WHY NOT WEAR TROUSERS?

[Raphael]

I have no problem in wearing jeans/slacks/shorts at all. In fact, I wear them most of the week. It is hard to chase around a 5 year old or coach a Under 7 Soccer/hockey team with a kilt. Shorts/track pants are very good in that kind of situtation.

Also, I go on technical hikes and do a lot bicycle riding. Pants/shorts are going to provide the protections that I need while in the wood or flying down some technical downhills.

But Nothing beat the Kilts Night Vancouver. We do our Kilted Walk down Granville Street after a more than a couple Rounds of drinks. I would then head home to read my Maxim/Stuff/FHM to relax from all the excitments, before waking my wife up to tuck me in.

If we would have worn jeans, we will not be having that much fun and we can even leave the bail money home.

[RockyR]

I am sure that as time goes on and it's not so new to me trousers will fill more gaps then they do now, but being so new to this freedom, for now I will enjoy it whenever I can and glide into a more moderate mode perhaps who knows.. Kinda hope not..

[Blu (Ontario)]

WHY NOT WEAR TROUSERS?

How about a "Men in Pants" forum... sounds like fun, doesn't it!

.... I've never had any opposition or problems in respect of wearing the kilt: so do not feel there are barriers to be broken down...

The fact is... there are more than a few of us posting here that have had to overcome stiff opposition to get to the point where we can consider the kilt as a clothing option. Most of the population here sees kilts as something scotsmen wear and then on special occasions only. The deeply rooted prevailing attitude here is that real men wear pants only and women wear pretty much whatever they want.

My thinking being that the kilt should be regarded and worn as a normal day to day garment, and there are no points to be gained from wearing it or not wearing it on any particular occasion... the mood of the moment being the deciding factor.

Exactly. It's all about a legitimate choice.

Obviously I'm seeing the matter in a very different way to many: so I'm asking why?

Where you live do you...
a. have comments like "hey, nice skirt!" sneered at you,
b. Have groups of teenage boys yell, "you faggott!" from fast moving cars,
c. get asked, "wheres the bagpipes, buddy?",
d. ever have your wife mutter, "You wearing that thing again already?",
e. get asked, "whatcha wearin under the kilt?" in a loud fake scottish burr...

Come on over to this side of the pond and join the fun! These are just a few of the little delights I've encountered over the last several years.

Many of us have only recently discovered what a joy it is to wear. At my age. (early 50's), I don't take anything for granted anymore. I've discovered, rather later in life than yourself, that I actually have a choice of what to wear.... and I don't take that for granted either. I'm just grateful that I've discovered it and the group that posts here with which to share the experience. 8)

cheers,
blu

[Mychael Sporrano]

Where you live do you...
a. have comments like "hey, nice skirt!" sneered at you,
b. Have groups of teenage boys yell, "you faggott!" from fast moving cars,
c. get asked, "wheres the bagpipes, buddy?",
d. ever have your wife mutter, "You wearing that thing again already?",
e. get asked, "whatcha wearin under the kilt?" in a loud fake scottish burr... blu

Wow, other than choice "d.", that sums up my experiences pretty well! I did have one woman approach me and ask me if I realized how ugly I looked... That was a mite offputting.

On Public Radio this evening I heard a story about a 46 year old fellow from Auburn named Mark who decided to wear a Superman suit around after his wife died. In a way, his adventures reminded me of wearing a kilt. At one point the interviewer sheepishly followed him into a bar to see what sort of reaction it would drum up. I recall that 4 of the first six questions Superman fielded pertained to whether or not he was augmenting his genetalia with a sock. Reminded me of the obligatory what-ya-wearing-under-yer-kilt question.

It as an interesting segment about being different.


Mychael

[Rob Wright]

I'm fortunate in that my employer doesn't have problem with me wearing my victory kilt to work, in fact If I'm not wearing it for some reason he wants to know if there is anything wrong. I've been cooking for twelve years(ever since I was sixteen) and nothing! and I mean nothing beats the comfort of the kilt when one works in a kitchen.
There are a bunch of tasks that Ikeep trousers around for and there are certain formal functions that I don't wear a kilt to yet, I do not have a formal outfit as of this moment but it has been ordered.
As others said it is a personal preference thing, to each their own.

Rob Wright

[irmavep]

I put a pair of jeans on three days ago. When I walked into the livingroom my girlfriend blinked shook her head in amazement and said "???pants???" I responded with 'I thought I would wear something different'. She laughed and said "Do you have any idea how funny it sounds to hear somebody say I'll wear pants to be different?" she then said "Oh well your still cute"
Ain't she the greatest!! She still loves me even in jeans.
I am lucky in the fact I can wear what I want to work, I work in downtown Chicago, Working in the big-city has one serious dis-advantage it is much much colder here!! a 10 mph wind quickly turns into 20-30 whipping around buildings. I have a fairly lengthy walk everyday as well, what I am getting at is when it is really cold out I do wear pants I hang my head in shame. In my defense, I have had my skin go numb even with pants and thermal underwear on days that are -10f, wearing a kilt on those days just doesn't make sense, it's not comfortable to have frostbite.

[elijah]

Well, I haven't worn pants for 9 1/2 months now. Those who've said that not everyone here wears kilts full time is right and that's okay.

Part of the reason, I wear kilts is I feel that they're more modest than pants, so it's not something I change from doing.

I've found that when you have plain colored kilts, they can handle most of the messy work, because when you get down to it, denim is still denim and just as washable whether kilt or jeans.

In addition, my job doesn't require me to climb up ladders or stand on my head, which would necessitate some other consideration for optimal modesty. ;)

My job is sitting down in a call center job and for that a kilt is ideal. Having worked in another Call Center for a year, I can't tell you how many times the seams of my pants and the seams of my short worked black magic to give me a painful wedgie.

[Hamish]

.

"Except maybe Hamish regarding the sporran chain no-no..." What, pray tell, is the sporran chain no-no??

Mychael

Mychael,

I have 'banged on' about this many times in this forum, and elsewhere. I am afraid I do not advocate the wearing of chains with sporrans on a daily basis. Far better to use a sporran strap - without the decorative chain - to avoid unnecessary wear and tear (yes, I have seen "tear") on kilt aprons as a result of the metal rubbing on the wool with every step taken.

Not so many years ago, the strap came as 'standard' with all sporrans except those designed for full evening dress wear - seal skin with silver cantle, hung on a silver chain. There was nothing like the huge selection of sporrans that we have today.

Of course, I am thinking of traditional kilts tailored from 100% woollen tartan which, again, was all we had just a few years ago! Maybe alternative fabrics, such as Poly-this and Poly-that do not suffer from the harsh actions of the sporran chain. Only time will tell. Nevertheless, I cringe whenever I see a 'chained sporran', worn as day wear, with a tartan kilt - fearing for the future condition of the outer apron of that kilt.

I have known cases when an entire outer apron has had to be replaced on expensive kilts, because of the wearer's insistance on using a sporran chain.

Before anyone asks: any sporran-maker, kiltmaker, Highland Dress outfitter worth his salt, will have sporran straps in stock as alternatives to sporran chain-straps. You may have to ask for them, but they should be available. I have never had any trouble obtaining them, in black or brown leather, for any of my sporrans.

Sporran chains are, to my mind, as potentially destructive as the act of wearing a kilt pin through outer AND inner aprons!!

[bikercelt1]

My own approach is that to wear or not to wear the kilt should be no more of a decision than which shirt to wear...Choice only coming into it when there is some particular activity, which directs me to one way of dressing or another...My thinking being that then kilt should be regarded and worn as a normal day to day garment, and there are no points to be gained from wearing it or not wearing it on any particular occasion: the mood of the moment being the deciding factor.

James

Obviously, James, there are many of us who do in fact wear pants on occasion, but that's not the focus of this forum. Most of us don't have the experience that you did of growing up with the kilt. For us this is a life changing experience. Like many life changing experiences we sometimes go further than prudence would dictate. Sometimes in our zeal to embrace the new possibility of the kilt we try to do things kilted that would be easier or more practical in pants. That's how we compress a lifetime of kilt wearing experience into a short period of our lives, and this forum is a way for us to comunicate what works and what doesn't with each other. Sharing this voyage of discovery with each other is, in part, why this forum has blossomed the way it has.

We do, in fact, want the wearing of kilts to be regarded as a normal day to day garment. We'd like it to be the normal day to day garment of a special class of men (which of course includes each of us on this forum). I don't think we're looking to score points, but each of us has some part in the back of our mind that wants to be exemplary. The bravado that it takes to dress in a new way, a way different than most of the people around us, in the kilt, feeds that.

It's not that we don't wear pants on occasion, it's just that we're not captivated by the mundane act of wearing pants like we are in the exotic experience of wearing the kilt.

Jamie

[RockyR]

Obviously, James, there are many of us who do in fact wear pants on occasion, but that's not the focus of this forum. Most of us don't have the experience that you did of growing up with the kilt. For us this is a life changing experience. Like many life changing experiences we sometimes go further than prudence would dictate. Sometimes in our zeal to embrace the new possibility of the kilt we try to do things kilted that would be easier or more practical in pants. That's how we compress a lifetime of kilt wearing experience into a short period of our lives, and this forum is a way for us to comunicate what works and what doesn't with each other. Sharing this voyage of discovery with each other is, in part, why this forum has blossomed the way it has.

We do, in fact, want the wearing of kilts to be regarded as a normal day to day garment. We'd like it to be the normal day to day garment of a special class of men (which of course includes each of us on this forum). I don't think we're looking to score points, but each of us has some part in the back of our mind that wants to be exemplary. The bravado that it takes to dress in a new way, a way different than most of the people around us, in the kilt, feeds that.

It's not that we don't wear pants on occasion, it's just that we're not captivated by the mundane act of wearing pants like we are in the exotic experience of wearing the kilt.

Jamie

Excellent post Biker, expresses my sentiments also very well.