Kilted in Long Island

**Chef** · 28th October 06, 10:28 AM

Well I am from Kirkcaldy Scotland in the Kingdom of Fife but in many ways my home town is the Newington area of Edinburgh, in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat for those of you who might know it. I came to the states kicking and screaming when my mother married an American (they're still married and he and I are very close so I'm ok with it now).

I have been wearing kilts for forty years now thanks to a grandmother from the highlands. Currently I own several traditional kilts (and the accessories to go with them) as well as a canvas kilt that I bought for casual and highland games wear. I am so-so about the canvas kilt and I am currently looking at Freedom kilts for a specialty and casual kilt.

I am the current Chairman of the Board for the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York as we celebrate our 250th anniversary this year. I own a catering company and the fasted growing component of that business is Scottish events and catering. We plan and cater Scottish events and weddings in NY and the surrounding areas and I also travel around the country as a Scottish event/wedding planner. We also do Scottish dinners and yes even Scottish Chef demonstrations.

I was very pleased to find this site as I am proud to wear my kilt and like the fact that it is slowly being accepted for less formal events. I still get asked where my band is playing if I am dressed in full regalia but I can live with it. I must admit while I do like being able to wear a kilt for less formal occasions I cannot say that I like all of the new very casual kilts and the way they are worn. I don't mean MUG's but the ones that claim to be kilts.

My prejudice probably has two parts. First, I tend to dress in a less casual manner than some most of the time and think the look I am referring to would look sloppy whether a kilt or a pair of pants is worn. I don’t mean to offend anyone and I truly believe people should wear what they like, but for my taste I find it too casual…sorry. The second is that after four decades of expecting a kilt to look a certain way and learning how to keep it looking that way in almost any condition I have a certain prejudice against kilts that don’t look “just so”. Don’t misunderstand me, I like that kilts are worn for casual reasons and I have been walking the kills with hiking boots, a casual shirt and the hose pushed down. I have also been to highland games wearing a t-shirt with my kilt; it is the condition of the kilt itself where I have a problem with some of the casual looks. Of course I think that a pair of trousers should be pressed with a proper crease as well, so it is my problem, most likely left over from my days in the Army. So some of the casual kilts hold to my idea and some do not. I’m not saying anyone should choose one over another because of what I think a kilt should look like, it’s just what I prefer.

OK, now that I said that, I am very glad to be here and I hope I can ad something to the conversations.

Thanks,

Chef