Please explain...

[M. A. C. Newsome]

This is a perfectly good definition, as far as it goes, but some kilts, as mentioned earlier, are not made from tartan cloth, and there are skirts made from tartan cloth that are not kilts. Utilikilts on the other hand are pleated at the back, but are not made from tartan cloth. So how do we decide whether or not they're "descended from the wollen plaid worn by the highlanders from early times"? The only way I can see is to enumerate the characteristics of a kilt, and see how they differ from other forms of dress. That way, we'll be able to tell if a garment has the proper characteristics to count as a kilt.

I have a letter on file somewhere that a friend of mine passed on from the inventor of the Utilikilt. He speaks of its design being based for the most part on a pair of men's cargo shorts -- not the Scottish kilt. It's origin and designs are removed from the Scottish culture. The word "kilt" was included in the name, I suspect, because of what has already been mentioned here -- namely, "kilt" is a term widely recognized to denote a skirt-like garment for men. If you want it to be known that the skirt-like garment you have designed is for men, what more efficient way than to label it a kilt?

I think the phenomenon of Utilikilts having booths at Highland Games and the like came about after the fact; that is to say, after they realized that there was a market for their product among the Scottish kilt wearing community.

But it seems plain that the origins of the Utilikilt are quite distinct from the organic traditions of Scottish Highland attire, and while I have no problem with people wearing Utilikilts, I also see the point of those who argue that they should not be considered a Scottish garment; because they are not.

Whether or not that makes them a true kilt depends entirely on how you define the word "kilt." Different people use that word in different contexts. I, as a tartan academic and historian of Highland clothing, have a much more restrictive definition of the word than someone writing a fashion column in a New York magazine might, for instance. It's an interesting thing to discuss, but I don't think we are going to come to universal agreement on the issue.