say kudos to all who are brave enough to start an adventure like this in thier more formative years and I give a big thumbs up to those who support them in those decisions.

[Panache]

I would have and should have worn a kilt to college. I went to the University of California Santa Cruz so I wouldn't have had to worry about standing out or looking weird (frankly standing out and looking weird was so standard there, that when I went to school on occassion wearing a blazer and tie, that was really weird...hmm). I had a friend through fencing who on occassion wore a kilt and I thought he was really cool. The thing that stopped me from getting a kilt was that kilts and all the trimmings were WAY TO EXPENSIVE!!!! I wish I had known about the Celtic Croft and Stillwater back in the 1990.

[cormacmacguardhe]

School during the mid to late 60's was a strange time for me, do not know if I would have had the necessary cajones to buck the norm that far. I wore a sport coat and turtle neck with a beret. Was on the outside of all social groups, but not sure if I was that far out for that time period. My heartfelt congrats to those who can do that.

[bubba]

I probably would have worn the kilt then if I'd thought of it. I wore leather until it got popular, then switched to western wear til that started getting popular, then on to work boots and flannel til THAT started to catch on. I always seemed to be the odd duck that turned out to be ahead of the curve. If I'd thought of kilts then I would have worn them with the full confidence that nobody else would have copied me. Sure, I got some heat from other kids about the way I dressed not being in style, but once my style caught on I gave it right back by pointing out the current style was so yesterday. The ones following the herd never particularly had any importance to me.

[A Hay]

Graduated from a small suburban St. Louis HS in 63. I think anyone wearing a kilt at that time would have found it flying from the school flagpole very shortly. Peer pressure dress code was complicated and rigid. I think I would have gotten a kilt in the early 80's when the Estes Park Colo games were getting popular and a piper's band got going in Ft. Collins. Alas, 3 kids needed school clothes more than I needed a kilt. Now at 60, there is a little more available money, more assurance of who I am, and less concern about what others think or say.

Hooray for those who are starting to wear the kilt in their younger years. I'm going to see my son in two weeks and will show him my clan kilt. He's 29 and maybe he will pick it up.

Not to change the topic too much, but I see a lot of similarities among us older fellows. Wondering if there is any correlation between personality types and kilt wearing. Anyone taken the Meyers-Briggs Personality Profile and be willing to share their profile and age? If so, send me an email and I'll publish what I receive in a separate thread. I'm INTJ.

Tom

[Randy]

I would have worn a kilt in Junior High and High School. Alas, no cash back then, after that it was just laziness. Then my lovely bride made me buy a kilt, the rest is history. I have been kilted during the unpaid hours since, excepting the weather and activites. I tend to dress for my comfort first. My wife nixed my favorite hiking shirt and the tank as a forbidden fashion.