Wearing the Kilt Pin

[tpa]

If a kilt pin is heaavy enough to have any effect in the wind, it would most likely damage the fabric. My magnetic ones do have a minor effect in light winds, because they are heavier than those with pins, but as everyone has pointed out are not necessary for modesty purposes.

Many times my pins have been saved by the elastic band they are pinned through, the usual notification being the pin poking into my leg, if the clip is at the bottom. If the "security" clip is far enough away from the kilt material I sometimes secure it as well with a smidge of Blutack, but you don't want the Blutack to get attached to the kilt and I talk from experience.

On a final point, if your kilt is of light weight material, having a pin which pins horizontally lessens the stress on the material compared with a vertically mounted one. I tend to use circular style kilt pins (brooches) which have offset horizontal pins (so it hangs rather than tilts) with my PV kilts.

[Tobus]

It does happen! In my rather long time of kilt wearing, some 70 plus years and some of that time wearing the kilt in fairly wild and rugged conditions I have suffered the " Marilyn Monroe" experience twice.

The front apron moving in the breeze is a fairly regular event and as long as one understands that the inner apron cannot move much there is nothing to worry about. In time you learn to walk with your hands at your sides in breezy conditions. In truth, from my experience it's not the aprons you need to worry about it's the pleats at the back that can threaten to take off!

I agree, it's the pleats at the rear and sides that will fly up and cause giggles. I've had it happen too. The most memorable was at the Salado Highland Games, probably 8 years ago or so. They hold this event in November, and on this particular day there was a cold front blowing in with wind gusts up around 50-60 mph. Vendor tents were blowing away with merchandise being scattered. Tufts of grass and dead leaves were swirling everywhere, with a lot of dust blowing around too (it took me hours to shake it all the dust out of my kilt). One particular gust happened to produce an updraft that lifted my pleats to the point where I felt them touch the middle of my back. Pleats are great for billowing and catching the wind like a parachute. The only action at the front was the corner of my outer apron flipping up. The inner apron stayed put.

The sporran plays a large part, too, in keeping the front aprons from flying wildly. Not only the position and weight of the sporran (which will vary by style and size, of course), but also the straps coming around from the sides. And last but not least, the hip buckle on the outer apron (for kilts so equipped) aids in binding down the outer apron to a lower elevation.

[Mike S]

I'm suddenly reminded of the following ditty:

I've just come down
From the Isle of Skye
I'm not very big and I'm awful shy
And the lassies shout when I go by
Donald, where's your troosers?

Let the wind blow high
Let the wind blow low
Through the streets
In my kilt, I'll go
All the lassies say hello
Donald, where's your troosers?

[PatrickHughes123]

Perhaps I don't understand this issue, although I've read every post. I know there are Highland outfitters in the cities of the world who wish to sell every bit of regalia they can to every neophyte who enters their shop doors, and justify their pitches with dexterity and assurances of knowledge and integrity, but on a site such as this we know better or are willing to learn from those who do.

The kilt is, first and foremost, a country garment. It was never something historically worn in cities, where brisk breezes are the extreme (except in Aberdeen ).

Gales can be extreme in the Highlands of Scotland.

My latest experience. I was in the Orkneys in the Caroline of last December. Exhilarating to say the least! Pleats flailing this way and that, bum no doubt exposed for seconds at a time, legs and torso straining into it. Boots holding fast. Hair and clothing whipping this way and that. But I can't recall any worry about my 'privates' being exposed to view by those who might have turned -- for a mere moment -- to face away from the storm and in my direction.

It's my experience, of roughly 70 years, that the kilt pin is a lovely bit of jewelry. I have a great collection from over three+ generations. But that other than as bling, it has no functional purpose in Traditional Highland Civilian Dress (THCD).

I wear the kilt down in Glasgow, where I am from. All the way down here, you get the occasional blow up at the back, but it never so extreme to the point where people will see all of your anus. In all my time of wearing a kilt, it has only happened about twice.

Winter time is the worst for this kind of thing.

[kingandrew]

I have to second Tobus's observation that the sporran is a much more effective tool for keeping your apron down than any kilt pin I've seen.

It also helps to prevent unintended exposure when you're sitting, Sharon Stone style.

Andrew

[tokareva]

I stopped wearing a kilt pin after finding out it wasn't mandatory. It was creating holes in the apron and was a constant cause of concern about snagging it on something and ripping the kilt. I was glad to find out it wasn't a requirement, it's a lot more comfortable without it banging and wobbling around all the time. It's just a cheap one with lots of sharp edges.

s-l1000.jpg

Here it is in action a while back.

P1030548_kindlephoto-840233700.jpg

[Terry Searl]

It is a lovely kilt pin to be sure, and your kilt is lovely as well ......it would be a shame if either was damaged just for the wearing of the pin .....better the kilt remains kilt pin free and the kilt pin brought out occasionally and admired and the moment you found it remembered......just my opinion though

[Tarheel]

I'm finding that the more I am active while kilted, the less extras I add to the outfit. Running, climbing ladders, crawling around while laying tile or running a chainsaw are safer without some metal getting caught in the activity.

I also have pared down my "bling" to the items that mean more to me on a personal level. My other pins and sgians are archived in a dresser drawer and will likely be given away to become special for another person in the future.