Underwear....or not

[tpa]

Currently in the Can Scots the policy is "Don't ask, don't tell."

Definitely the best policy, though why any man should ask it of another man defeats me. Especially as, hopefully, they really don't want to know or even think about it.

[Roderick Powell]

Soldiers were told to sew linen panel inside new issue kilt. All worn and returned kilts were burnt by the Q.m. stores.Makes sense.So does underkilts and cleaning for returned hire kilts. Roderick Powell

[Roderick Powell]

Soldiers were told to sew linen panel inside new issue kilt. All worn and returned kilts were burnt by the Q.m. stores.Makes sense.So does underkilts and cleaning for returned hire kilts. Roderick Powell

Hope all this is coming up on same thread.....For some civvy government work we were issued with long tail shirts . for lesure kilt wear these were a suitable length shirt. However I do wear a long white tee shirt beneath the collared shirt. It is fairly simple for your seamstress to re make a long teeshirt. For me an xl large length teeshirt is simply made long and slim.This probably goes half way down to the knee.If this is checked out against Gilly shirt or Kilt shirt we are speaking of correct length shirt.....However; My correct hight of hem is traditional Scottish military and civy height. That is at top of Knee. I have had serious discussions with Kilt wearers in Scotland and in England...I am about 5 ft 4 inches. My kilt for me is correct, as it is correct for the groups with which I have socialised......If I wear an off the peg kilt or a Number One size M.O.D. unused stock. the kilt is too long....My friends and I wear our kilts in a style which we consider to be correct and traditional. Personal hygene Is obviously important...Deportment and learning to sit down so casual observers cannot see if you are dressed traditionally or in a more modern style is imperative. One cannot statistically say which group we are in as we will not let anyone peek with a camera...Statistically up kilt photos make a lot of fuss of badly dressed Kilties. What Kilt height any Kilt wearer considers correct in their neck of the woods may be acceptable their society but not to ours. A simple analogy is to say, look at the way we dress and look at the way the visitors dress....They do not dress like us .. The visitors are locals when they are at home . A kilt maker was given stick and told that is the traditional style to which you make my tradition kilt. If you wish to make bridegrooms kilts to another style that is not my problem.They will not be out walking at six in the morning the day after their wedding.on our patch...I trust this lengthy post clarifies my views on this somewhat irksome and press publicity seeking matter.....................Roderick

[RectaPete]

So many horror stories involving amateur kilties going regimental. My favourite is the poor bloke who, shall we say, possibly needed to be instructed on his lavatory manners before sitting on his new bride's knee, white dress and all. He got a slap in the face and possibly a huge cleaning bill!

[hector]

I read this thread with some distance. Some of the participants talk about wearing the kilt in a traditional manner versus a modern way of wearing this beautiful garment. The point in this debate seems to concentrate on the matter of underwear. I know my father, and with him the majority of men (young and older) were not familiar with wearing underwear. It became 'normal' to have underpants in the late 1950's (in my part of the world). Since then men have underwear. I really wonder what difference does it make if one wears or does not wear underpants under the kilt in the perspective of meeting 'traditions' or 'traditional rules or standards'? Is it 'against' tradition if one carries a smartphone in his sporran? Or if someone is eating his meal with a fork and a knife and being kilted? Gentlemen, i.m.h.o. things evolved over time and in particular hygienical rules changing dramatically over the last 100 years. Where is the link with meeting traditional aspects of the kilt wearing? I do not see it.
But I respect the freedom of each person. This is just my personal opinion. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Tenmiles]

For whatever its worth, I more or less gave up wearing underpants around age 17, though I didn't begin wearing kilts until after 40. It just seemed like a needless thing, most of the time.
Situationally, I will wear undergarments when it is necessary or suitable to do so,
but when not necessary, I don't bother, and don't think twice about it.

[kiltedtom]

Concerning this returning question, I wish I had more choices. In my younger days, there were times I would not wear underwear. There were two major exceptions: either a) I was not at work, where underwear was required, or b) not visiting with my family; my mother would have "died of embarrassment" if she thought I was not being a "proper gentleman." Even at 81 years of age, she likes to remind me that she is still my mother with the assumed authority to direct my life or at least my attire. As for work, I have worked in prisons for a number of years now, and it is required that women entering the facilities, visiting or working, wear undergarments. So, to be equally fair, males are required too. Since I am not allowed, yet, to wear my kilt to work, the underwear issue has not an issue.

Unfortunately, being free to wear fewer layers of clothes at other times has also been removed as an option. Radiation treatment for cancer in 2010 has left me with a certain amount of incontinence. While it is not a problem every day, I never know when it will be a problem. So to protect my most valuable clothing investment, I have to wear adult diapers (i was not expecting that at only 57 years of age, but at least I can laugh about that now). And to hide the fact that I am wearing the diapers, I wear regular underwear (usually a color found in the kilt. Is that too "matchy"?)

So I hope that I am not transgressing any written or unwritten rules about being Scottish or kilt wearing. I am also sure that I am not the only one in this situation. Quite frankly, the only people who have made it an issue with me are the ones who neither wear kilts nor know me well enough to understand. So I guess in the long run, wearing or not wearing is not important after all. Heck, I am still alive, still teaching, and finally got to fulfill a dream to own and wear my own kilt (slightly over a year now.)

I have been "cancer free" for five years now. For what I had, my doctors claim that it is very rare to have a relapse of this type beyond the five year mark. So, both of my oncologists have released from their care. I am going to have a very nice holiday season this year. I hope you all have a great holiday season as well. And make sure that you hug every family member and friend you can. Let them know you appreciate them. (And if there are any you do not like, fake it.)

Happy holidays and keep wearing your kilts as long as it stays warm enough.

[tpa]

Not sure where you are coming from re. temperature, but Indianapolis is not too different from Northern UK and it is never too cold for a kilt here. It was snowing this morning in London,where the av. temp is slightly higher, and I was quite comfortable in an acrylic/wool mix kilt, not even one of my all wool ones.

[tundramanq]

All the kilts I have for routine daily wear are machine washable. They get washed after 4 to 5 consecutive days of wearing.
Not due to underwear issues but due to not being comfortable on the backs of my legs. As dead skin and body oils build in the fabric it becomes uncomfortable to sit on. This is the only area on a kilt you come into extended close contact with if you tuck your shirt in.

For my special occasion wool kilts the 4 to 5 day rule still applies for the same reason. After wearing they hang in free air for a day then I add a pony tailer to the hanger hook for "bookkeeping" and return it to the closet. I get them dry cleaned without pressing and do the pressing of them, correctly, myself.

I think, barring health issues, that routine showering or bathing and knowing how to use the lavatory is all that is required as I have never noticed a stinky kilt nor marks front or rear.

[Profane James]

(usually a color found in the kilt. Is that too "matchy"?)

LoLz, I see what you did there!

While I can only attempt to empathize with your experience with the 'other' C-word - congratulations by the way - I can somewhat identify with the issue of 'accidents'. I have developed crazy food allergies due to a certain type of tick bite found in these parts - hard to describe the stress of having an 'issue' at any given second..