Experiences from a new kilt-wearer

[meinfs]

So I've now got a foot into the world of the kilted with my self-made kilts. I've begun to wear them too. Mostly for my square dancing and every now and then an outing to the general public.

I enjoyed the mostly positive stories that I've read on here and I believe it is the vast majority of stories.

Let me share some of mine.

Warning. There's some negativity in the stories, so proceed with caution.

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The negative ones stand out, unfortunately...

- A group of square dancers were admiring my denim kilt saying that they've never seen one before. One of them which looked really grumpy, (and I've danced in a square with him earlier- he never smiled) -- reacted that he was at least Irish, when I said that no I don't have a tartan kilt. I just carried on the conversation with the rest of the group.

- Went out to walk the dog in my DIY #2. I saw teens a block away and while I wasn't looking heard some loud laughter (from them) and when we got closer, they yelled from across the street "Is that a skirt?" to which I replied, "No it's called a kilt" and one of them (a boy) said, "you'll get a a lot of girls in that!" I just said "yes" and continued my walk. [I think he meant that in a derogatory manner]

- On the same walk, some guys in a construction truck (with orange cones) whistled at me as they drove by. Not necessarily bad, just funny to me.

- Went to go dancing at a country/western bar (I two-step) and got this rather passive-aggressive comment from a "friend." He had avoided saying hi to me all night and when he did, he said "I think you're taking this skirt thing too far". To which I replied, "oh you don't approve?" and he immediately said that he was just kidding me. [There's a certain underlying nastiness to that comment, I think, given the circumstances of the evening and given that he, being a regular at the club, typically is the center of attention.]

-On the same night, another (always-grumpy) guy carries a conversation with me about my kilt and at some point I said no I didn't have a tartan kilt. And he says that he at least has a clan connection (with certain tone in his voice). I responded with, "that's great," and carried on to get a dance.
[In his defense, he is always grumpy.)


ON the positive side, my square dance friends admire my kilts a lot and some have expressed supported my idea of making the kilt part of our clubs official uniform... hmmm. that'd be very nice.

As of yet, I don't have heartwarming stories of comments from strangers.
I have to go out more in my kilt.

Speaking of which, I went to HomeDepot (a big home improvement store, stateside) today. A guy asked me if I was Irish and I said no (I am not, I'm asian) and he went on his way. Hard to read what he meant by that question- although if he followed up with, "why are you wearing that?" then I'd have answered the question and attempted to enlighten him with kilt-wearing for everybody.

Most people just say nothing. Although, I've noticed that more people who pass me would tend to look twice.

Oh, I just remembered this personal story that I like the most. I went to G Street Fabrics in the area upon a request from friends who were there getting wool fabrics for kilts (guess who's making them kilts :-). They were being helped by this lady who said that she had training in haute couture in France and really wanted to see my denim kilts. She couldn't believe that I had hand sewn it and wanted to see for herself.
So I went to the store and showed it to her and she inspected it and was impressed and kept saying the she appreciated it very much that I showed it to her (she said that emphatically several times.) I don't know if she has any kilt-making experience but I hope that the meeting might have inspired her. She did ask that I return to show her a kilt that I (will be) making out of the wool that we got from the store).


So there. I'm sure the more I wear my kilts, the more experiences and stories I'll have. Thanks for reading all this way...

It'd be great if you could share some of your memorable stories both good and bad.

[beowulf67]

A guy asked me if I was Irish and I said no (I am not, I'm asian) and he went on his way.

Maybe he thought you were adopted? Or was too busy looking at the kilt to really pay attention to what you look like.

People do ask strange questions sometimes, but it sounds like you have the right attitude to handle them. Good stories. Thanks for sharing them.

[MarkReaves]

When it comes to the negative responses, shrug 'em off. A lot of people are rude to begin with and most who are rude will say something at someone in a kilt just because they then think they have an excuse for their rudeness.

Just ignore them and carry on. Be proud.

[Dirk Skene]

tHE GOOD (dang caps lock) will outweigh the bad & the nutral will outweigh the good. The majority of the time folks say nothing. At least not in earshot. Complements abound from the womenfolk. Most of the negitive comes from insecure males.

[Spc. Scott]

One thing that I really enjoy is how many more people I meet. Trumansburg and Ithaca,NY are pretty kilt-friendly places. Due in part, I think,to having both Cornell University and Ithaca College.

They bring in a lot of people from all over the world so people tend to be pretty open minded and are generally interested in anything that might appear to be a little out of the ordinary.

Couple that with the comfort and freedom of just wearing a kilt and it tends to turn what would be an average day to a really good day.

[Galb]

I think the general populace will see a kilt without being a tartan as simply a skirt. If you were by chance wearing one with a tartan design, I believe you wouldn't have gotten many, if any, negative remarks.

[Riverkilt]

My all time favorite remains the drunk panhandler in a supermarket parking lot on the rougher side of Albuquerque who hollered out with an expression of recognition, "Hey Switzerland!"

Ron

[BEEDEE]

Some people just don't understand which end of the horse they are talking from.

Brian

[ncof300d]

My all time favorite remains the drunk panhandler in a supermarket parking lot on the rougher side of Albuquerque who hollered out with an expression of recognition, "Hey Switzerland!"

Ron

[Coinneach]

I think you're handling the negative people quite well; you're letting their comments say more about them than you. Some people just never want their world to expand beyond their own expectations.

The warm/fuzzy stories will come. They can't help but come.