what would happen? Pocket lint

[Calgacus]

Good questions!

Could a kilt with pockets be worn in a strictly traditional way? Yes, I don't see why not.

Would THAT be traditional? Umm, no. I think. A boundary condition.

Does the mere presence of pockets make a kilt untraditional? To me, yes, hence the 'no' to the second question.

Are pocketed kilts made to wear at the traditional height? I don't know.

Is it possible to slouch in that way your mother always hated with your hands in your pockets of a kilt? I suspect it is.

What would you do if someone GAVE you a kilt and it turned out to have pockets? I'd give it a try, certainly. I suspect I'd end up keeping my stuff in my sporran and putting my hands in the pockets.
...and slouching.

Does anyone have a theory as to why traditionally made kilts still do not have them? Sporrans serve the function of carrying stuff around perfectly well so why re-invent the wheel?

As for the multiple choice question, when in evening wear, I take less stuff. I only take some cash, a credit or debit card, a handkerchief, my phone, and my house & car keys. All this fits easily in my dress sporran without making it bulge. My phone might end up in a jacket pocket to stop it getting scratched by keys & coins.

When in day wear, I take the above but with my entire wallet. All this fits easily in any of my day sporrans. Again, the phone may end up separated from keys & coins. This is the same amount of stuff I take in trousers.

I hate the way stuff in trouser pockets is uncomfortable and creates unsightly bulges. I'd use my jacket pockets if that didn't result in me forgetting which jacket they were in, coming away without phone and/or keys and/or money, locking my jacket in the car and myself out of it, or some combination of all the above. Maybe I should start wearing my sporran with my trousers...

[EagleJCS]

I'd say my answer is : e) all of the above.

I often pare down my normal wallet objects down to the bare necessities (driver's license, med insurance cards, debit/credit card(s), a little cash), and put those into a small plastic ziplock envelope. Add house keys, car keys (if I'm driving, and yes, I keep them on a separate ring from the house keys) and my cell phone and I'm good to go.

Depending on which sporran I'm wearing, the weather (jacket or no) and what I'll be doing, it usually all goes into the sporran. If I'm wearing a jacket and/or waistcoat, the keys and cell phone may go into those pockets. I may also have a tuner (for my pipes), corks (also for the pipes), pocket watch and earplugs to juggle as well. Coins received as change go into the sporran.

[Tobus]

Yeah, Steve's Freedom Kilts pretty much define a traditionally-made kilt with added (hidden) pockets. Looks traditional from the outside, and no one ever needs to know it has pockets unless you tell them or show them.

Personally, when I'm kilted, I do pare down what I'm carrying so it will fit in my sporran. And even still, it gets overstuffed and heavy. Cash, credit cards, IDs/insurance cards, cell phone, cigarettes and lighter, lip balm (especially here in Texas when at an outdoor event), and miscellaneous other items sure do take up a lot of room.

[The Wizard of BC]

You have all seen these pictures before.

All the kilts in these pics have my signature pockets.












And this is, as far as I know, the first fully traditional, hand-sewn, kilt with pockets.

It can be worn casually, and as fully formal as you desire.



As you can see the kilt is designed to be worn at the natural waist.



I would challenge anyone to know that there are pockets in this kilt.



I'm still a bit fuzzy on what some here call TCHD. To me it is not the kilt that defines TCHD it is how it is worn and the accessories you choose.

But I often dress in a way that I have been told is very much in keeping with TCHD while wearing a kilt with pockets.

My kilts are not made in the Traditional style so I don't often post to this section of the forum.

[creagdhubh]

I would never desire a kilt with pockets; therefore, if someone would wish to give me a kilt with built in pockets, I would graciously decline their kind gesture. That's what my sporran (or jacket) is for.

[creagdhubh]

And I never carry more than I require on my person; whilst in Highland Dress, or in khakis and an Oxford shirt.

[Tobus]

I'm still a bit fuzzy on what some here call TCHD. To me it is not the kilt that defines TCHD it is how it is worn and the accessories you choose.

I agree to some degree, Steve, but when it comes to kilt construction, surely there's a line which, once crossed, falls out of TCHD. To wit, if I were to wear a Utilikilt with traditional brogues, hose, garter ties, sgian dubh, daywear sporran, tweed kilt jacket and waistcoat, tattersal shirt, regimental tie, and Balmoral bonnet, all my accessories would be "correct" for TCHD but my kilt would be shockingly out of place.

So it is about the kilt itself too.

But I do agree that if the overall presentation looks like a traditional tartan wool kilt with a standard front apron width and pleats around the sides and back (whether they be knife pleats, military box pleats, or other traditionally-Scottish pleating styles), as yours does, it would still come off as being soundly in keeping with TCHD. Hidden internal pockets would not really change that, although the kilt itself may not be constructed rigidly within the confines of tradition.

[davidlpope]

I agree to some degree, Steve, but when it comes to kilt construction, surely there's a line which, once crossed, falls out of TCHD. To wit, if I were to wear a Utilikilt with traditional brogues, hose, garter ties, sgian dubh, daywear sporran, tweed kilt jacket and waistcoat, tattersal shirt, regimental tie, and Balmoral bonnet, all my accessories would be "correct" for TCHD but my kilt would be shockingly out of place.

So it is about the kilt itself too.

But I do agree that if the overall presentation looks like a traditional tartan wool kilt with a standard front apron width and pleats around the sides and back (whether they be knife pleats, military box pleats, or other traditionally-Scottish pleating styles), as yours does, it would still come off as being soundly in keeping with TCHD. Hidden internal pockets would not really change that, although the kilt itself may not be constructed rigidly within the confines of tradition.

I agree. It seems to me that if a kilt appears at first glance to be a traditional 8-yd knife-pleat tartan kilt it will work in the THCD category. In that sense, Steve's modern tartan kilts fit the bill, as would a 5 or 6 yd knife-pleat or Kingussie kilt, whether handsewn or machine-sewn. In my mind box-pleated kilts (not the military box-pleat, but the large box-pleat style that Matt Newsome has resurrected) fall into the historical category, although when worn with traditional accessories one would never know the difference unless seeing the pleats.

As to the original question- I tend to carry fewer keys and ditch my wallet in favor of a few cards and bills in a money-clip when wearing a kilt. These either go in my sporran (with a challenge coin ) or in my jacket pockets.

[The Wizard of BC]

When I travel my passport, credit cards and cash go into my Under-Apron Pocket.



For someone to pick this pocket they first have to know that it's there.
And then if someone does try to pick this pocket I'M PROBABLY GONNA KNOW!

It's strange in a way but when I first started putting Under-Apron Pockets on my kilts people would look at me just as funny as they did about my Side Slash Pockets.
And yet there is a long history of soldiers adding pockets to Military kilts. So in a odd twist of the world pockets actually are traditional.

[creagdhubh]

I agree. It seems to me that if a kilt appears at first glance to be a traditional 8-yd knife-pleat tartan kilt it will work in the THCD category. In that sense, Steve's modern tartan kilts fit the bill, as would a 5 or 6 yd knife-pleat or Kingussie kilt, whether handsewn or machine-sewn. In my mind box-pleated kilts (not the military box-pleat, but the large box-pleat style that Matt Newsome has resurrected) fall into the historical category, although when worn with traditional accessories one would never know the difference unless seeing the pleats.

As to the original question- I tend to carry fewer keys and ditch my wallet in favor of a few cards and bills in a money-clip when wearing a kilt. These either go in my sporran (with a challenge coin ) or in my jacket pockets.

Well said, David. I really need to start carrying a challenge coin myself.

S/F,