wearing kilts in Scotland

[Hamish]

.................................................. ............ don't go too hard on us non-Scots who love your country and its costume at our own peril!!

Philibeg! Philibeg! How COULD you? You know. Of course you know, that the kilt is a garment NOT a "costume". Talk like that can cost lives!


By the way, not all Scots speak with a Scottish accent, even in Scotland. Obviously the majority does but there are many who do not. It is generally a matter of how they were brought up and educated. Quite a few of my 100% Scottish friends sound as if they come from Southern England - as do some of their parents.

[Thistle Stop]

Personally, I see kilts as having a front apron, pleats at the back and be made with X yards of material in a certain way by a trained kilt-maker. Even in not tartan materials, this can still happen( e.g. 21st century Kilts.) Hamish has said even he feels his Utilkilts type garments are not kilts, but skirts and (without actually seeing one close) I would tend to agree.

This is what I think too. A MUG (male unbifurcated garment) is not necessarily a kilt. A kilt is made in a certain way -- just as Kilt By Death described it. Call the other types of garments MUGs, man-skirts, or what-have-you -- they are not really kilts. A tailored kilt made as described (in any fabric) or a 'great kilt' folded and belted in the traditional way is a kilt. A canvas (or any fabric -- including tartan, by the way) pleated skirt with a fly or snaps in the front is not a kilt, however comfy, fun, and attractive it may be.

Having said all this, however, I would certainly NOT want to see guys who wear the 'other' things banned from this board, or made to feel unwelcome here -- I love their input and I think the issues discussed here relative to kilt-wearing pertain equally to wearing other pleated MUGs that sometimes go by the name of kilt!

By the way, I don't object to those other MUGs being called kilts -- or rather, Utilikilts, etc. -- I just don't consider them to be 'real' kilts. But they can be quite nice as just what they are, and you can call them whatever you like!

[Thistle Stop]

Dear Kilt by Death,

Forgive my presumption, but I am assuming that when you open yer moo a lovely Scottish burrrrrr comes out. Non-Scots in kilts, in any country, often are treated well until their accent reveals them to be FAKES, IMPOSTERS, CULTURAL HIJACKERS, SASSENACHS SUFFERING FROM SEVERE BRIGADOONERY, etc etc etc. This has happened to me repeatedly, and let me say that one can go, quite suddenly, from being a happy-go-lucky kilt-wearer minding his own business, to a man on the defensive, fighting tooth and nail to not appear a complete git in front of unsympathetic lookers-on (which never works, people like this don't want to change their minds...).

I can imagine that someone visiting Scotland for the first time would like to avoing such tedious self-explainations and useless self-justifications which can totally ruin one's day and mood (happens to me often, last night included, when I ran into Scots on the street who were furious and offended that "A wasnna a Jock efter aw").

So don't go too hard on us non-Scots who love your country and its costume at our own peril!!

You make a very good point.

I hereby offer one and all of the members of X Marks an 'associate' status at my shop (unpaid, non-voting, and full-price-paying! ). From now on, if anyone gives you grief about wearing a kilt, just tell them you're an associate of a Scottish imports business in the US and wear a kilt most of the time. That will probably make sense even to the sort of idiot (pronounced ee-jit or otherwise) who makes those rude remarks!

If they want to know what you do in the business, tell them you're involved in consumer research. Whether you've realised it or not, you ARE! I value all the comments here for what they teach me about the needs and experiences of my customers!

[Geoduck]

Thanks Cyndi,

I'm sure that will allow for some confused hecklers!

[bubba]

Boy Cyndi, can I have fun with THAT!

[Thistle Stop]

Boy Cyndi, can I have fun with THAT!

Have at it! In fact, tell them you are a Consumer Research Specialist for a Scottish imports company. So be it.

Or, if you prefer, you can be a Product Tester. I have plenty of room on staff for both!

[philibeg]

Thanks Cyndi, can I open your Amsterdam branch?

Hamish, I stand corrected....I meant to use the word 'costume' in the broadest sense, but you are absolutely right, it's a word to be avoided at all costs in reference to that lovely garment, that glorious garment, that manly garment the KILT!

[beverlonian]

By the way, I don't object to those other MUGs being called kilts -- or rather, Utilikilts, etc. -- I just don't consider them to be 'real' kilts. But they can be quite nice as just what they are, and you can call them whatever you like!

I always refer my Utilikilt as an "American Kilt".

[beverlonian]

By the way, not all Scots speak with a Scottish accent, even in Scotland. Obviously the majority does but there are many who do not. It is generally a matter of how they were brought up and educated. Quite a few of my 100% Scottish friends sound as if they come from Southern England - as do some of their parents.

It is well known in Britain that the most perfectly spoken English is found in Inverness. :o

[Thistle Stop]

Thanks Cyndi, can I open your Amsterdam branch?

Natuurlijk! Ongetwijfeld!

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