An honest question

[MacLowlife]

Walking is usually more convenient and less complicated than maintaining a jet airplane- and cheaper than using someone else's. All I have to do to walk is to stand up and stir my stumps. No costly fuel, no safety checks, no elaborate runway clearance procedures. But if you want to get from Edinburgh to Charlotte with a half dozen bottles of Whisky, you will probably absorb the expense and inconvenience and buy a plane ticket.

Here are some things to consider, not all of them consistent with each other:

1) As has been noted, the Great Kilt is cumbersome
2) People like simplicity and even with drawstrings, sewn pleats, etc., putting on the Great Kilt is not that simple.
3) Actually WEARING the Great Kilt requires more active management than most garments- if you intend to look smart.
4) At some level, people like the idea of having their garments tailored for them- actually sewn to fit- and there is little or no sewing in the short bolt of fabric that is a Great Kilt.
5) Tartan fabric is expensive and a great hunk of it, as you will need to have a Great Kilt, is too costly for many.

It is interesting that you mention weddings, because Saxon formal wear is generally a little anachronistic. too ( score one for the Great Kilt and you). There are archaic elements there that do not appear elsewhere, particularly if one adds in military and other ceremonial garments. But look at who really does the heavy lifting in popularizing the kilt today- football fans and rental shops. A hard-drinking football fan doesn't want to mess with a Great Kilt, not if he wants to avoid getting arrested or otherwise entangled. And the rental shop clerk can't come to your house and supervise you pleating the thing- he wants convenience and reliability. And he wants to hand it to you and walk away. Preferably with a pair of white hose and a large receipt.

If you want to wear a Great Kilt for some ceremonial occasion, have at it. I think you will find it offers all of the svelte convenience of an academic gown, combined with the ease of use of a tailcoat or a dress with a train. It may be wise to have a few extended dress rehearsals so that you will be familiar with the need for occasional adjustment, etc. Mind that elevator door.

But wearing it will get you past the people who disdain the fly plaid.