Royal Regiment of Scotland

[Jock Scot]

Jock,

I have no doubt that what you say is true about what the average modern Scot considers a "real kilt." However, just because someone is born and raised in Scotland does not make them an expert on their own country's history. I'm afraid that all too often I have seen evidence that teh average Scot is just as ignorant of Scotland's history as the average American is ignorant of our history! So it's not just a Scottish problem. :-)

The only way to get people to be more aware of the history of the kilt is simply to point out errors where one sees them and make accurate information available.

So I would say that an tartan kilt, made from an average of eight yards of cloth and knife pleated is the most common and recognized form of kilt today, but we still must recognize that, historically, the kilt has been made from as little as three yards of cloth, can be either solid or tartan, and has been made with a variety of styles of pleating.

If more Scots would simply go to their own museums and take a close look at some of the kilts on display there, they might be more open to this fact!

Matt, in an ideal world you are of course right(again!). It may surprise you that on the whole Scots have no idea of kilt history, or care, and you really will have to consider that that is true.

So in this imperfect world most Scots have this idea of a REAL kilt being made of 8 yards of tartan wool, knife pleated anything else is not going to meet that perception.Anything else is for the tartan army to wear to a football match or compete in at a highland games. The military may be an exception, but I suspect though, most squaddies do not care how a kilt is made, or how it is pleated.