Changing Attitudes of the kilt out and about

[thecompaqguy]

The kilt is very slow to change style. Everything else is blindingly transient. Thank you marketers and designers! Your cash registers don't ring that often from me now.

Can't wait for the "prison buddy" look to die it's natural death.
As soon as guys learn where this look came from and what it's about, they stop doing it to themselves.

They think it's what prisoners did when the jailers took away their belts to stop suicides but in reality its how certain types of men would advertise their wares to others... but hip hop is in a state of crisis as more and more rappers embrace the skirt... jean skirts in some cases, aprons over trousers in others... only Kanye has donned a kilt of sorts. It's good to look different and be a bit more colourful than the rest out there... for once it is kilt weather in the UK...

[Tobus]

Whether we like it or not, wearing the kilt with no event or reasoning attached to it will never be perceived as "normal" behaviour in the conformist culture of the Anglophone world. It is, to be sure, an eccentricity. It would be the same as if you decided you were going to wear a top hat all the time or blouse your trousers. I have a friend who only wears Hawaiian shirts after work hours. It's his thing. If you enjoy being "that kilt guy" as your shtick and there are no professional consequences to such behaviour, by all means, embrace your brand.

Personally, I'm not comfortable being seen through such a narrow lens. I don't want to be just known as the guy who likes to wear kilts. I do like to wear kilts because I love my culture, but I'm much more than that.

My brother is a kilt maker, and he wore (wears?) a kilt full time for a long time. This was smart. Every time someone asked him about his kilt, he could plug his business.

For me, I don't derive the same benefit. I just get perceived as a weird guy who is starved for attention. That's not what I'm going for. It's a pity that it gets looked at like that, but there you have it.

Chacun à son goût, as they say...

Well, I'm glad I'm not alone in this, Nathan. I apparently differ from many members here in that I don't really have any interest in being a full-time kilt wearer, or trying to force social acceptance of the kilt as an everyday item of clothing for all occasions and all people. When I was new to wearing the kilt, I was all gung-ho about it, but after the new wore off, I came to realise that I actually do prefer for the kilt to be a bit of a special garment.

This isn't to say that I reserve it only for "dressy" occasions. Not at all. I have kilts that I wear hiking, and kilts that I wear to the Highland Games and weddings. And I may occasionally decide to wear a kilt out and about, for social gatherings or whatnot. I even have one for lounging around the house (though I don't wear it that much). So I wouldn't attempt to try to rigidly define situations where I will and won't wear the kilt. But I do know that I'm very much not interested in trying to make some sort of grand statement to society that I'm an eccentric fellow who only wears kilts. I'd rather that people approach me with, "hey, I'm having a get-together this weekend; why don't you wear your kilt?" than "hey, I'm having a get-together this weekend; you're not going to wear your kilt, are you?" Where I live, Scottish culture has virtually no representation. Normal people here think wearing a kilt is weird. They're accepting of it if you have a reason to wear it (like a wedding, Highland Games, etc.), where there is a context for you to show your heritage, but for everyday clothing, it gets you branded as a oddball. Kind of like people who wear steampunk stuff as everyday clothing.

There seems to be a dichotomy amongst kilt-wearers on this board, where one crowd is particularly concerned with what others think (being overly intimidated by staunch traditions or rules that don't really exist) and the other crowd who says they don't care what others think. Both viewpoints are extreme, in my opinion. I think clothing does make a statement to others, and I want to be careful what statement I make. Because I realise that I do live in a society, and it does matter what others think of me. My reputation in my community, at work, and even how I'm treated by random strangers or service personnel in businesses, all revolve around how I present myself in society. So it's preposterous to run around pretending that what others think of me doesn't matter. It does matter. And as a responsible adult, I prefer to present myself to society as a reasonable and intelligent person, not an oddball who wants attention or is trying to make a wild fashion statement. And the truth is, where I live, a kilt in an everyday setting is indeed a wild fashion statement. It would be different in other places, but I have to make my decisions based on where I live.

For me, the kilt does have a special place in terms of representing my blood connections and cultural heritage (distant in time though it may be). And yes, it's a comfortable piece of clothing in certain situations. But I don't wear it to get attention from others, and I'm honestly not interested in trying to make it fashionable to the general public. Nor do I use the kilt to define who I am. The kilt, and Scottish blood, is only one small part of who I am. I would be happy with simply getting others in society to recognise it for what it is and accept that it is a perfectly suitable form of men's clothing from a particular cultural background. And while it's adaptable to other cultures, I'm not at all interested in turning it 'mainstream'. I oppose that idea, just as I oppose the idea of certain fringe groups making it their unofficial uniform to represent their narrow worldview. For this reason, I actually prefer to keep the kilt in context. If I'm wearing it in public (as opposed to out in the wilderness when hiking, for purely practical purposes), I want to represent it well. I don't think it does any favours for preserving kilt heritage to run around looking like a slob in a kilt, or wearing it to go to the hardware store. It's just out of place there, and I don't see the need to make it try to fit that context.

But hey, that's just my opinion. I wouldn't presume to tell others where they should or shouldn't wear it.

[jetstar63]

I would like to see kilts worn more often, as I don't want to look like a weird guy starving for attention. I will wear my kilt to do errands, like going to the hardware store or to do work in.

[James Hood]

The only way "new" fashions or items of fashion get accepted is by their being seen.

Repeatedly.

Over time.

[Hawk]

................... I don't think it does any favours for preserving kilt heritage to run around looking like a slob in a kilt, or wearing it to go to the hardware store. It's just out of place there, and I don't see the need to make it try to fit that context.......

Hey Tobus, distant cuz, are you a-sayn that I'm out-of-place...... ?
In case you didn't notice, I WORK presently in a "Hardware" store, and 'round here, even customers show up "kilted"..... ( that's me on the right, during a very hard working day, with one of my customers that also works nearby in a warehouse)

So as you so eloquently put it, I guess it depends on what part of the country you're in, what town, and what context. There's a place for all, eh.....

Hawk

[TheOfficialBren]

Very, very well stated, Tobus.

I have no desire to see the kilt become mainstream. It would dillute it's cultural value. Calling it like I see it.

I have no desire to be a daily kilt wearer, either. I'll wear it when I feel like it and not when I don't. When I feel like it is to mark an occasion that bears significance to me. I might be casually dressed on those occasions or smartly dressed. I certainly will NOT wear it like a slob. I refuse to debase it that way.

I, too, am not defined by my Gaelic roots, tartanry, or my kilt. They are merely some of the components that make up the whole "me" but in no way equal the entire "me." I find this attitude suits me, personally.

If you want to wear your kilt religiously, every opportunity that you get then go for it. If ypu only wear it for formal occasions or weddings and funerals, that's okay, too.

Just please, for Pete's sake, wear it once-in-a-while and wear it with pride and dignity.

Kyle mentioned a while back that when he straps his kilt on he feels like he has a thousand clansmen with him in spirit. That's how I feel, too, and I shan't disappoint them.

[Norbo]

There have been some very good points made by people as a read threw your reply's.

The more they are seen the more they will be excepted is I im saying and many with them don't put them on as they think its not expectable for normal out and about duty's like walking the dog nipping to the shops. I don't were my'n every day but I do like to put it on often, id hope may be some like the husband of my Ex will be inspired to don his kilt from time to time when he go's out, I feel confident he will the next time we all go out weather the Dragon says he can or not.


Were I live I have never seen any one in a kilt out and about ever. Only ever seen twice on any one at a bike show a few months bike a judge had one on and at a bike rally 3 years back a bloke had one of other then that never but I bet I have walked passed Hundred's of people who own one.

[Riverkilt]

OUCH!! First time I ever wore a kilt - about ten years ago - it was a Utilikilts Original in woodland camo. I wore it to the local True Value hardware store....

[Tobus]

Hey Tobus, distant cuz, are you a-sayn that I'm out-of-place...... ?
In case you didn't notice, I WORK presently in a "Hardware" store, and 'round here, even customers show up "kilted"..... ( that's me on the right, during a very hard working day, with one of my customers that also works nearby in a warehouse)

So as you so eloquently put it, I guess it depends on what part of the country you're in, what town, and what context. There's a place for all, eh.....

Hawk

Hi Hawk,

Well, yes, like I said, it's all about context. And local attitudes/culture do matter. Am I saying you're out of place? No, since I know nothing about what it's like where you live, I couldn't say that.

What I will say, however, is that your photo shows two men wearing modern American-style 'kilts'. I don't see anything about your outfits that has anything to do with Scottish kilts. If you were wearing a tartan kilt, sporran, and the usual accoutrements that go with a traditional Highland kilt, do you think it might be a tad out of place at Home Depot?

So again ...context. What I see in your photo is a distinctly American outfit which may actually be at home in that setting. Considering that the advent of the modern American 'utility' style kilt seems to have derived from Utilikilts, which (according to the man who created them) are not at all based on real Scottish kilts, your outfit is a far cry from what I was thinking about in my post. But still there is the question of what others may think. Being in the Pacific Northwest as you are, close to the home of the American style utility kilt, I honestly couldn't say what local opinions are about your outfit. It may not be seen as eccentric at all up there where they are more commonly worn, whereas down here in rural South-Central Texas, folks have different opinions. I can say without a doubt that if I were to go to my local small-town hardware store (which I actually need to do today), and wore my Utilikilt, I'd get some odd looks and snickers from the boots-n-jeans crowd.

And as I said before, I was not trying in any way to presume to tell others what they should or shouldn't wear. Nor was I making any sort of statement that my opinion of my own local culture was applicable to anyone else. It was just food for thought.

[tundramanq]

I generally wear Ely Cattlemen western shirts and the broad brim (almost western) Tilley hats with Utilikilts and traditional kilts.
Around Albuquerque and traveling around Texas. The combination really confuses some of the locals.