Colin, Thank you for your response and for taking the time to actually read my posts. Phil H, loved your post, man. Also, someone asked "what historians?" so here's my answer:

I got the idea that some historians were not so certain as to whether or not the Scots ever wholely owned the kilt from Cajonscots' post in this thread. Cajonscot said, "MacWage mentioned the blog article by our own Matt Newsome about Irish tartans; another good blog entryof Matt's deals with the kilt as a "pan-Celtic" garment." Matt said in his article, "So why the change? When did the kilt become a "pan-celtic" garment? Again, I'm not saying here that non-Scots should not wear the kilt. But when did this shift occur?"

After reading Cajonscots' post and Matt's article it is was clear to me that Matt, maybe the most respected historian here, couldn't explain why so many folks 'not of Scottish descent' so quickly took to thinking the kilt was theirs too. By Matts' article it appears the Scots were 'losing their grip' on the kilt very early on. To me it begged the question of whether or not they ever had a firm grip on the kilt to begin with.

I was further led to wonder about the 'historical certainty' of the kilt ever being wholey Scottish when reading Kizmet's post, "There are other cultures where men have worn pleated skirt garments. If you look up Greek, Bulgarian and and Albanian costumes for men, you'll find some. I don't know if Kizmet is an historian or not but I'm guessing the articles she mentioned were written by historians.

Given that some of these other cultures, such as Greece, have given us so much, it's no giant leap to wonder if the Scots didn't get the kilt from someone who came before them who wore strikingly similar garments to kilts ... given the consistent use of skirted garments for men over the rise and fall of some rather notable civilizations it just seems unlikely that any country founded within the last 2000 years can stand up and say with a straight face, "The kilt is mine!"

I tend to agree with historians that see the kilt not as beginning specifically in Scotland, but the kilt in Scotland being largely the same as a Utilikilt is now, a derivative of something older than itself, born of the wants and needs of a few and spread in use to the many. Utilikilt didn't invent the kilt, neither did Scotland ... at best they both reinvented it and gave it a new name. Cudos for the both of them and may they both enjoy their distinctiveness forever!

Two great truths regarding the past and future of kilts remain:

1. The Scottish Kilt began in Scotland.

2. The Scottish Kilt will forever be associated with Scotland.

BRILLIANT!

Kilt On.

Chris Webb











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Kilted Mom