Kilts at work

[gaelicman60]

Hi,greetings from a self-confessed kiltaholic 15 miles west of London on a cold icy morning that looks like Xmas come early! I'm aged 60,live alone and run a small professional practise from home. Mum was English,Dad was a Scot from the far north - Wick in Caithness. I don't ever remember seeing him wearing a kilt,either in photos or in reality. I first wore one - under duress!! - at the tender age of 6 years old on Dad's 50th birthday and I screamed the place down,no way was I going to wear a little girl's dress and that was that. Fast forward 50 years to a very different scene - I'm not sure what started it. One source of inspiration was a photo of the racing driver David Coulthard in full Highland dress in an ad for a kilt hire company in Scots magazine and I remember thinking how cool he looked. Another possible source was probably my wee cousin Caroline from Glesc(she's bigger than me so I don't argue with her),who has recently encouraged me to take a lot more interest in family history and Scottish culture generally. I now have a closet full of kilts including the family/clan tartans (Sinclair & Robertson) plus various utility styles - one of which I'm wearing right now. As I mentioned above,I also run a small professional practise from home (tax/accountancy). As the office is at home,it means that I can adopt a fairly informal dress code most of the time. When my interest in kilts started two years ago,I began to think about wearing them for work,in addition to social and family occasions. Last year,I started wearing a kilt regularly on Friday afternoons and occasionally on other days and it has been quite an entertaining experience! Bearing in mind that a guy in a kilt is a rare sight in this neck of the woods,some of my female tax clients now insist that I wear one whenever they visit me,though the reaction from male clients is more varied,and one character in particular seems quite worried about me for some reason! For office wear,I stick to traditional Scottish kilts - in a business environment ,they look a lot smarter and more attractive than the utility variety although you miss the pockets,and a sporran is very uncomfortable when you try to wear one sitting at a desk! I wonder if anyone else out there has tried wearing a kilt for work,I can recommend it - it works wonders for the ego,you look good and you certainly feel good,except possibly on a very hot day in summer. Probably best confined to folks who work from home at present - public attitudes towards "men in skirts" still have a long way to go in London,though I guess this is less of a problem in Scotland. All for now. Beannachd leibh! gaelicman60

[Jock Scot]

Welcome,from Inverness-shire.

[Paul Henry]

Welcome from Kingston in Surrey, whereabouts are you? can't be so far away I think!
I wear my kilts often, just in the neighbourhood, or indeed London , and haven't had any problems with it, I really don't think there is any negative public attitude in London, after all it's mainly tourists there anyway!!

[ChattanCat]

from the center of the USA

[McClef]

from South Wales UK!

[Fougasse]

Howzitgaun, greetings from the Tidewater Area, VA. Sounds like youre in Berkshire, I used to live in the Newbury area.

[Jordan]

From aberdeenshire where wearing a kilt casualy it just an random here as it is with you

Jordan

[SteveB]

Hello and a warm Celtic from Boston, Massachusetts.
- from a full time kilted man. Very few people comment on my kilt, but many comment when I am seen in trousers. I got plenty of comment last Sunday when I showed up for Church in trousers, as no one believed I owned any. I own very few. Kilt 18 - Trousers 4. It does not take very long for the kilt to become "normal" to your friends, co-workers, customers, and neighbours.

[Mipi]

Welcome from main land.

[macneighill]

from "Karst Kountry" . . beautiful Central Kentucky, USA