women in kilts

[Dirk Skene]

How old is your stepdaughter?

She is 25.

[Squeaky McMurdo]

Well, next month I can post some comparison pictures. (didn't have the funds to order Christmas presents until a couple days ago)

My husband and I have the same waist and hip size, so I'll be able to show you how a man's kilt hangs on me verses a lady's mini kilt cut to knee length.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I wander around games looking exactly like this, but I'm there to compete as a piper. So, it may look odd to people, but it's my uniform.

I think it's generally understood that a woman who is part of a pipe band is th eexception, because you are wearing the same uniform as the rest of the band.

I should have been more specific with my example. The woman I am remembering was wearing a tweed Argyle, and lovat hose -- in fact she looked dressed like a Highland gent taking a stroll about his estate. Her clothes looked great. They just looked very masculine.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I say; why not?
Last weekend in Edinburgh I saw the most beautifull (gents) kilts but for the woman there wasn,t that much to choose from.
Not even at the mill, mayby it,s bacause I come too much in Edinburgh but i,ve seen the ladies kilts again and again ...........
For the men,s kilts there ,s a range of different tartans and colors(ofcourse)
Someday I will buy myself the saltire.

I'm not sure I understand the frustration here. Lady's tartan skirts can be made in a wide range of tartans and colors, just like men's kilts. And as far as options go, you can have a standard lady's kilt skirt made knee length, above the knee, below the knee, or full length. You can also have a skirt made with pleats all around (at any length), as well as a straight, unpleated skirt (again, at any length). As for accessories, you can wear matching tartan sash, or a shawl, or a serape, or a cape, or a tam, or none of the above. I think that women who think they don't have as many "options" as the men in terms of tartan clothing and accessories might not be looking hard enough. I'm remembering that mega-thread Alan H started a while back, "For the lassies..." It had some great examples.

[beloitpiper]

In a pipe band, women wear exactly what the men do. Bands are all about uniformity, so we're not going to give them a different uniform! But outside of a pipe band (or dancers), I think women in kilts looks a bit awkward...not bad, but just a little one-off.

[Southern Breeze]

No complaints here. I say go for it.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Why any woman would want to masquerade as a man is totally beyond me, but then I've never understood why some men feel compelled to wear dresses. In my opinion the only woman to ever pull off wearing men's clothing was Marlene Dietrich, and her clothes were exquisitely (and expensively) tailored. By and large most women in kilts bring to it a costumey look-- I know that there are those who espouse a "contemporary" style for younger wearers of the kilt (male and female), but when paired with combat boots, goth makeup and a black tee shirt-- especially if the wearer is full-figured-- it just doesn't look right, because it isn't. The proof of that is that I have never heard a woman say that she wears a kilt because it flatters her figure. I have heard them ask, "does this make me look..."

Just as Gilbert and Sullivan looked askance at "The lady from the Provinces, Who dress like a guy" I am of a mind that more people look askance at women in men's highland attire than ever admire it.

[highlander_Daz]

Ladies if you want to wear the Kilt please do so !! you look great

[An t-Ileach]

My great-grandmother used to make kilts for all the family during the winter. For years my mother had one that she'd made for her (until the moths tracked it down and did for it). It was exactly like a man's kilt only the front panel was the other way round, if I remember rightly. It was slightly more hippy, and had a tighter waist, but it did cut her knee. I don't remember her wearing any belts or sporrans with it, though.

[Finn]

I worked a Utilikilts booth with two women who both pulled off the look beautifully.
In short, get something for yourself that best suits you- Traditional, contemporary, costumey, whatever. My Wife won't wear a kilt or kilted skirt, or something else, but that's her choice about what she thinks looks best.