While searching for information related to another current thread (kilt-manual-scottish-national-dress) I found this short but entertainingly informative article http://www.bbk.ac.uk/english/skc/skirts/MenInSkirts.pdf on the evolution and relation of men’s and women’s dress -- with decidedly Freudian and political overtones. It contains many many points of symbolic insight applicable to the kilt from the kilt's provocative “swish” to the independence and ironic iconoclastic symbolism it implies. Among the many things that struck me was the notion that somehow trousers represent “what you do” (a trade) while un-bifurcated garments represent “who you are” (identity/status). Does the kilt invoke/assert a symbolism of independence, confidence and status like some other open-ended non-bifurcated garments (e.g., academic, judicial or clerical robes, the physician’s (or scientist’s) “white coat” etc…)? For me, the article presents a complex and sometimes paradoxical, if not down-right inconsistent but somehow “true” collection of morsels of food for thought? What do you see?