Legally kilted

[Riverkilt]

...
Put on your kilt and go to work! No permission, no explanation.

Chris Webb

What "rules?" What "statutes." Jeez, this is AMERICA. This thread sure does show the difference between those of us who live in the city and those of us who live in the boonies....hope this is keeping with the tone of this thread.

Can't imagine how or why an American citizen would need some sort of rule or statute to dress as he pleases (yes, yes safety situations and corporate uniforms aside).

As I recall, "go to work! No permission, no explanation" is what women did years ago when it came to their wearing pants in the workplace. Think history will back up my besotted memory.

That's what I did, and it worked. Course living alone I didn't need anyone's permission to kilt up.

I did begin wearing kilts around this boonie town as if it was the most normal thing in the world. And I showed up that way at work too. And when I went full time kilted I just kept showing up kilted every day.

Yes, I had to work through some fears. But I did it and stood proudly kilted.

It works guys.

FREEDOM!

Ron

[bubba]

Y'know, for a nation founded on freedom the US has become over regulated and so terribly conformist. Employers today can declare no smoking by employees even away from work on their own time and have the right to fire anyone who smokes regardless of where and when they light up. Offices are gradually getting away from office casual dress and some are beginning to enforce stricter dress codes. Even on the production floor more companies are starting to require work uniforms. Will kilts be accepted (safety requirements aside)? I doubt it, in fact I expect they'll be prohibited in the workplace in due course.A few service companies may embrace them for the "different" public image, but in general they'll never be accepted as work attire. The fact is, as jobs (especially decent paying jobs) become more scarce employers will become more restrictive. The last thing the corporate world wants is individuals. Now, for a devious tactic. Put your normal work clothes in a gym bag and wear your kilt. Get to work at the very last minute and just get busy. If someone raises hell about the kilt just tell em you were at a breakfast of some Scottish heritage group and you didn't have time to change, but you will as soon as you get an imperative project taken care of. If nobody objects just leave the gym bag under your desk. Sneaky? Of course, but worth a try.

[Raphael]

Working at a company is a priviledge, not a right and every company has a dress code to project an image to the clients/customers they serve.

If you don't like how your company operates, you can always look elsewhere. Just leave on a good term. Please don't tell any potential employers that you left your previous employer because they don't allow you to wear your kilt.

[Riverkilt]

At the risk of drifting....but I think it speaks to the original question.

It is not necessarily a gift that I get to work somewhere. I've had dozens of jobs (a perk of being a practicing alcoholic for many years) and its been my experience that corporate loyalty is expected to flow up from the employees, but is seldom seen flowing back down to them.

Once worked for a large NYSE outfit who fired two long term peers on Christmas Eve by phone because they were "rearranging territories."

I work where I chose to work. I am a professional who by choice has acquired the education, training, experience, licenses, and certifications to make me a desired employee.

Because of this I have resolved to interview kilted should I ever chose to change employers. For me, that avoids all the hassle of worrying about what corporate kilt policy, if any, is.

I just don't want to work for any corporation that does not accept kilts as a male garment.

Will I starve or scrimp by on unemployment because of that? I think not.

There is a kilt fashion boom on, that can't be denied. A simple look at what's happened to the kiltmaking industry and the kilt boards verifys that. The questions we get asked every day veryify that.

Hopefully, this boom is just as strong as the fashion movement that brought pants to women in the workplace.

The parallels are obvious.

The weird control freaks in power with their silly rules are bound to be swept aside by the power of common sense and freedom.

Yes, there are many pioneers out there showing up kilted at work for the first time, fearful of the whims of superiors and their corporations' rules.

Be brave. You will overcome.

The only thing more fearful than wearing a kilt to work for the first time is trying to find a justifiable reason to tell a valued employee, in the year 2006, that he can't do that.

Kilt up!

Ron