A Question for Scots

[Mad Dawg]

I am aware that in Scotland, the locals only wear kilts to weddings and such. Do folks generally think, "YES! I get to wear a kilt!". Or is it more like, "Oh, Hell. I HAVE to wear a kilt."?

Just wondering.

[spr0k3t]

Not a resident of Scotland proper but it's really a mixed bag depending on who you speak with. Usually it's favorable when it comes down to the celebration. For some it's heritage, others it's cultural. For some like the stones, it's right of passage. Think of it like being invited to a fully formal black tie occasion and having to wear a tuxedo.

[CBH]

This formal nature for the kilt is the cruelest of ironies. The bottom half is the most comfortable possible, yet the top is tortured with neckties and jackets............

[Father Bill]

This formal nature for the kilt is the cruelest of ironies. The bottom half is the most comfortable possible, yet the top is tortured with neckties and jackets............

Anyone tortured by ties and jackets is wearing the wrong size or poorly tailored. They are not supposed to be nooses or straitjackets.

[Jock Scot]

This formal nature for the kilt is the cruelest of ironies. The bottom half is the most comfortable possible, yet the top is tortured with neckties and jackets............

The kilt can be worn informally just as easily in the right circumstances, you know. In those circumstances no ties are required and it is entirely acceptable and correct not to wear one and a common practice in Scotland...................but the kilt is still worn properly, unless that is, you are a member of the Tartan Army!

[Troglodyte]

...but the kilt is still worn properly, unless that is, you are a member of the Tartan Army!

Who here is brave enough to take the Tartan Army head-on, and tell them they're doing it all wrong..?

I'm willing to bet most of them know already, but they do their 'Braveheart' thing for this very reason - plus it flicks the Vs at the establishment.

Glasgow's Central Station is the best place to see them in the wild - I mean, quite literally.

[Jock Scot]

Not a resident of Scotland proper but it's really a mixed bag depending on who you speak with. Usually it's favorable when it comes down to the celebration. For some it's heritage, others it's cultural. For some like the stones, it's right of passage. Think of it like being invited to a fully formal black tie occasion and having to wear a tuxedo.

I have been thinking about this post a lot. It covers many aspects and you are absolutely right it is "a mixed bag depending on who you ask". I am going to break down your post into sections, which may assist your understanding.


".............Usually it's favourable when it comes down to a celebration."


Well yes, but it does depend on the celebration and where it is held. It should be pointed out however, that some, most even, just wear their kilt for no reason at all other than it was a good idea at the time.

"...........For some its heritage, others its cultural."

I doubt if many kilted Scots even give that a thought.



"..........For some like the stones, its a right of passage."

Really? I can't think of anyone who thinks that.


"........Thinking of it like being invited to a fully formal black tie occasion and having to wear a tuxedo."

I am not sure that I understand your point. But formal events have certain attire requirements such as a tuxedo(dinner jacket in UK terms) and kilt attire is no different with its formal requirements.

[Jock Scot]

I am aware that in Scotland, the locals only wear kilts to weddings and such. Do folks generally think, "YES! I get to wear a kilt!". Or is it more like, "Oh, Hell. I HAVE to wear a kilt."?

Just wondering.

It depends on what the host requires, but in any event and in my experience jackets and ties would normally be worn to weddings. I wear the kilt as a matter of course in the Highlands when the mood takes. I rarely wear the kilt outwith Scotland.

As to weddings, I normally await guidance from the bride's family which usually means in Scotland------particularly in the Highlands------ that the kilt is welcome, but not always. Elsewhere in the UK more care is needed with one's attire requirements. I just go with the flow. Morning suit , kilt, suit, shirt sleeves even, its not an issue, as I am just happy to be a guest who tries to oblige one's host with their wishes.

Two things I would never ever wear to a wedding , are a bow tie and a PC jacket. Wedding ceremonies usually take place during the day in the UK.

[Troglodyte]

This is a curious question.

It makes it seem as if wearing the kilt is either a great joy or a trial by torment.

I guess the answer is somewhere between the two, but here in Scotland the sentiment and affection for the kilt (and Highland dress in general) is rather like that for a suit. A man will wear it when the time is right, or his fancy takes him.

Most men here in Scotland, if they have a kilt at all, will have only one - and it might have been made for their 18th birthday and lasts their lifetime. So it comes out a few times a year - during the wedding season or hogmanay, or the footie - and gets dressed-up or -down accordingly. Many a time have I heard a would-be kiltie complaining his kilt has shrunk in the wardrobe, but he keeps it anyway.

Few men have a selection or wear the kilt habitually and regularly, but I can be counted in that number - the reaction is mostly indifference, such as how I felt when I passed a pub at lunchtime the other day, as a man a-kilted came out. Apart from the kilt, he was dressed like any other lunchtime pub-goer. It was is if I was the only one to notice him.

I had the experience this week of going onto a local shop - one I only go into periodically - and the assistant asked why I was wearing trousers. I can't remember going into that shop when kilted, but I must have done at some time, and the lady remembered. How nice it is to see the kilt, was her sentiment, as it makes a welcome change from ubiquitous jeans.

The kilt is so well understood here in Scotland, that if a kiltie is seen at large (other than, say, on the day of the local Highland Games) it is assumed that he has his reasons - and what is worn with it is the clue to what those reasons might be.

So the comment I got from the shop-assistant was more a query as to what was I doing so special as to need to wear trousers (moleskins), rather than the other way round. We then had a bit of chatter and banter along these lines, which now seems even more amusing in the light of this question.

[Jock Scot]

Troglodite, has hit the nail squarely on the head and has described the general lack of excitement from the locals perfectly, when one views someone wearing the kilt. I think though, to be fair, we all enjoy seeing a nicely worn kilt out and about, but its just not a big deal.