Hello from The Netherlands

[Scottish Rock]

Hi there,

I've been lurking on this board for a few weeks and just registered. As mentioned in the title I'm from the Netherlands and roughly 50 years old. I have never worn a kilt yet and I have no Scottish ancestry that I know of.

Truth be told, what sparked my interest in getting a nice kilt is that my wife has been saying she would fancy me wearing one for years. She just thinks it's hot I do agree that a kilt can be a good look for a guy, although I doubt I'll ever wear it outside the house, at least not around where we live. I might wear it on medieval festivals and such, we've been to quite a few of those as we both love that sort of stuff.

We have actually been talking about going to the Highland games in Scotland for years as well so once I get my kilt we'll have no excuse not to go, although or youngest daughter is just 3 years old so it would be easier to wait until she's a bit older. But then again there's always an excuse not to go this year but next.

I said that I 've never worn a kilt but I did try one on, although calling that a kilt might be a stretch. It was one of those ultra cheap complete sets, almost certainly Pakistani made, just €38 for a kilt, belt, sash, sporran (a terrible white fur affair) and hat. Definitely Carnival/Halloween level stuff. Actually, let me just include a picture so you guys can have a good laugh:



Horrible, ain't it?

I was planning on using just the kilt itself and dump the rest. Unfortunately with the size 56-58 they had made an error in the button placement and as a result it was more than 10cm wider than the size 52-54 with barely any overlap in fabric when closed. They exchanged it for another one but it had the same fabrication error so I got a refund.

Thinking back about this I'm actually wondering if that 'kilt' had any pleats at all. It may have just been plain flat fabric wrapped around with two buttons, but I could be wrong.

Anway, I'm now on the lookout for a (much) more decent kilt. Mostly looking at either a semi-traditional one from USA Kilts (pub package) or perhaps an (Essential) Cassual Kilt (Essential Jacobite Kilt Outfit) from clan.com (Scotweb).

As I read more here and watch more YouTube videos (mostly from USA Kilts) I learn more but also end up having more (and more detailed) questions. I was first thinking of just putting all my questions in a single post in the Kilt Advice section but given that my postings always tend to be rather long (just like this one) I'm sure it's better to tackle just one question at a time so stay tuned for my first posting in the Kilt Advice section.

A fair question might be whether I have any business spending €100 or €200 on a kilt plus another €100 or €200 for accessories. In all fairness, probably not. But I do adhere to the 'buy once, cry once' school of thought and I do like the idea of getting a proper kilt that is at least approaching authenticity. Perhaps I cannot quite justify it at this time, but if I can afford it why not.

Having said that, a real woolen kilt will never be my thing and neither will woolen hose. Wool simply does not agree with me, at all. Can't stand the stuff as invariably it will give me a terrible itch, even if it's just a blend with a small percentage of wool.

Ghillie Brogues are also something I will most likely never wear, but that's just a matter of taste. I'll probably pair up my kilt with combat or hiking boots for a more casual, rough look (which I think my wife will also prefer). Incidentally I'm not telling my wife I'm getting a kilt, I would rather keep it a surprise.

In case anyone is wondering about my user name, it's the title from a song that I wrote along time ago for my first band, a progressive/symphonic rock band. The intro of the song was a drum solo vaguely inspired by the typical drumroll sound you might hear in a pipe band. Another band that I used to play in (and might get back into) had a song that featured a bagpipes intro (played on keyboards by yours truly I'm afraid). So although I do not have Scottish ancestry, I do have something Scottish in my own past.

I've actually been thinking of getting a set of bagpipes (I already play keyboards, drums and guitar) but getting a proper one is not going to be cheap I'm sure.

If you made it all the way to here and read everything my wrote, apologies for taking up so much of your time. I should warn you that my posts usually end up being long winded. But hey, at least I use paragraphs .