Most 'kilt-friendly' occasions?

[Tasty Rabbit]

No matter where you wear your kilt people will ask questions - the most common being are you Scottish , is that your family tartan & are you wearing underwear . Also people may try to sneak taking pics of you . As far as challenged , never happened to me yet . I've worn mine hiking , to the Philly Zoo , Longwood Gardens , among other places . Touristy areas are used to seeing lots of interesting fashions .

[Taskr]

To clarify, thank you for all the encouragement, but I'm more concerned about the 'You're wearing a skirt?' crowd than the Tartan Police. I've run into very few people who even know the word tartan, I'm more just getting used to the general public looking at me and integrating it in situations where it'll be best received.

I started (after the first which was a family occasion and a hugely pleasant surprise to my mum) by just putting it on one Wednesday and going about the daily routine and errands. Then it was dressed up a bit for an office meeting, then worn a full weekend away visiting family and tromping about. Not a lot of comments. Of them, most curious and complimentary. The others were just comments. Didn't take them to heart. Did meet some nice people - and I don't recall ever receiving compliments on the street in a suit and tie (and I look dang good in suit and tie, thank you very much 😄)

[bwat]

The others were just comments. Didn't take them to heart.

Exactly. Hopefully not sounding too self-help-bookish, I have to say that we choose how we react to people - communication is as much about the reception of the signal as the sending. People who work in telecoms/networking have the saying "Be strict when sending and tolerant when receiving." (http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1958)

[Norbo]

people will ask questions - the most common being are you Scottish , are you wearing underwear . Also people may try to sneak taking pics of you .

LOL I get this all the time walking past a person on a phone then you hear Click as they wate for you to pass and take a pic must have happened 50 times I see people out the corner of my eye taking a sneaky pic . and had quight a few come right over and say I reoly love your kilt would you mined I take a picture and they stand with me or just take a pic , these have always been Oriental people that have done this .

Ive been stopped a few times and had some lady say I bet you get this all the time but id just like to say how smart you look in your kilt and I just say thank you very much. The more you were it my friend the more you see how people are around you it brings out the best in people I fined . And yes the most common question I get is are you wearing anything underneath that and what tartan is it .

[OC Richard]

I know a few pipers here in the UK and while they do the full regalia for piping, thy're generally quite happy to wear the kilt when not piping as well.

Two questions about these pipers.

1) do they compete regularly in either solo or band competition?

2) are they full-time kilt-wearers, or do they selectively wear kilts to Scottish-themed events or other special occasions?

Thanks!

[OC Richard]

We have a mixed bag in my pipe band. Some are as you describe, Richard, and put the kilt on right before going to the circle and start unstrapping as soon as they're done. Others come to the event in kilt and stay in the kilt all day. A couple are regular kilt wearers outside piping.

Is your pipe band a competition band? If so at what grade level does it compete?

About wearing full band kit all day at the competition venue, my band, and many other bands, require it. If the band doesn't require it what happens is members will be walking around the venue wearing various mixes of band kit and their own clothes, which some bands feel doesn't make a professional impression.

I noticed at competitions in Scotland that bands show up together in a big coach fully dressed. Here members drive themselves to competitions, alone or carpooling, usually in their street clothes.

If a band doesn't require full kit all day you'll see members wearing the uniform but with trainers instead of ghillies, or wearing the whole kit save for shorts instead of the kilt, and every other imaginable mix. This sort of thing is often commented upon by people from the UK visiting USA Highland Games.

[Laird_M]

Two questions about these pipers.

1) do they compete regularly in either solo or band competition?

2) are they full-time kilt-wearers, or do they selectively wear kilts to Scottish-themed events or other special occasions?

Thanks!

They play both in a band and solo plus competing. They have to wear band tartan for band events, but wear their own personal choice of kilt for solo events and casually.

[BBNC]

Well, here's a wee collection of possibilities (some of them Canadian, and some of them firmly tongue in cheek, and undoubtedly I'll be corrected on some of them):

Kilt Wearers Calendar

(If ya really need anither reason tae wear yur kilt!)

Jan 1 New Years Day. (You should be singing “Auld Lang Syne” by Robert Burns as the New Year begins.)
Jan 11 Sir John A. Macdonald, First Prime Minister of Canada born in Glasgow (1815)
Jan 25 Robert Burns, Scotland’s National Bard, born Alloway. (1759) Traditional night of Burns Supper.
Feb 2 Celtic Holiday, Imbolc (Candlemas)
March 1 Saint David's Day (patron saint of Wales)
March 3 Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh. (1847) --James Doohan, actor, “Scotty” born. (1920)
March 17 Treaty of Edinburgh between King Robert I and Edward III which recognised Scotland’s independence, ending the 30 years of Wars of Independence. (1328)
March 27 King Robert I ("The Bruce") crowned at Scone. (1306)
April 6 Anniversary of the Writing of the Declaration of Arbroath "For we fight not for glory nor for riches nor for honour, but only and alone for freedom, which no good man surrenders but with his life". (1320)
April 16 Culloden. (1746)
March 21 Celtic Holiday, Ostara (Spring/Vernal Equinox)
April 30 Celtic Holiday, Beltane (May Eve)
May 24 Victoria Day
June 21 Celtic Holiday, Midsummer (Summer Solstice, Litha)
June 24 Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II at Battle of Bannockburn. (1314)
July 1 Canada Day & Anniversary of Repeal of the Proscription Act thus allowing again the wearing of kilts & tartan, the teaching of Gaelic, and the carrying of weapons; including bagpipes. (1782)
Aug 1 Proscription Act introduced, banning kilts, tartan, bagpipes (banned as a weapon of war), the teaching of Gaelic, and the carrying of weapons. (1747) Celtic Holiday, Lughnasadh (Lammas) Macbeth killed in battle by Malcolm at Lumphanan, near Aberdeen. (1057)
Aug 15 Sir Walter Scott, Writer and poet, born Edinburgh. (1771)
Sept 9 Battle of Flodden. (1513)
Sept 11 Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297) Referendum on Devolution approved the creation of a new Scottish Parliament by a substantial majority. (1997)
Sept 21 Celtic Holiday, Mabon (Autumn/Fall Equinox)
Oct 2 Celtic Holiday, Samhain (All Hallows Eve)
Nov 11 Remembrance Day
Nov 30 St Andrew’s Day , Stone of Destiny, stolen from Scone by King Edward I of England in 1296, returned to Scotland and installed in Edinburgh Castle. (1996 )
Dec 21 Celtic Holiday, Yule (Winter Solstice)
Dec 31 Hogmanay

I don't know if there's a connection, but June 24th is my birthday, and my name is Bruce, (after Robert the Bruce perhaps)?. My mom has passed, so I can't ask her. I guess this means I can wear my kilt on my birthday, lol. My mom is Scotch/Irish (Morehead, Muirhead) on her mother's side.

BBNC

[Father Bill]

I don't know if there's a connection, but June 24th is my birthday, and my name is Bruce, (after Robert the Bruce perhaps)?. My mom has passed, so I can't ask her. I guess this means I can wear my kilt on my birthday, lol. My mom is Scotch/Irish (Morehead, Muirhead) on her mother's side. BBNC

Go for it!

I do hope that all concerned realize that my tongue was planted firmly in my cheek in sharing that audacious, outrageous and preposterous list.

[sailortats]

As has been said by others, when wearing the kilt you never know when or where someone will ask to take your picture. As proof positive see the attached pic. But do not let that prospect stop you from being kilted when and wherever you feel inclined.

Father Bill - I, for one, appreciated that list of dates you posted. I have been looking for something like that for some time. Now I know when I can fly the Saltire.
on Muni.jpg