I know it has already been mentioned, but I think the distinction between 1) the tartan as a sign of affiliation and 2) wearing a tartan KILT should not be overlooked. If you wander around the world, or the worldwide web, you will see plenty of offerings in tartan specifically intended to signify affiliation that do not really have much to do with kilt wearing. (ribbons, bar napkins, shirts, trousers, dinner jackets, etc.) Obviously, people do buy those items and wear or use them specifically to show some connection, usually to a clan, but also to a district, county, branch of service, etc. Others just like the color.

Something that I have to remind myself of is that this site is for kilt wearers. We are already a special group, in whatever sense you choose to define "special". We have already cleaved to the kilt, which makes us different from a large number of people- in fact, we have not merely cleaved to the kilt, we have chosen to read and discuss kilt topics.

I will admit now that I also wear trousers from time to time ( sad to admit, more often than the Kilt), but I do not think I remember having visited a single trouser discussion site. I would imagine your own experience is at least similar, regardless of how often you wear p*nts. SO, we have to acknowledge the iconic aspects of the kilt. I expect those aspects will only be exaggerated over the coming years.

You don't have to be thin to wear lycra, as a trip to the seashore or the wholesale club will show you. More and more people are turning to knitted garments because they are cheaper to make and will "fit" more people. Lycra wearing in 2010, as opposed to 1910, for example, shows an exponential increase. When those theoretical people Jock has conjured up get onto the bus ( STILL no Jet Paks, sorry...) their kilts will be brushing up against a forest of lycra-clad legs, tummies and woefully unattractive backsides. If I am wrong, you are welcome to dig me up and sue me.

But, despite the subtle evolution of the outside world's mistaken choice of bifurcated dress, the kilt will continue to evoke tradition and Scotland and individualism. And I predict that the majority of the people who chose to wear it will do so with an eye towards Scotland, even if it is sometimes a winking eye. Whether they hold to the Highlander's devotion to a single tartan or the Mod American's credo of Anything Goes remains to be seen, but chances are, they will still have to answer The Question from time to time.