Why should I wear a kilt?

[Tobus]

Another great post.

I'm glad you brought up the point about letting your "stuff" be free. I agree that a kilt can implement it, but this leads me to my next question; say you're young, you have very judgmental friends (which, they're not true friends if they are judgmental) and they make fun of you. What if you have low self esteem and you can't handle that?

Well I don't know what to tell you. If you have self-esteem issues, then by all means, keep conforming to what everyone else does. There is no getting around the fact that wearing a kilt takes a certain amount of self-confidence. If your self-image is dependent upon what others think, then your kilt-wearing experience will only be a mirror of their opinions.

If you think you want to wear the kilt, but are just not confident enough to do it alone, then try to find some folks who wear kilts on a regular basis and hang out with them. Surely you could find some contacts on this board (heck, you know the owner already!) and go out on the town with them, kilted. That way, your self-esteem issues aren't as much of a problem, since you're among fellow kilties. Of course, if you do want to start wearing the kilt in your everyday normal life, you will at some point have to transition it in with your friends. But if they're any type of friends, they'll give you only light teasing and eventually accept it. If they don't, then I'd ditch them and find new friends.

Life is too short to let the opinions of others dictate how you live your life. Especially when those "others" are mean, judgmental, and generally unpleasant.

For the reason of letting my "piece" be free, I would wear a kilt. But you also don't have to wear any underwear if you really would like it to be free. Because even with a kilt, you have to wear some sort of boxer, brief, etc, to keep it together.

What do you say about that?

I'm not exactly sure what you were trying to say there, but let me go over it one more time.

With pants, even if you choose to go "commando" (i.e. sans undergarments), there is still a lot of material that constricts your anatomy, especially when you sit down, bend over, etc. A lot of guys choose to wear boxer shorts and baggy pants, but there's still a bit of a problem. Any bifurcated garment is going to have that issue unless it's MC Hammer pants with the crotch down by your knees.

With a kilt, though, there is no seam, nothing between your legs. And of course, a lot of people (I'd even say most people) wear the kilt without any undergarments at all. As others have mentioned, that is the traditional way of wearing a kilt and was even enforced in military regiments. It is very comfortable once you're used to the feeling of your 'undercarriage' not being bound up.

[Detroitpete]

Why do I wear a kilt?

1) Because I want to.

2) Because I can.

Because I'm old enough to let #1 speak for itself.

As far as why I would want to...
Each has their own reasons. Think about yours.

[Frank McGrath]

1. Chick Magnet
2. More comfortable than pants.
3. Chick Magnet
4. Free drinks in the right barrs.
5. Chick Magnet.
6. Conversation starter.
7. Did I mention Chick Magnet?
8. And my wife likes it.
9. I have finally learned to color coordinate my clothes.
10. Oh, yeah! Chick magnet.
11. Cultural Heritage.

[Jerry]

Why not? It's only an article of masculine clothing. Other than that, my reasons are:
1 It is a part of my ancestral heritage, although I'd wear one even if my ancestors were from some other area
2 It is very comfortable, and better for the male anatomy than pants.
3 Women do tend to pay a lot more attention to an arthritic old fart in a kilt than they would if I were walking around in jeans, shorts, or even a suit.
4 Lastly, because I want to.

[wildrover]

I wear it because I can.

If you're not sure if you should or could wear a kilt, then you're not yet ready to wear one.

Zardoz, the girl in the chainmail bikini...is she single?

KiltedNewbie, I'm inclined to say you've stumbled upon a modern society of hypermasculine freeballers...but that really sells a kilt short. They are very comfortable, and they look really good...with a t-shirt, or a suit jacket.

What it really comes down to, tho, like in every other situation, is the person wearing the kilt, not the garment itself. You'll know when you're ready to kilt up, and you'll know why, and it might be similar reasons to what people have already said, or something completely different.

I got a kilt to wear because traditional dress is required for some (most) piping competitions, and I will certainly be kilted at auxiliary functions, and wanted to wear my family tartan. Since receiving my kilt, I've found it's so comfortable I want to wear it all the time, as an article of clothing rather than any sort of uniform or costume...tho it's not always appropriate in every setting.

I suppose you might say I accidentally stumbled in to wearing a kilt, then realized how much I like it.

-Sean

[McNulty]

I wear one to show my pride in my National Heritage (Irish/Scottish) and when worn to school to show cultural diversity. Plus it is a great garment for hiking and outdoor endeavors. And more importantly because I can and I like to wear the kilt.
Nulty

[Jock Scot]

I have been reading the replies with interest and apart from agreeing wholeheartedly that the ladies do like a man in the kilt,I can honestly say that if I were not a Scot I would not wear the kilt. An academic answer I know, but honest------I think.

[Zardoz]

Zardoz, the girl in the chainmail bikini...is she single?

-Sean

Negative! Cassidy is engaged to a nice guy about half my age in Austin.

Merry Christmas !

[Zardoz]

1. Chick Magnet
2. More comfortable than pants.
3. Chick Magnet
4. Free drinks in the right bars.
5. Chick Magnet.
6. Conversation starter.
7. Did I mention Chick Magnet?
8. And my wife likes it.
9. I have finally learned to color coordinate my clothes.
10. Oh, yeah! Chick magnet.
11. Cultural Heritage.

Best summary so far!

[MrLion]

The kilt is the national attire of Scotland and therefore something worn by some who live there, some who claim heritage from there and some who have a strong affinity for Scottish culture (that affinity can come from myriad reasons, I suppose).

The kilt is also a very versatile, unique, beautiful and adaptable article of clothing.

Some may have other reasons, but I think that most reasons can be boiled down to one of the other or a blend of both of the above.

In my case, I have always been drawn to Scottish culture, beginning at a young age, because of my fascination with our family genealogy. There are many threads in it, but the Scottish threads have always been the ones that caught my eye. Why? I can't tell you... but I can say that this goes back as far as I remember.

It took many years before I met two preconditions necessary for me to take to kilts: the first was gaining the self-confidence and peace of mind (age has some advantages) that allowed me to pursue my interest without caring much, in a general way, for the reactions and/or attention kilt-wearing might bring. The second condition was purely financial; I was not all that interested in anything but a traditional garment, worn traditionally since my interest was springing primarily from my interest in Scottish culture and tradition. That meant that it was going to cost some serious money. It was not until after I owned my first kilt, that I discovered how much the second reason would mean to me. I find the kilt to be an amazingly well-engineered, adaptable garment (of course it is, it came from Scotand!! ) that is as comfortable to wear as it is beautiful. I started down the road for reason number one, went further down the road for reason two and have become a regular kilt-wearer for a blend of the two.

Best I can do, I'm afraid, to pin it down.

This fits my feelings about the kilt well. Thanks for putting it in writing.
Good thread overall, too.