Oh, the humanity!

[Sir Didymous]

My wife bought some tickets to the Great Lakes Medieval Fair during the off season and gave them to me for Christmas. It was a nice gift and it gave us some time together away from the hub-bub of daily life. With the use of some vacation time from both the church and my other job, we were able to take the entire weekend to visit the fair and even catch up with some old friends. We decided to go on Celtic weekend as we both have C1610 Highland kits. I knew that there would be droves of kilted people, many of which would have no concept of the finer points of kilt wearing. But nothing could have prepared my wife and I for what we walked into.

The entire weekend we saw only three great kilts, and one was the one I was wearing. Additionally, there was only one lady (other than my wife) wearing an arsaidh. But historical accuracy is not something to be sought at this kind of thing. That became wildly apparent when I was told that I couldn't wear moggans in the correct fashion because hard sole shoes are required. Never-the-less, what my wife pointed out as soon as we got in the gate was a group of about six guys with their modern kilts pulled under their guts. That was perfectly in line with my expectations. But as the weekend went on the atrocities got worse and worse. From man-sashes to piper's plaids worn like half-belted plaids, and even what looked like a throw blanket being worn like an un-pleated philabeg. At one point we saw a guy with the pleats in the front. But the one that seems to defy explanation is one person wearing a philabeg with the aprons in the back and they were pleated. I'm still trying to figure out how he managed to pull that one off.

All of that aside; here's what made me sad. There was a vendor selling kilts, cheaply made Afghani kilts and similarly produced accessories. But the horror of it was that they were fitting them to their customers under the belly and in some cases with the inside aprons hanging loose underneath. One of the employees asked me if there was any clan tartan that I was looking for. Without thinking I blurted out Ferguson, to which she presented a kilt in the Mackenzie tartan. I said that wasn't the right tartan and walked out before she could start back peddling or arguing.

I don't think I'll ever take he three-and-a-half hour drive for that Celtic weekend again.

[James Hood]

Thank you, a good laugh from your masterful issertation, as well as a wry head-shake or two. Okay, and a couple snorts. Well worded, Sir D.

'Had much the same experience in June at the Chicago Highland Festival and posted about same, somewhere in here. As in your experience, some of the "kilted sights" seen were so ludicrous, a well-spoken member of this forum challenged this writer's rant on the, "Oh, come on now, it could not have been that bad..." grounds.

As was your experience, yup, there were some folks who were "that clueless." And some who looked, "that bad."

Yes, including an occasional not-best-informed vendor.

But it's still grande fun and intent is to attend next year.