Kilting outside the box for a piper

[kilted redleg]

With losing an inch or two a month have you thought of maybe getting a pair of trews [tartan pants] then the kilt when your goal is made.

[Rhaco]

With losing an inch or two a month have you thought of maybe getting a pair of trews [tartan pants] then the kilt when your goal is made.

Some guys can rock 'em, I've never thought they really looked good on me personally. Well and they'd be something I'd consider casually, but for me GHB piper in a parade = kilt.

It's a great suggestion though, much appreciated!

[OC Richard]

Us pipers are a fairly tight community. We hang out and chat and drink at the Highland Games, refer gigs to each other, and help our fellow pipers when in need.

I know if there was a piper here in your predicament one or more of us would step forward and loan him some kit for those parades.

A couple years ago I forgot my kilt (of all things!) which I didn't discover until I arrived at the gig, over an hour's drive from my house. A piper who lived in that area loaned me one of his.

For sure a great kilt has the advantage you mention, and it's a brilliant solution for somebody who has fluctuating weight. If worn neatly it doesn't look so different from the little kilt, especially from the front.

But I would also try asking around the local piping community and see if anyone can help.

[Rhaco]

Us pipers are a fairly tight community. We hang out and chat and drink at the Highland Games, refer gigs to each other, and help our fellow pipers when in need.

I know if there was a piper here in your predicament one or more of us would step forward and loan him some kit for those parades.

A couple years ago I forgot my kilt (of all things!) which I didn't discover until I arrived at the gig, over an hour's drive from my house. A piper who lived in that area loaned me one of his.

For sure a great kilt has the advantage you mention, and it's a brilliant solution for somebody who has fluctuating weight. If worn neatly it doesn't look so different from the little kilt, especially from the front.

But I would also try asking around the local piping community and see if anyone can help.

That's something I'd have tried in my old town, but I haven't been here and healthy long enough to be a part of the piping community yet. I've only played with one pipe band a handful of times.
Even if I were home it would be a trick though. I only knew maybe two guys my current size in the area I used to play in. I have yet to meet anyone here who was even in the ballpark.

If it were ghillies or head ware or something it might be possible, but the number of pipers in a given area who are the size of an NFL defensive tackle is limited

I really appreciate the suggestion and support though. Thank you!

[jthk]

Hello and welcome! I know it's not for everyone (but what is?) but I do wear a belted plaid/great kilt somewhat regularly. I love the garment and try to wear it in a way that is not Brigadoon-ish; I pleat it nicely and neatly on my bed and I take care to make the finished product look neat and tidy. Unless I'm in the bush, I usually let the back hang down behind me.

I say go for it! If you don't want the extra "drama" of the double-width, you could consider going for a "little" kilt -- if the belted plaid is the grandfather of today's kilt, then the "little" kilt is the father. It's just the bottom half of a belted plaid -- still untailored.

Guluck,
Jonathan

Hey guys, I'm new around here and hoping for opinions on something, and ideas if you've got them. Sorry for laying out my life story.

I'm a bagpiper who has/gets to kilt up for the upcoming St Patrick's parade in my town and a fund raiser a week before, but I'm in a bit of a weird spot.

I'm a bagpiper, so used to the garb, but all my kilts/uniforms in the past have been owned by my pipe bands. When I moved a year or so ago, I was forced to leave behind everything short of my lucky tartan boxers. I don't have so much as a set of ghillie brogues to call my own. Normally, there is an easy and awesome solution right? Shopping trip!

Here's where things get complicated. Just after I moved, I broke my foot and needed a few surgeries and time in a chair then scooter to recover and gained almost 100 lbs. Well I'm mostly recuperated, and I'm back down 50 lbs, but that leaves another 50 to go. My waist size is 16 inches larger than it used to be, but I have no reason to think I'll stay this way for long. I'm an extremely active person, which is how my foot got screwed up in the first place. Anyway, any kilt I buy at this size will either be trash or an attempted resell in two months. since I'm 6'4" and sporting a 50' waist right now, I don't hold out high hopes for the resale market.

So now, I'm kiltless and buying seems like a waste because of my waste (see what I did there?) My next thought was a hire. I started looking around and a full pipers dress basically isn't something they rent, so I figure "ok, day dress it is." Well, if I want day dress that isn't homely, we're talking $150-200 USD. Since I have to rent twice, now it's $400. So for good day dress now I'm spending $500-800 (buying) and selling/donating everything fitted (kilt, vest, belt) after the fact, or $400 (renting) and the whole shebang goes back after March. It's also a personal complaint, but hire shops drastically limit your choice of tartan, which isn't the end of the world, but is annoying and disappointing.

I'm the only piper (I sort of got roped into this) so I can do whatever I please without worrying about matching/tradition. So in a moment of madness I think to myself "GREAT KILT!" Waist size doesn't matter, so at least I'll walk away with something that will size down after parting with $500-800, and the things definitely stand out. For me a piper is about something dramatic, not about wearing the same utilikilt (no judgement) as everyone else at the parade.

So finally, my question: Am I nuts? and as a correlate, what should I be doing instead?

To my mind, the pros of a great kilt are:

- The whole size/weight thing. A GK shrinks with me after the fact
- I can do my preferred tartan
- Where I'm doing the parade is going to be balls-out cold in March. That helps sell the GK
- I've always sort of wanted one of the things for fun, maybe this is the universe telling me something
- I can still easily get one in time (without having to rush the kilt maker)

Cons are:

- Definitely not traditional piper wear
- There is a major perception now that they are basically period costumes. I've never totally agreed, but I know that is a common perception.
- Even though I'd walk away with something, it still is technically more expensive than a hire

Some things to know: full military garb is off the table, so the only traditional piper gear that is in contention is the summer stuff (vest, kilt, hat), I don't want to do the thing where I make my own GK at Joanne's Fabrics and Crafts. I'll do a GK, but I want the wool swish if I'm going that far outside the box. I don't mind being a little weird. Please by all means provide links or names of places I should be checking.

If there is any info that would help, I'll try to answer questions quickly.

Also, I've reached out to a lot of retailers, some of whom are sponsors here. By all means, if we haven't talked weigh in, but I'm sort of excited to get the average kilt enthusiast's (as though there were such a thing) opinion.

Thanks in advance for the help! I was starting to run out of resources and I'm hoping you guys can save my bacon!

[OC Richard]

the number of pipers in a given area who are the size of an NFL defensive tackle is limited...

I don't know the size of an NFL defensive tackle (or even what a defensive tackle is) but I'm 6'3" around 230 pounds and for some reason there are several pipers here my size.

I understand the issue of being in a new area where you're not yet plugged into the local piping community.

I think your Great Kilt idea is a clever solution, and for gigs and such few in the General Public would even notice.

In fact, if you go with a Great Kilt in a Weathered tartan you'll be taking advantage of the current public perception (especially in the USA) of what Highland Dress is supposed to look like, due to the huge popularity of Outlander.

[Rhaco]

Hello and welcome! I know it's not for everyone (but what is?) but I do wear a belted plaid/great kilt somewhat regularly. I love the garment and try to wear it in a way that is not Brigadoon-ish; I pleat it nicely and neatly on my bed and I take care to make the finished product look neat and tidy. Unless I'm in the bush, I usually let the back hang down behind me.

I say go for it! If you don't want the extra "drama" of the double-width, you could consider going for a "little" kilt -- if the belted plaid is the grandfather of today's kilt, then the "little" kilt is the father. It's just the bottom half of a belted plaid -- still untailored.

Guluck,
Jonathan

Yeah, doing it cleanly would be an absolute must. Don't want to look too "ren fair,"

[Rhaco]

I don't know the size of an NFL defensive tackle (or even what a defensive tackle is) but I'm 6'3" around 230 pounds and for some reason there are several pipers here my size.

I understand the issue of being in a new area where you're not yet plugged into the local piping community.

I think your Great Kilt idea is a clever solution, and for gigs and such few in the General Public would even notice.

In fact, if you go with a Great Kilt in a Weathered tartan you'll be taking advantage of the current public perception (especially in the USA) of what Highland Dress is supposed to look like, due to the huge popularity of Outlander.

Haha, I'm 6'4" 280. I've known Piper's as tall or as wide, but right now I don't know anyone who is both.

I like your weathered idea, I'm already picturing the outlander themed weddings now.

[jthk]

Yeah, doing it cleanly would be an absolute must. Don't want to look too "ren fair,"

Yeah. Although I have seen guys at the fairs who do it nicely but usually it's a sloppy mess.

[jhockin]

An added bonus, if you go for a length of double width,( 16 oz wool tartan) Belted Plaid, is that, in the future, you could always make a “traditional tank” out of it.
Also: regarding cold temperatures and the Great Kilt/Belted Plaid: go for (at least) 16 oz. wool tartan, and, if you buy a long enough length, fold the length in two, before pleating into the Belted Plaid, as shown (zoom in, and you'll see it on both right and left-hand sides) in the 1714 portrait of the Lord of Grants piper: