First Time in "Public"

[Psynister]

Warning: I tend to write lenghy posts...

"Public" being that I wore it to a family gathering for Father's Day. It was an interesting experience with some things I expected and some that I didn't. My mom saw the video that I linked here a week or so ago, so she knew what to expect, and I had told my younger brother about it so he knew I was going to wear it but he hadn't seen it yet.

The first reaction came from my step-nieces. All three of them burst into laughing at me wearing a kilt. I think the oldest one is around 8 or 9 and the youngest is about 2. They couldn't get over the boy wearing a skirt thing. Their brother (5) was just confused. He didn't find it funny, but he couldn't understand why I would wear something like that. Kids...gotta love 'em.

My grandfather was next, he's definitely the joking type (as is the case with most of my family) and he couldn't pass up the chance for a nice jab, "When did you get a sex change?" He never gave a compliment, so I think he was still uncertain about it at the end of the day. My uncle kept calling it a skirt as well, but his opinion doesn't mean much to me either way so he doesn't count for much.

The women were all open to it, as was my dad and brothers. One of the niece's biological dad dropped by to pick her up after lunch and just as he saw me, "Killer kilt, man! I'm Scotts-Irish and I don't even own one yet." The daughter giggled and called it a skirt again and he said, "No honey, that's a kilt. Those are two very different things." She seemed to come around a bit after that, but they didn't stay much longer.

Both of my brothers are interested in having a kilt now, which I was hoping would be the case as that's what I'm planning to get them both for Christmas this year. My older brother thinks we should all wear different tartans, while my younger brother pointed out that having the same tartan within the family is kinda the point. I'm going for all three of us having the same when I get their gifts, and if they want to buy their own for different looks afterward then that's up to them. I know my older brother will go for the craziest, most stand-out tartan he can find because that's just the kind of guy he is, while my younger brother will probably end up going more towards utili-kilts.

My younger brother is getting a little crazy about it, he's looking at trying to learn to play the pipes as well. His wife's not too sure about the kilt part. She said it looked good on me, but that she wouldn't want to go to the store with her husband wearing a kilt. It's not too surprising since we live in a small, conservative town where anything out of the "norm" is very discouraged. That won't stop me or my brother from wearing them, but a lot of people around here aren't even willing to take risks. She'll come around eventually once he gets it, I'm sure.

Before I left, the adults started asking questions about it. They wanted to know what the sporran was for and what went in there. I told them about the things that I couldn't do in the kilt (bending over, squatting down in certain ways, etc) which got some laughs, and then I showed them that I was wearing compression shorts under it so that if I did do something like that nobody would have been flashed. After that my French grandmother shocked me as she admitted that she was tempted to lift up my pleats to see what was under it and all the women in there agreed. That was a little uncomfortable given I'm related to all of these women, but apparently it's intriguing to all women or something.

A few people also asked if there was a specific reason why I wore the kilt today, if there was some kind of Scottish holiday or something. I replied, "Well, since the origin of our name (Griffith) dates back to the 13th century king of Wales, what better way to honor fathers than by giving a nod to my great-great-great-who knows how many great's-grandfather by wearing a kilt?" Not that I actually have any proof that we're related beyond sharing the name, but still.

Overall it was a positive experience. The kids laughing at it all day was a bit annoying, but kids are kids. I wore it for about 3 hours, and I enjoyed it. The kilt was a bit hot when I was sitting down in the same place for a while, but it was a hot day so it would have been hot regardless of what I was wearing. I did find that I could stand in place and just move side-to-side a bit to create a nice, cooling draft "down yonder" and that helped quite a bit with the heat.


(Edit: From left to right that's my father, me (obviously), younger brother, and my older brother.)

I wore a polo shirt instead of the long sleeve button up that I was planning for this. I thought the shirt was black, but after I got to my parents house and stepped outside to get the grill started up I realized it was actually navy instead of black. It wasn't terrible even if a bit off-color, but at least it was cooler than the other option would have been.

As the day went on, I noticed that things were getting a bit looser. My belt wasn't staying up as well, the sporran strap started drooping more, and so on. It makes me want to give up on the sporran strap and maybe switch to something like straps that just hang down from the front of my belt. I know I've seen things like that here somewhere, but I'm not sure what they're called. I probably need to tighten the actual belt as well and go ahead and start using the belt loops with the belt as well to help keep things in place.

I didn't have trouble with the kilt staying up at all, it was the belt and sporran that got more and more loose as time went by.

[Ursus_Maximus]

Nice one man,
Sounds much like my experience at my Uncle's 60th on the weekend, right down to the amused/confused youngsters and the loosening of the sporran strap. The shorter chains that hang from the belt that you mentioned are sometimes called sporran suspenders, I've been considering those as well.

Looks like your brothers (I assume in the photo with you) are partway plaid already, just add pleats and they're good to go Haha!

[Psynister]

Nice one man,
Sounds much like my experience at my Uncle's 60th on the weekend, right down to the amused/confused youngsters and the loosening of the sporran strap. The shorter chains that hang from the belt that you mentioned are sometimes called sporran suspenders, I've been considering those as well.

Looks like your brothers (I assume in the photo with you) are partway plaid already, just add pleats and they're good to go Haha!

I noticed the plaid shorts myself when I came to look at the replies here. I scrolled past them and then back up as it caught my eye. I think that picture proves that it's meant to be, and I'm going to take it as such. ;)

[Deil the Yin]

Guid on ye, sir! Glad to hear there's more converts to enter the rabble fold...

Aye,
Wesley

[Psynister]

Here's another picture. The confused nephew came in with a plastic bow & arrow and told me to hold up the shield for target practice. Apparently they thought it was picture worthy, so I figured I might as well share it too.

[Chas]

I am glad it was so positive for you, Jason. The more you wear it the easier it will become.

You might not get everybody to like it, but if you wear it enough, they will eventually accept it.

[O'Searcaigh]

I am glad it was so positive for you, Jason. The more you wear it the easier it will become.

You might not get everybody to like it, but if you wear it enough, they will eventually accept it.

I was just going to "Aye" this but thought I'd also share my little experience this past Saturday. I accompanied my wife to what I thought was going to be a quilt show. Of course, I was kilted. When we got to the site, it turned out they were also having a vintage tractor show complete with country music band (and all for free). I opted to look at tractors instead of quilts. I was the only person kilted among lots of folks in bib overalls. Several made comments but all were friendly, even the somewhat less than tactful ones. I came up with a new response to "the question" I had never used before -- "anything I want." When the leader of the band (over the P.A. system) said "Well, folks, you know all real Scotsmen..." I just shouted back in a jesting voice "don't go there!" People wanted to take my picture, asked where my bagpipes were (to which I replied: "at home") and tell me of their Scottish heritage. I made several nice new acquaintances. Bottom line: most people actually like seeing someone kilted, let them and you have fun with it and let the others go ......

[Guinness>water]

Oh man, family can be the hardest on ya. If you made it through that, the. General public will be a breeze. Guess I should have warned ya about that. Woops!

My family, in Borger, are so hard on me that I won't wear it around them. You'd think after the fifth or sixth time, they'd get over it.

You look good, and I'm glad you weren't discouraged.

[MizzouScotsman]

Warning: I tend to write lenghy posts...

"Public" being that I wore it to a family gathering for Father's Day. It was an interesting experience with some things I expected and some that I didn't. My mom saw the video that I linked here a week or so ago, so she knew what to expect, and I had told my younger brother about it so he knew I was going to wear it but he hadn't seen it yet.

The first reaction came from my step-nieces. All three of them burst into laughing at me wearing a kilt. I think the oldest one is around 8 or 9 and the youngest is about 2. They couldn't get over the boy wearing a skirt thing. Their brother (5) was just confused. He didn't find it funny, but he couldn't understand why I would wear something like that. Kids...gotta love 'em.

My grandfather was next, he's definitely the joking type (as is the case with most of my family) and he couldn't pass up the chance for a nice jab, "When did you get a sex change?" He never gave a compliment, so I think he was still uncertain about it at the end of the day. My uncle kept calling it a skirt as well, but his opinion doesn't mean much to me either way so he doesn't count for much.

The women were all open to it, as was my dad and brothers. One of the niece's biological dad dropped by to pick her up after lunch and just as he saw me, "Killer kilt, man! I'm Scotts-Irish and I don't even own one yet." The daughter giggled and called it a skirt again and he said, "No honey, that's a kilt. Those are two very different things." She seemed to come around a bit after that, but they didn't stay much longer.

Both of my brothers are interested in having a kilt now, which I was hoping would be the case as that's what I'm planning to get them both for Christmas this year. My older brother thinks we should all wear different tartans, while my younger brother pointed out that having the same tartan within the family is kinda the point. I'm going for all three of us having the same when I get their gifts, and if they want to buy their own for different looks afterward then that's up to them. I know my older brother will go for the craziest, most stand-out tartan he can find because that's just the kind of guy he is, while my younger brother will probably end up going more towards utili-kilts.

My younger brother is getting a little crazy about it, he's looking at trying to learn to play the pipes as well. His wife's not too sure about the kilt part. She said it looked good on me, but that she wouldn't want to go to the store with her husband wearing a kilt. It's not too surprising since we live in a small, conservative town where anything out of the "norm" is very discouraged. That won't stop me or my brother from wearing them, but a lot of people around here aren't even willing to take risks. She'll come around eventually once he gets it, I'm sure.

Before I left, the adults started asking questions about it. They wanted to know what the sporran was for and what went in there. I told them about the things that I couldn't do in the kilt (bending over, squatting down in certain ways, etc) which got some laughs, and then I showed them that I was wearing compression shorts under it so that if I did do something like that nobody would have been flashed. After that my French grandmother shocked me as she admitted that she was tempted to lift up my pleats to see what was under it and all the women in there agreed. That was a little uncomfortable given I'm related to all of these women, but apparently it's intriguing to all women or something.

A few people also asked if there was a specific reason why I wore the kilt today, if there was some kind of Scottish holiday or something. I replied, "Well, since the origin of our name (Griffith) dates back to the 13th century king of Wales, what better way to honor fathers than by giving a nod to my great-great-great-who knows how many great's-grandfather by wearing a kilt?" Not that I actually have any proof that we're related beyond sharing the name, but still.

Overall it was a positive experience. The kids laughing at it all day was a bit annoying, but kids are kids. I wore it for about 3 hours, and I enjoyed it. The kilt was a bit hot when I was sitting down in the same place for a while, but it was a hot day so it would have been hot regardless of what I was wearing. I did find that I could stand in place and just move side-to-side a bit to create a nice, cooling draft "down yonder" and that helped quite a bit with the heat.





I wore a polo shirt instead of the long sleeve button up that I was planning for this. I thought the shirt was black, but after I got to my parents house and stepped outside to get the grill started up I realized it was actually navy instead of black. It wasn't terrible even if a bit off-color, but at least it was cooler than the other option would have been.

As the day went on, I noticed that things were getting a bit looser. My belt wasn't staying up as well, the sporran strap started drooping more, and so on. It makes me want to give up on the sporran strap and maybe switch to something like straps that just hang down from the front of my belt. I know I've seen things like that here somewhere, but I'm not sure what they're called. I probably need to tighten the actual belt as well and go ahead and start using the belt loops with the belt as well to help keep things in place.

I didn't have trouble with the kilt staying up at all, it was the belt and sporran that go more and more loose as time went by.

Looks great dude. My wife is all behind me going kilted full time. My youngest daughter gave me a kilt today for Father's Day...well, it will be here in about 8 weeks, but it's gonna be mine (it's a Black Steward by the way). The sporran things you describe are sporran hangers. I have a pair of them. I made my own belt and use the belt loops and that helps with the droop you have talked about.

Don't let people's attitudes sway you. People tend to act like that when they are nervous or are seeing something different for the first time. I get nothing but compliments wearing my kilts. Today, I was told that I looked "badass", a few women stopped me to tell me that they loved the look (MacQueen kilt, button down white shire, black wool waistcoat, and a plain black tassleless sporran, black hose with flashing, and of course my trust sgian dubh). I went bonnetless today (waiting for my new one from Keltoi to arrive...lol).

Keep up the faith and you will be wearing them more and more and getting compliments galore.

[JohntheBiker]

Congratulations on your first outing. Just persist, they'll get used to it, even the kids.