Kilts and costumes

[dpseadvr]

I saw in a thread a couple of days ago (can't find it now) in it somebody was talking about wearing there kilt as part of a holloween costume and people where getting onto him about it. I think they where saying it is there everyday wear and shouldn't be a costume or something along those lines again I can't find the thread.
I was wondering what the big deal was. I know there are a lot of current and ex Mil guys on here do you get mad when somebody dresses up in BDUs or plays Army you fought hard to earn the right to wear the uniform of what ever service you where in. So should they not play Army because that is somebodys everyday wear?
I know this will bring a lot different responces I was just interseted in peoples opinions.
By the way my boy will be a Frog Man for holloween HOOO YA

[keepoffgrass]

i dont see a problem with it, but...
If you wear your kilt how you wear it every day, you know, with a t-shirt and your hose pushed down I dont see that as a costume. However, if youre wearing your kilt with a jacobite shirt, and a swordsman vest or something like that, or maybe a great kilt then i would say that would make a pretty nice costume. Most people dont see kilts as daily wear, so they think of them as "costumism" I think for the most part anyways.

I ordered a Gryffindor house sweater and tie for Halloween this year. lol Im a Harry Potter dork though, so I imagine I'll wear them after Halloween as everyday clothes too. I think the crimson and gold should match my kilt pretty well too :-)

[James MacMillan]

I guess it’s a matter of degrees. If you wear it like this:



Then it is a costume. - and a bad one at that!

If you wear it like this:



Then it isn’t a costume!! And everyone of them look great!!!

Nuff said!

[Chef]

The one day a year I will not wear a kilt (even as just daily wear) is Halloween, why because of the perception. All of us here would like to see the the kilt accepted as a man's everyday garment, however at this time it is not universally accepted as such. Now, if you wear a kilt on Halloween, just as you normally do, I guarantee the majority of those who don't know you will think you are dressed in a costume. So it just adds to the misconception.

Too many people think of the kilt as a costume, so we do ourselves (and the kilt cause) no favours by helping them. If the time comes when the public doesn't assume costume just because they see a kilt on Halloween, then I will gladly wear mine either as daily dress or as a Hollywood Braveheart for a party.

For now I wear pants on Halloween and if anyone wants to know where my kilt is I answer "Well aren't you supposed to dress in a costume today?"

[Coemgen]

For now I wear pants on Halloween and if anyone wants to know where my kilt is I answer "Well aren't you supposed to dress in a costume today?"

I am totally stealing that this year!

[Chef]

It is the issue. IMO, if you want to have the kilt treated like any other clothing, then treat it like any other clothing. The kilt seems to be the only type of clothing (as far as I can see) that offends just for being worn as part of a costume. That, in and of itself, prevents it from being treated as any other type of clothing.

But the kilt is not treated like any other clothing, and if you wear it as a costume it is less likely to be seen as everyday wear. Hopefully that will change. The other reason it offends is unlike jeans or khakis it has a symbolism that some don't like denigrated. The worst offender of this is the Insta Kilt box. While I have no problem with the kilt towel selling it with an "Up your Kilt" t-shirt and one of those stupid jimmy hats as a costume is pure rubbish.

Also of note, some of us who have tried to wear the kilt have been told "no!" on the grounds that the kilt is a costume for special occasions. That is what my dad told me. I won't forget how he used that exact word, and how much I disagreed. So I wear my kilts daily, and I'm not interested in having it equated to a costume.

Exactly.

I would not have seen the kilt as the costume, because I am not an idiot. As for those idiots who do see a kilt as a costume, then they would also see it as such the other 364 days of the year. Why would you allow these people to dictate your life, your decisions?

However you are a kilt wearer, so your view is skewed here. It's not about someone dictating to you, it's about changing perceptions. Not everyone sees wearing their kilt as a sign of anti-establishment or rebellion.

I am totally stealing that this year!

Your welcome

Think about it, Halloween is about dressing up as something you are not. So if you are a regular kilt wearer (and particularly if you see it as part of your identity) why would you wear one on Halloween as a costume?

[Nervous Jock]

The one day a year I will not wear a kilt (even as just daily wear) is Halloween, why because of the perception. All of us here would like to see the the kilt accepted as a man's everyday garment, however at this time it is not universally accepted as such. Now, if you wear a kilt on Halloween, just as you normally do, I guarantee the majority of those who don't know you will think you are dressed in a costume. So it just adds to the misconception.

Too many people think of the kilt as a costume, so we do ourselves (and the kilt cause) no favours by helping them. If the time comes when the public doesn't assume costume just because they see a kilt on Halloween, then I will gladly wear mine either as daily dress or as a Hollywood Braveheart for a party.

For now I wear pants on Halloween and if anyone wants to know where my kilt is I answer "Well aren't you supposed to dress in a costume today?"

sharp

[Galician]

I guess it’s a matter of degrees.

If you wear it like this:



Then it isn’t a costume!! And everyone of them look great!!!

Nuff said!

Having just noticed this thread, I have to thank you, James, for your kind words on our appearance.

-The shlubby one in saffron.

[Jock Scot]

I am sorry to be a "stick in the mud",but kilts are not and never have been a costume.Part of a uniform certainly,part of Highland dress most definitely,copied the world over--- be my guest,but please please please,I beg you, NEVER worn as a costume.

[arrScott]

I am sorry to be a "stick in the mud",but kilts are not and never have been a costume.Part of a uniform certainly,part of Highland dress most definitely,copied the world over--- be my guest,but please please please,I beg you, NEVER worn as a costume.

I respect where you're coming from, but I'd argue that a uniform is something you wear to play a role "for real." A costume is something you wear to play a role "for pretend." For example, I play on a vintage base ball team; we recreate baseball as it was played in the 1860s. We wear vintage-style shield-front shirts, flat-topped caps, knickers, and stockings. When I wear that outfit to play a game, it's a uniform. When I wear it to answer the door on Halloween night, it's a costume. It's all about what you intend when you wear a thing.

Should, say, police officers ever wear their distinctive outfits as costumes rather than uniforms? I'd think not. It would confuse observers and undermine the authority of the clothes when worn as a uniform. For kilts, this consideration would only apply to specific individuals who are trying to persuade specific others of their seriousness in wearing the kilt, whether as a uniform or everyday wear. In that case, for those people, wearing a kilt as a costume would undermine their purpose in wearing a kilt at other times. But that shouldn't prevent others from having fun and wearing their kilts as costumes if they please.

I mean, nobody would say, "You shouldn't wear pants as part of your Halloween costume if you normally wear pants," right? Just because you wear a cowboy hat around town the rest of the year doesn't mean you can't dress up as a cowboy for Halloween.