Lederhosen...Germany's Kilt

[Meggers]

This was discussed in detail over on the now-defunct site "Umlaut Marks the Kraut".

LOL!!!!

I have to tell that to my German mama. She will love it.

Actually, speaking of my mom, she is like 100% German with a little fleck of Scottish in her (we found one random Scot in her family tree) and my dad is the Irish and Scottish side of me. Ive always been fascinated with my Irish/Scottish side and wanted tartan skirts and such my whole life. Finally my mom got offended and was like "You know it's just as cool to be German too!" and I told her that I agree but Im not going to walk around in leiderhosen the same way Id walk around in tartan. She had to agree there.

Alas, though an American, I find the "Americanization" of world culture saddening: The blue jeans, T-shirt, Walmart, McDonald's-ization of everything and everyone. I get just as strange looks from people here if I wear a Tracten jacket as a kilt or worse still, even just a tweed sport coat with vest (waistcoat for you Brits), tie, moleskin slacks and actual leather shoes. The "official" uniform is blue-jeans (or shorts), T-shirt and flip-flops -- or athletic shoes for more "formal" occasions. Hardly anyone seems to have any "class," "style," or even "fashion" anymore -- just sloppy casual conformity. I was raised with the idea that how one dressed was a reflection of one's self respect and respect for others. Proper "ethnic" dress of any kind reflects that.

On that same note, Im very saddened that the world and even Americans consider those things as being what IS American. When I think of American traditions, I dont think of Mickey Mouse, Walmart, McDonalds, or any of those things. I think of apple pie, quilts, small midwestern towns with 4 generations of family living on the same block, farm houses, cows, mountains and dense coniferous forests, etc. Why does the world define America by freakin McDonalds? That's annoyingly offensive to me.

Not saying what you said is offensive. Just that I wish people saw America for its traditions too and not for our stuff that's still relatively new for even our country's standards. We may be a new country but we certainly do have culture and traditions and things that Americans can wear and call it ours. Even if it is jeans and t-shirts. Whats the difference between cowboy boots with jeans and shalwar kameez or kilts? Just because we see one as being exotic and traditional somewhere else doesn't mean that ours is any less exotic and traditional to them.