Wearing the kilt in Scotland

[Jock Scot]

So it is fair to say that in Scotland they wear a kilt just as American's do so, at special events, formal afairs, events, etc but not as a regular everyday practice?

That is pretty much how it is today. There are exceptions of course. I think-------and this is a point that many outwith Scotland appear to miss------ since Victorian times and perhaps earlier too, that this is always how its been in Scotland as a whole and in the Highlands in particular.

[CameronCat]

So it is fair to say that in Scotland they wear a kilt just as American's do so, at special events, formal affairs, events, etc but not as a regular everyday practice?

And I agree, based on our very recent 12 day tour of the Highlands. Having followed this thread from the start, just for fun I kept a log of kilt sightings during our 1100 mile Haggis Hunt. We were well north of Edinburgh, spent two days on Skye and then went round the top to Thurso/Orkney and down the east coast.

In those 12 days, we saw one kilt worn as an everyday garment (and not worn well I might add) ... a rather scraggly young gent on a pedal bicycle in Carbost, Skye. Leaving out the obvious, such as tourguides or docents at castles or museums, the other 5 or 6 kilt sightings involved a more formal level of dress, as for a wedding party or social evening and in all cases the accompanying women were also dressed to a high standard and often with a bit of tartan as a sash or scarf.

However, on our last day, while walking through Edinburgh Airport, I passed a 20-something gent in a non-tartan dark charcoal kilt with a dark shirt, tie and a smart dark jacket. No idea what he was up to (he had only a small brief case), but he looked "the beans" and would have done his supplier proud as a model. As much as the tartan kilt is "traditional Highland" attire, this guy was emblematic of modern or city style and he did it very well. (He may have had something to do with the Ryder Cup as zillions of folks were arriving on Friday.)

Many of our friends in the U.S. were excited that we would be in Scotland for the IndyRef, but on the day we were about as far from politics as one could get ... on a boat tour out of Elgol at the lower tip of Skye. I did have some political discussions before and after; the residents understood that I was a neutral party and spoke freely to me, with some passionate opinions on both sides.
Perhaps the biggest thing I noticed was on the day after. Although people would still chat with us, the prevailing attitude seemed (at least to us) to be, "Right, that's over now. Let's get on with our lives." I'm sure it was probably different in the bigger cities but in the small towns and villages everybody either took their lumps or had an extra sweet with the tea and then got back to normal life.

As an aside, special thanks to all those who helped out on my earlier "Two days on Skye" thread. Your info, guidance and PMs made a difference in our planning and it's appreciated. Isle of Skye really is a beautiful place and you really need to see it if you go over.

I came home with 980+ pics in my camera, plus the cell phone and my wife's camera. When I get the keepers sorted, I'll put up some pics but there won't be a kilt in any of 'em.

Peace
JT

[kilttrip]

So it is fair to say that in Scotland they wear a kilt just as American's do so, at special events, formal afairs, events, etc but not as a regular everyday practice?

I do take the opportunity to wear the kilt at more "formal" occasions, but I wear it occasionally as non-specific day wear. I will break it out just for the fun of it. Needless to say it causes a bit of a stir in small town Iowa, but comments are generally quite favorable. I attended a large political picnic style dinner/fund raiser (this being the season) and wore my Utilikilt Survivor. One young lady stopped by and said she appreciated seeing my Utilikilt. I look forward to someday wearing the kilt in bonny Scotland!

[Mathew MacKillop]

I'm not sure how I missed this post the first time through, but Calgacus' wise reply made me go back and re-read it. This one truly boggles the mind.

I think it's sad that apparently I learned more about Scots history and literature in school than people living in Scotland. Sure, we did Shakespeare, but we also did Burns.

We learned about the Celts and the Picts, The clan system, Mary, Queen of Scots, James I & 5, the '45 and the Battle of Culloden, the Highland Clearances.

Some of this we covered when learning about the Reformation, some while learning about why the Highlanders ended up in Nova Scotia, we learned about some of it in music class when they taught us the Skye Boat Song and other Scottish songs.

It was enough to spark an interest.

Education curriculum is a Provincial jurisdiction in Canada. How does it work in the UK? Does Scotland set its own education curriculum or is that uniform across the country?

This is interesting (though perhaps off-topic), because I, educated in Quebec, learned NONE of these things in school. In fact, here, we do a VERY vague history of the world in early high school, and then Quebec and Canada in grade 10...in which they try to convince us that all the explorers were French, not just Cartier...but Columbus and all the rest too. They gloss over all the Scot and English names dotting the country, and strongly assert that the French accomplished everything. No explanation for how any peoples but the French ended up here ("Filles du Roi" and such). That Sir John A. MacDonald was a Scot? Never mentioned. That the MacKenzie river was named for a Scottish explorer? Never mentioned. Just endless falsified history promoting the French. Too bad, because I'm sure the French did do all sorts of important things, but they are lost in the misinformation.