Kilted Work Attire (Delivery Truck)

[CDNSushi]

Hey rabble,

It's been a long time since I've posted anything of note, so I thought I'd liven things up with a bit of a photographic update on what I've been up to. It's come to my attention that modern, utility-style kilting has fallen by the wayside quite a bit here on XMarks in favour of more traditional wear, which includes tartan kilts, and accessories such as kilt pins, sporrans, sgians, etc... Well, that's all fine and good, but I want to explore modern kilted attire a bit more. C'mon guys! I know you're out there in the woodwork somewhere! (Note that this is not a thread for the discussion of the merits of trad vs. modern though). The purpose is to merely give the rabble an idea of how one member (me) is wearing a modern kilt as everyday wear.

So here's the quick background. For the past months I've been working a part-time delivery job that involves driving a cube van all around greater Victoria with fresh, organic veggies. Over a month ago, I was having a conversation with one of the company's owners and the topic of clothing came up. I mentioned something about wishing to ensure that I presented the company in a positive light, and looked appropriate for the sake of our clients. To which, she informed me that while this was commendable, they were 100% behind all their employees being able to express themselves freely in their choice of attire, and that was more important to them than the opinions of their customers. Nice. So I took that as a great cue to start wearing comfortable clothing while I spend hours in a non-air-conditioned truck driving all around town.

I realize that there are many employers who are not nearly so open-minded, but I just thought I'd share a happy success story of one that IS, and perhaps it might help someone somewhere down the line, to see and to know that it's possible to combine kilted attire with practicality (my job IS a bit dirty at times) and professionalism.

So... No negative comments from anyone, much less my employer, and customers often make very positive remarks. In particular, I would say that the most compliments AND questions about the kilt come from kitchen staff (chefs, cooks, sous-chefs, etc). One of the best ones was a Chinese cleaning lady in one restaurant who smiled and remarked in somewhat broken English, "You wear skirt. Look good!" I didn't even correct her on the use of the word skirt. I just smiled back and said, "Thank you. It's very comfortable."

Anyway... Here's me back at the farm with one of our boxes. (Oh, and my boss took this photo).