Places you can/should wear a kilt in New York/the US

[AndrewSinclairYoung]

You guys are legends. love all these responses!

[MichiganKyle]

As an example, I wore my St. Patrick's Sport Kilt (not for the holiday, but because I like the colors, and the concept of a tartan designed in America for Scottish pipe bands to celebrate an Irish holiday resonates with me as an American of mixed descent) yesterday with a khaki button-up and brown boots/belt/sporran/hat. During the course of the day, I stopped in at a local mall for some stuff. While I was in there, which was not for very long, I was complimented several times and had two people ask if I was Scottish/Irish. One had a kilt but rarely wore it, especially in public, due to lack of confidence. Another said her mom has been trying to get her dad to wear a kilt for years. There's a lot of interest in kilts - it's a lot more common than you'd think - and people think they're awesome. They just don't have the confidence to wear them in public. If you can break through that and just wear them in situations everyone else would like to wear them but are too shy to actually do it, it puts people at ease knowing you don't care one figgin what other people think, you're going to lead the way to awesomeness.

It's not a reaction I ever expected when I started wearing kilts. You never see people wearing kilts in public, at least not around where I am. But there is a lot of interest, judging by how many "I've got one, but I don't wear it" or "I've always thought they were cool but never thought you could actually just buy one" comments I've received. Give people the courage to try it! Spread the word! The kilt is awesome - a far superior garment to pants - and more people need to know.

[McMurdo]

Just an example, a few months ago Julie Fowlis was in town. I thought that certainly that would be a place where you might see a kilt. I was the only person there in tartan except for Julie herself.

[jthk]

I wear my kilts whenever I wish, usually days ending in -y. I don't wear a kilt to the gym, running, climbing ladders, or swimming.

In terms of "dressing up" -- my life tends to be fairly casual with the exception of a shirt-and-tie to work most days so thankfully, I don't have to worry about fancy dress often.

Hi there,

Here is a question for you all—apart from Highland Games, Burns Night events and Tartan Week events(NYC) when else is is there an opportunity to wear your kilt or highland dress? I’m also part of a clan that has events which is nice but I wish there were more opportunities to proudly represent my culture.

What might I be missing in the calendar? When do you all find time to dress up?

Thanks!

[kingandrew]

Like others in this thread, I wear the kilt pretty often and wherever I feel like it. Since I live in China, I am certainly the only one I see sporting one in my neighborhood, but that's not a problem. People are always very curious and complimentary. I often get a thumbs up or people telling me I look "hen piao liang" which means "beautiful." You will also hear them saying "Segulan," which is Chinese for Scotland. I've also worn my kilt in New York (to the Metropolitan Opera) and at all sorts of events in Florida. I am a teacher and also wear my kilt to class a few times a month.

If I am going somewhere nice, I will wear a dress shirt, tie, and dress shoes with my kilt, and a jacket and vest if the occasion and weather warrant. For more casual activities, I wear an appropriate shirt for the event and the weather (turtleneck, polo, khaki explorer's shirt, or whatever) and my hiking boots. I always wear real kilt socks and a sporran, sometimes a belt, too.

I actually do run in a kilt when I am racing, but it is a lighter-weight one reserved for those occasions. I have a sleeveless "jacobite" shirt and homemade tam to wear with it for those events. On race day, I wear cotton kilt hose with my running shoes--but no sporran. As long as I'm wearing a kilt, nobody notices how slowly I run.

So wear it with confidence and enjoy yourself. You'll find people are happy to see you and that you meet lots of new people, especially single women.

Andrew

[Riverkilt]

Ahhh....so THAT'S why all the Chinese visitors here are fascinated by my kilts and want their pictures taken.

[gsmacleod]

I'm a bit north of you in Nova Scotia but here's my approach for what it's worth. I bought my kilt for my wedding, fifteen years ago, and then it was in the closet for about twelve years. I was looking for a new suit and decided I buy a tweed jacket and best instead of a new suit since it didn't really make sense to have such an expensive garment that I never wore.

Since then, I've added a few different tweed jackets to my collection, as well as a Prince Charlie, and will get dressed up a handful of times per year.

However, through most of the year, I'll wear a kilt about once a month on the weekend just puttering around the house. There's no real reason here beyond just feeling like putting on a kilt, usually paired with a sweater.

I'll also occasionally wear one for hiking and as we're building a camp on a lake, I feel like a kilt might be often worn when we're there.

Shane

[kingandrew]

Riverkilt,

I recognize that pose!

Men of our stature and facial hair are always the subject of great photographic interest here in China. I often see people trying to be sneaky as they snap pictures of me with their phones. I usually smile and wave and say "ni keyi pai zhaopian," which means "you can take a picture."

My wife and I are both quite tall (making us giants here) and she is a beautiful blonde as well, so we tend to attract attention. But when I wear my kilt, people get really excited--almost as if a unicorn happened to be walking down the street.

I always try to be friendly and gracious, because we're the first foreigners ("lao wai") many of these people have met, and I want it to be a positive experience for them. And the idea that I can bring such excitement and joy to strangers simply by being myself is really rather nice, to be honest.

Andrew

[Jock Scot]

Riverkilt,

I recognize that pose!

Men of our stature and facial hair are always the subject of great photographic interest here in China. I often see people trying to be sneaky as they snap pictures of me with their phones. I usually smile and wave and say "ni keyi pai zhaopian," which means "you can take a picture."

My wife and I are both quite tall (making us giants here) and she is a beautiful blonde as well, so we tend to attract attention. But when I wear my kilt, people get really excited--almost as if a unicorn happened to be walking down the street.

I always try to be friendly and gracious, because we're the first foreigners ("lao wai") many of these people have met, and I want it to be a positive experience for them. And the idea that I can bring such excitement and joy to strangers simply by being myself is really rather nice, to be honest.

Andrew

We get a lot of Oriental visitors in the Highlands and in the last couple of years particularly from China. They are most interested in everything they see, particularly kilts! Sadly, for obvious reasons, the Orient is not represented here at the moment. I must say that I miss their respectful demeanour, cheerful faces and endless questions!

[Ivor]

I still haven’t taken the plunge but it is encouraging to see all these various options.