Kilts and costumes

[bunchdescendant]

Or I could wear what I wear everyday and go as a jerk.

Thank you, Frank!

Now are you gonna come over here and clean up the coffee that I just spit all over the monitor?

Now THAT is classic! Can I use that in my sig line?

Ray

[ChromeScholar]

One says the kilt is clothing, I wear clothing as part of my Halloween costume, therefore there is nothing untoward in including my kilt as part of my Halloween get up.

That pretty much sums it up for me. Halloween this year falls on a Wednesday. I will be working. I will be in costume. That costume will include a kilt. I can't prevent someone else from getting offended by it, nor will I worry about it. I'll post pics.

[Chef]

" A costume is something you wear to play a role "for pretend." For example, I play on a vintage base ball team; we recreate baseball as it was played in the 1860s. ... When I wear that outfit to play a game, it's a uniform. When I wear it to answer the door on Halloween night, it's a costume. It's all about what you intend when you wear a thing.

I don't mean to offend, but even when you are playing a game i would consider what you wear a costume. As you say it is a recreation. So I would see the old-fashioned uniform as I would a period costume for a play. I think the analogy would work if you played modern baseball though.

[ChromeScholar]

Now, if you wear a kilt on Halloween, just as you normally do, I guarantee the majority of those who don't know you will think you are dressed in a costume. So it just adds to the misconception.

People think a kilt is a costume even if it isn't Halloween. I don't worry too much about what other people think of my clothes.

Too many people think of the kilt as a costume, so we do ourselves (and the kilt cause) no favours by helping them.

I don't think of myself as part of a "kilt cause". I'm a person who wears a kilt (sometimes). What other people think is fairly irrelevant to me. If they ask me questions, I will do my best to answer them accurately. I don't see any need to defend my wearing of the kilt, whether it's daily wear, or part of a costume.

[macwilkin]

All of us here would like to see the the kilt accepted as a man's everyday garment, however at this time it is not universally accepted as such.

To quote Priscilla Mullins via Longfellow, "Speak for yourself, John Alden."

Todd

[rollerboy_1979]

The very first time I wore a kilt was at work on Halloween. It was a rented Prince Charlie formal outfit, and it was authentic, right down to the flashes and sgian dubh. I wore it because it was the only way I could do so at work, and because I was interested in buying one and wanted to gauge public opinion. I am pleased to say that wearing it was such a positive experience that I've since purchased the P.C. and Argyle jackets, Gordon Tartan, and all the appropriate accessories. As a hotel concierge at the time, it felt as though it was what I should be wearing, and the reaction of the hotel guests was overwhelmingly positive. How could that be a bad thing? It wasn't worn at a party and it was done with the utmost taste. I probably made a mistake wearing it to the masquerade party recently where I was "lifted" twice, but that was not a costume party and I felt good wearing it. Again, how could that be wrong? I am wearing my kilt at every chance I get, and I'm learning a great deal about human nature and other people's insecurities. Somehow, you become a student of human behavior when you wear a kilt, and it can be a real eye-opener. I say wear it with pride, good taste, and passion wherever and whenever you please. It won't take long for your friends and family to realize that this isn't a phase you're going through.
Cheers!
RB

[ChromeScholar]

I think I'm seeing a misconception here. I may be wrong, but no one has suggested that the kilt is "a costume". No one here is going to visit Scotland and call the kilt "a costume". However, the kilt may be "part of a costume", just as all other forms of clothing may be "part of a costume".

A parallel would be wearing blackface and tap dancing, and not understanding why African Americans might be offended.

I'm sorry. I fail to see the analogy between wearing a kilt at Halloween, and dressing up in blackface. A better analogy would be dressing up as a fireman, or a cowboy. Should firemen or cowboys get offended because someone dresses up as one at Halloween?

[Roan Carter]

One of my friends wanted to borrow a kilt of mine for Halloween and it irked me. There's a misunderstanding between him, and people like myself who feel like the kilt is not a costume.

I actually received my first kilt on Halloween day. Some friends who were trick-or-treating asked me to put it on and join them, but I refused wearing the kilt because if I wore it that day no one could take it seriously any other day. Therein lies the issue, I think.

[Howard Clark]

I would argue that the issue is point of view. I am in the midst of conditioning all those who know me that my wearing a kilt is not a costume, but the way I choose to dress.

That does not mean that I won't be wearing a belted plaid and jacobite shirt with appropriate accessories for Halloween to accompany my kids. The younger is gonna be a power ranger, and the elder one is as yet undecided, but he may go in a belted plaid with a wooden sword as well.

I don't see an issue other than point of view of the observer and attitude of the kiltie whilst so clothed.

But then I am getting better at not letting things bother me so much any more. One of the benefits of growing older (few, but there are some).

Smile, be happy, wear your kilt with pride and dignity, whether it is your every day wear, or your Halloween costume.

You may fire at me at will.

[James MacMillan]

Oh heck - Wear what you want! Come to my house when you are out trick-or-treating, and I'll talk kilts with you, and even offer you a beer or a single malt..............