Newbie giveaway(s)

[KiltedMariner]

Greetings,

Thanks for the replies to the "American in Scotland" thread; they are quite useful!

Some suggested that a tartan, "worn properly," would be best. What does "worn properly" mean?

That posed: what are dead giveaways that the wearer does not know how to wear the kilt? What are your kiltedness pet-peeves?

Thanks in advance!
Richard

[KiltedMariner]

Besides wearing the pleats forward, I know that I notice when a kilt is too long, like to the top of the hose (or lower!)

[Bugbear]

Hose.

In my own defense, those hose were all I had while saving up for the brown ones.

[Nighthawk]

I will wear my kilt too long in Colorado in the middle of winter. Otherwise, I'll get to work with frozen knees. It gets cold here!

So... My pet peeves... Let's see... Not wearing a sporran of some sort just irritates me. Wearing a kilt and not tucking in your shirt, to my eyes, makes you look just plain slovenly. Otherwise, I say that whatever you like is what goes. It is, after all, just clothing and not some sort of uniform. So long as you look well put together. Oh! One other thing- a full dress sporran with a t shirt looks wrong. I have been guilty of that, and there are pictures of it on my professional website. BUT--- in my defense, my son had thrown up on my daywear one the night before the pictures were taken and my formal sporran was the only one I had available to me at the time. Ick...


Oh... and my webmaster refuses to change the pictures because she thinks it's funny how much they irritate me...

[Kerr the Walker]

I'll pretty much echo what's been said: no sporran (on a trad kilt), kilt too low....to me indicates one who has not done his research.

Or he could know the "rules" and is bucking the trend...but there's already been a thread about that...

[McMurdo]

"Worn properly" could mean different things depending on the venue, I would suggest that you look through the Style threads for an idea of Casual, Dressy and Formal wear. I will however give a few examples here, to me wearing a kilt properly would most often be in a semi dress day wear setting, it is just what I've become comfortable with.

Kilted Casual look




Kilted Dressy look




Kilted Formal Look




As for newbie giveaways I'd say white hose are a big giveaway, some people may think a non wool kilt would be a giveaway, sporran too low or too high. The biggest giveaway is simply the confidence or lack thereof that many new kilt wearers have and the only way I know to overcome that is to wear your kilt.

[BroosterB1]

The "Remove before Flight" flag still attached, just bugs.

[Riverkilt]

I thought "worn properly" meant regimental....

Ladies?

Ron

[Jock Scot]

Alright this is a Scot's pet peeve list for those that want to wear the kilt in Scotland.

Don't wear the kilt below the centre of the knee. Just at the top of the kneecap would be best.
Don't wear a non tartan kilt. Tweed is not often seen and may still raise an eyebrow.
Don't wear a flat cap,ball cap,John Deere type cap. Better to wear nothing on your head.
Don't wear feathers in your bonnet.
Don't wear white hose.
Don't wear scrunched down hose.
Don't wear trainers.
Don't wear more than one tartan.
Last but not least.
DON'T TRY TO TELL A SCOT HOW TO WEAR THE KILT. Even if you do actually know better than him!

[piperdbh]

Mariner, you've opened a can of worms this time! Welcome aboard, by the way.

One thing that bothers me is people who wear a whole arsenal of weaponry to Highland Games. I understand the need for a knife in the sock. I don't see the need to own a claymore, much less tote it around for everyone to see. Or a "gret ganglin'" dirk, either, unless it's part of a uniform.

Something else: Balmorals that just came out of the package and are still stiff from being blocked. But we've covered that already.

One more thing: teenage boys wearing their kilts extra low, as if they were blue jeans in the current foolish-looking style. I'm glad they choose to go kilted, but somebody (Jock? Mac of Rath?) needs to pull them aside and 'splain a few things to them.