How many guys are really wearing kilts?

[Chris Webb]

I wear them every day, work and play. I have seen other guys in kilts, but only very rarely. I saw one at a Boy Scout Orienteering event, a Utilikilt. Also have seen a few members of a band in Fort Worth. Twice I've been told by the folks at Lowes that there is another guy in town who wears kilts, though I have yet to see him.

I do have to take issue with the notion that wearing kilts every day somehow diminishing them ... that's like saying wearing socks every day diminishes socks. The same goes for shoes, deoderant, wrist watches, trousers, you name it.

Kilts have simply become part of who I am. In the morning I look in the closet, pick out the kilt I want to wear right along with picking out the shirt, socks, boots, belt and, depending on the activity of the day, underwear.

I suppose that if I wore a Tux everyday that it would somehow diminish the uniqueness of wearing a Tux, maybe the same goes for the full traditional Scottish kilt outfit. But then again, I think there are some guys on here who wear that everyday and I certainly don't think they are diminshing kilts in any way.

Anyway, I wear kilts for issues ranging from a deep comitment to Freedom to comfort, to enjoyable attention from men and women alike, to a memorable business persona, even for medical reasons.

Diminishing the uniqueness of the kilt, no, if anything I am enhancing the uniqueness of it by proving daily that it is unique in the world of mens garments .... it doesn't squeeze, pinch or over heat my, well, I don't even have to say it.

Kilt On.

Chris Webb

[MacConnachie]

If one in ten thousand in the U.S. were to wear kilts regularly (and for argument's sake, let's say that was outside of pipe band activities), then a total of about 15,000 men in a country of 300 million persons would be wearing a kilt regularly(more than once a month). That "one in 10,000" is based solely on my local observations, in an area with about 40,000 population. Although, it seems as though there's rising tide of interest amongst certain sectors, so I can only imagine those numbers will increase.

[Blu (Ontario)]

... What I would LIKE to do if I have the courage is every weekend go to a different mall here in the city and walk from one side of the mall to the other several times so everyone sees me.

I do not wear kilts anywhere near full time and I don't wear kilts to work. I work in both an office and construction site environment and I just don't feel the need to pursue the clothing issue in the workplace. Safety is a major consideration there. On the other hand, I do enjoy wearing kilts on weekends. I've been to many stores in numerous cities, malls, restaurants, downtown streets, public parks, etc. I've walked all around the Niagara Fall area both on the Canada and the U.S sides. (What a wonderful kilt friendly place that is!). Cruising malls would in all likelihood not be the earth shattering event that you might think. I would not specifically targeted malls... that would be pretty boring... they're all so much the same.

[Kiltman]

Whether you see others kilted depends on where you are. Here in the Inland Pacific Northwest I do see a few others kilted. I wear a kilt enough that others ask me why I'm not wearing it if they see me without a kilt on. I'm told that in Seattle wearing a kilt is a fashion statement. If you're from Seattle or know about that, please let me know what kind of fashion statement is being made.

[Tattoo Bradley]

I rather like being the only "oddball" in my podunk town.

[furrycelt]

Adam pretty much covered everything I had to say on the matters of kilt sociology.

In my area (the Triangle of NC), outside of events and Halloween, I saw one kilt in the 10 years I have been here. It was in a standard shopping center parking lot, 20-something guy with a female companion. I am sure it was a UK, and it was black. But I am not sure of which type of UK. I saw this prior to me owning my UK (a few years ago). I wanted to say something, but we were too far away. I got all excited and wanted my wife to see, but she missed him. I cited that as proof to her that kilts were growing in popularity. She just rolled her eyes.

I wear my UK (original, olive) every chance I get; which is evenings and weekends. The only places I *can't* wear it are at work (ultra strict dress code) and at my in-law's.

While I have never seen another kilt while kilted (outside of events et al), I hear about kilts. When I wore mine to church once, some one commented how they had a co-worker who owned one. Also, and random times, others have mentioned them being seen.

I still get long looks and double takes. No one has said anything rude to me. I am hoping that by me wearing it out and about, it will cause other men to consider kilts as a real option in clothing.

However, deep down I feel, as some one astutely said: kilts will never become mainstream because most men would rather conform than be comfortable.


-ian

[Caradoc]

In my 50 years on this planet I have only TWICE in my life seen men in kilts who were obviously not part of a celebration or a parade.

Well, you're in the Greater Phoenix Metro Area - Tempe, as I recall. I'm in Scottsdale.

Most of my kilts are wool - and are entirely unsuited for wearing outdoors when the temperature is over 90 degrees F.

I don't do Utilikilts, or the other "non-traditional" kilts, and so it becomes problematic to wear them when it gets hot out.

Add that to the fact that over half of my kilts are "great kilts," consisting of 5-6 yards of wool, 50-60" wide. There's absolutely no comfortable way to wear those in the summer in Arizona. I can sleep outdoors in the high desert in January wearing one, though. I've even slept in a snowbank (well, I dug out a small snow cave, then crawled in with the great kilt, and I was comfy. Toasty warm. A little damp, but a layer of pine boughs on the floor took care of the melt.)

I'm pretty sure that per capita kilt-wearing can be determined by average temperatures.

[Riverkilt]

Boy, I'm as confused as GTRMAN...diminshed??? and in L.A.....?

My belief is that by wearing the kilt every day I'm honoring it and maybe even opening up some minds to the point they would wear one too. But my main reason for wearing kilts is pure selfishness - to enjoy the comfort and freedom.

Don't see other kilts in my little town. Do have people tell me stories of kilted men they've seen. I do go and immerse myself in highland games to soak it up...see everything from converted tablecloths and women's skirts worn as kilts up to the finest hand sewn traditional kilts. Love it.

My fond hope is that, in time, the self-evident comfort and common sense of kilts, particularly kilts adapted for this century, will prevail.

Ron

[GMan]

Surprisingly I do see several guys Kilted. Yes some are Utilikilts and some are tartan. I try to talk to as many other Kilt wearers when I see them, but es time does get away from us. One time while walking out of the grocery store I saw another guy in a Kilt (we were both in tartans). We spent a good 20 minutes talking and just about every other person we saw said how neat it was.

Now to get them posting here.

[Yaish]

Utilikilks claims to have sold more kilts than any other kilt maker, and its a claim I can well believe. At the least, they probably are right up there with their numbers, and they have sold under 20,000 kilts in the 7 years or so they have been selling.

All other kilt makers combined probably bring that number up significantly, lets say something like 200,000 kilts in the last 10 years. (before 10 years ago, you would be hard pressed to find a kilt outside of S/otland or a pipe band)

Given that many kilt owners own more than one, or only wear them on special occaisions, that means the number of kilt wearing men at any one time is probably only in the tens of thousands on any particular day.

Drop in the bucket of even the US population, let alone the world. Heck, 10,000 kilted guys would disappear in Los Angeles unless we all met up at one location.

That being said, I have run into several other 'kilties' out there. Once at Disney land there were three guys in kilts, all unrelated (me included).