Two Telling comments? The Answer Perhaps?

[OC Richard]

Yes Jock that sums it up!

Who wears Aloha Shirts in Hawai'i? Visiting Mainlanders, mostly. I see Hawaiians every day and I've never seen one wear such. They wear t-shirts, often with Hawaiian graphics or sayings ("Da Kine", "Hawai'i No Ka Oi", or my favourite, "Haole: The Other White Meat").

As I've said before, if I wore a kilt in Scotland I would feel something like a Japanese tourist here in the US Southwest wearing a full Cowboy outfit. I do think Western Wear (as we call it) is a pretty good analogy with Highland Dress. I do see people (from the US southwest) walking around fairly often in full cowboy kit, but it still stands out as being a tad unusual. Were a foreigner to wear it, it would stand out as an absurdity.

It perhaps goes without saying wearing Highland Dress while playing with a Pipe Band is the exception. At the World Pipe Band Championships one sees bands from Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Italia, Brasil, Nederland, etc etc in full Highland Dress. These people aren't tourists dressing up as Scots, but musicians wearing their band uniform.

[McMurdo]

Perhaps the name of the forum needs to change to XMarkstheAmericanTourist. While I completely understand where you are coming from Jock and I do appreciate your bringing this up I wonder where exactly the tartan industry would be without the enthusiastic American Tourist? It seems to me that there is a love hate relationship with all things kilt and tartan in Scotland, on the one hand tartan and the kilt are national symbols that have resonated and become recognized the world over. On the other hand people do not want to look like a tourist in their own country or look too Scottish.

Another symptom of this type of thinking is that the kilt is to be only worn in Scotland by Scots in a certain way, Tartan Army be damned. The real problem with this exclusionary, inclusive thinking in the modern global climate is that the market will continue to shrink into non existence.

I am not a Scot, I am a Canadian, born to Scottish parents. One thing about Canada is that we are never too far away from our heritage. For example, just a few blocks away is Bannochburn Drive. A few weeks ago I was watching a news program, the news started with pipers then it went to a céilidh, after that they went over to a story on the gaelic community centre, was I watching news from Scotland? No it was news from Atlantic Canada. So you see I am living in a place that tells me that traditions are really kept alive by people not places.

I am sorry you feel the way you do and I am sorry your friend feels the way he does regarding the kilt. To my mind one way to change the mindset would be for Scots, real Scots, to wear the kilt and show the unwashed masses how to do it right.

[Aussie_Don]

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) wrote that, or something very close to it, in his Devil's Dictionary 100 years ago.

Perhaps the closest we can come is "aloha" shirts on people who live in Hawaii.

Odd that you mention that...

When I was in the Solomon Islands (SCUBA diving) I noticed that a
high proportion of the natives were wearing aloha shirts -- possibly
because they come in XXXXXXL -- even on the aeroplane going there
a fair percentage of men of Polynesian ancestry (based on appearance)
were wearing Hawaiian shirts( what we call them here.)

So, I'm not sure that it translates.

-Don

[MacLowlife]

You've got me there, Aussie Don.

McMurdo, I think people who depend on tourists almost always have a love-hate relationship with them. Love for the livelihood and something less than love for all of the headaches- not to mention the complete dependence that so many tourist economies create.

But maybe our Scots friends can take a lesson from the Solomon Islanders and wear the kilt ANYWAY. It sounds as if many do, at least on special occasions.

[KentuckyCeltophile]

McMurdo, I think people who depend on tourists almost always have a love-hate relationship with them. Love for the livelihood and something less than love for all of the headaches- not to mention the complete dependence that so many tourist economies create.

But maybe our Scots friends can take a lesson from the Solomon Islanders and wear the kilt ANYWAY. It sounds as if many do, at least on special occasions.

MacLowlife and McMurdo have a great point. I agree totally.
The fact that so many tourists buying and wearing kilts (or aloha shirts, or French barretts, or Kentucky coon skin caps, or Arab keffiyahs) makes it totally ubiquitous. The identity becomes a casual thing. However, that should not be a bad thing. It should be a badge of honor. For instance, Americans love Scots. Upto 10% of the population has Scottish ancestry (more people than in all of Scotland). Not that many people weart kilts, but many of them do. Appalachia (specifically West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky) is so deeply rooted in Scottish ancestry that college courses are taught about the subject. It's kinda sad that we may have inadvertently tainted our heritage by supporting it.

[TheOfficialBren]

I used to live in the heart of Hollywood. Believe me. I get the thing about tourists, honestly, probably just as much as anyone in Edinburgh or Glasgow or anywhere else.

The fact is that if we are all respectful abroad then perhaps we can take the edge off for the locals.

I remember that the main attractions were always filled with tourists. If I wanted to unwind with my friends then we would go to our own pub, for example, off the beaten path.

No kilts (maybe one or two in a blue moon) but anyone wearing a "Hollywood" t-shirt was a dead giveaway.

[Calgacus]

I think Jock pretty much has it right, though I'd say it's not necessarily about looking like a tourist, it's slightly wider than that. I think it's about needing a reason.

The 'uniform' of the average Scot is pretty much the same as the rest of the world. T-shirt, blue jeans, trainers (sneakers) and given our climate, some form of sweater or jacket. Now if you ask me, none of that is particularly elegant or even comfortable, but it is safe. If you dress like that, you will not stand out. You will look like everyone else on the street or on the television. You don't have to think much about it, it's all readily available, and it's cheap (or expensive, if that's your preference).

Where I live, there are few tourists so a kilt wearer would probably not be taken for one, but an assumption would be made that there was a reason for them wearing a kilt. Common reasons might be as follows:-

They are attending an event such as a wedding, Burns supper, ceilidh, Highland Gathering, formal dinner, etc.
They are a member of a pipe band.
They are celebrating a sporting event.
They are making a cultural/political statement ("I'm a proud Scot").
They are mildly eccentric.

One might well get asked 'Why are you wearing a kilt?', but one is unlikely to get asked 'Why are you wearing jeans?'. One can see how, outside of the highlands at least, there is some justification in this. The kilt is not the traditional garb of the lowlander so if the kilt is worn it is generally for some sort of reason, and most likely one of those I listed above. Within the highlands, less so, though not much less so. I have seen the very occasional highlander in a kilt who looked genuinely like he was an everyday wearer, and I have known only one lowlander who was (and still is) an everyday wearer.

In the more touristy areas such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Fort William, etc. I could see that not looking like a tourist would be a consideration. I would not wear my kilt as day wear in Edinburgh for example for that very reason.

[OC Richard]

The 'uniform' of the average Scot is pretty much the same as the rest of the world. T-shirt, blue jeans, trainers (sneakers) and given our climate, some form of sweater or jacket.

Yes here you see that too, but far more common is t-shirt, cargo shorts, and sandals/thongs/zorries/flip-flops (terminology differs according to where you live, here all such things are usually called 'sandals') and if it's a bit chilly a hoodie. I remember looking around the room at our pipe band practice and everyone was dressed like that, the only blue jeans being worn by our only Scot!

an assumption would be made that there was a reason for them wearing a kilt. Common reasons might be as follows:-

They are attending an event such as a wedding, Burns supper, ceilidh, Highland Gathering, formal dinner, etc.
They are a member of a pipe band.
They are celebrating a sporting event.
They are making a cultural/political statement ("I'm a proud Scot").
They are mildly eccentric.

That should be a sticky! That's awesome.

Using my Western Wear analogy, if somebody walked around here (SoCal) in full cowboy kit (hat, shirt, buckle, jeans, boots) we would assume
-he's visiting from Texas
-he lives on a ranch
-he owns/rides horses

[Jack Daw]

When I first went to Scotland back in 2003, I was warned by an American kilt-wearer, who had been to Scotland 14 times before me, not to take my kilt unless I was attending an event that was specific to the kilt, otherwise I may be taken for a tourist by the locals. So, I didn't pack it. In 2008, I took my niece to Argyll for the Worldwide Gathering of Clan MacIntyre, that called for a kilt on two evenings. I admit, I felt more self-conscious about wearing the kilt than I did at home.

To turn the story around a bit, on another occasion, I had to meet a colleague who was from the New York office of our bank. He had never been to Texas before, but he showed up wearing a broad-brimmed hat (a straw in winter), a western shirt, a "string" tie, standard business suit, and some strange boots. By trying to fit in, he got the stereotype wrong and looked the odd duck instead.

[tulloch]

I believe we are over-thinking the issue. I do not dress for what I imagine others are thinking. Although aware of what may be viewed as novelty, eccentricity, or rebellion I do wear what I like. Life is too short to dress for (possibly erroneous) imagined views of others. I love my kilts. I love how they feel when I stand and walk in them. I do not like wearing them when I will be sitting for a long while. I would not wear pants climbing and hiking. Last summer I was privileged to visit Glasgow for two weeks. I wore my kilt all the time. Next time I go I will make one change - I will bring my arch supports. My feet were killing me after all that walking.