American tourists in Scotland

**Redshank** · 24th March 10, 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by seanachie

What would be the reaction to a nice kilt but box pleated instead of knife pleated? I can't think of a good analogy but, some people hate double breasted jackets and others really like them. I am just trying to understand the Scotch perspective. Is is "not my cup of tea" or a more visceral reaction? My knowledge is cursory but I have read a few threads which seem to point out there is great tradition to the box pleat.

What is the reaction to more modern kilts? I mean, there are some rather nice modern kilts that aren't tat. Using the example of the manual trades like brick layers and the like. I have seen some of these guys wearing kilts like Utilikilts and the like with boots. Given the nature of the work, it makes total sense to me. I don't percieve it as an insult to the wondrous craftsment of Scotland that make hand made, hand sewn kilts. But from a Scotch perspective might it be viewed that way?

Let me make clear I am interested in learning and have no formed opinions, just wanting to understand a different perspective.

I won't answer this question, not because I cant, but it's suffice to say anything other than the norm would raise a few eyebrows in the Highlands, I think it would be more accepted in the lowlands.

**Jock Scot** · 24th March 10, 08:14 AM

Originally Posted by seanachie

What would be the reaction to a nice kilt but box pleated instead of knife pleated? I can't think of a good analogy but, some people hate double breasted jackets and others really like them. I am just trying to understand the Scotch perspective. Is is "not my cup of tea" or a more visceral reaction? My knowledge is cursory but I have read a few threads which seem to point out there is great tradition to the box pleat.

What is the reaction to more modern kilts? I mean, there are some rather nice modern kilts that aren't tat. Using the example of the manual trades like brick layers and the like. I have seen some of these guys wearing kilts like Utilikilts and the like with boots. Given the nature of the work, it makes total sense to me. I don't percieve it as an insult to the wondrous craftsment of Scotland that make hand made, hand sewn kilts. But from a Scotch perspective might it be viewed that way?

Let me make clear I am interested in learning and have no formed opinions, just wanting to understand a different perspective.

I don't think Chris will mind me chipping in. Most Scots(99%) would not know a box pleat and would assume, if they even noticed, that it was some new fangled foreign interpretation of what a proper kilt should be. OK we on this site know better, but how many Scots are members here?

I have never yet seen any one in Scotland wear a "modern style" kilt, OK I accept that some do, Alex and P1M for example, but they are exceptions. I would doubt(OK prove me wrong?) if there is a builder in Scotland that wears the kilt of any sort to work. I personally would advise great care in where to wear a modern style of kilt in Scotland, in some places I can almost guarantee reactions ranging from robust ridicule to downright hostility.

**Zardoz** · 24th March 10, 08:51 AM

I promise if I visit Scotland I will wear my cowboy boots, hat and big @ss belt buckle! No chaps or spurs though, those are just for ridin'.

**Jock Scot** · 24th March 10, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by Zardoz

I promise if I visit Scotland I will wear my cowboy boots, hat and big @ss belt buckle! No chaps or spurs though, those are just for ridin'.

Joking apart, it has been known!

**Bugbear** · 24th March 10, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by Zardoz

I promise if I visit Scotland I will wear my cowboy boots, hat and big @ss belt buckle! No chaps or spurs though, those are just for ridin'.

Of late, I have mostly been wearing overalls and an old straw hat. I don't think I would wear that or Highland attire either if I visited Scotland, though.

**Frank McGrath** · 24th March 10, 09:11 AM

Thanks to all who have responded to my question.

**MacLowlife** · 24th March 10, 09:42 AM

Though he is in danger of having quotes attributed to him that he never even thought ( like Yogi Berra and Groucho) I have read that Ambrose Bierce ( now dead for nearly 100 years) said that the kilt was a garment sometimes worn by Scotsmen in America and by Americans in Scotland.

**Sir William** · 24th March 10, 09:46 AM

I'm getting the urge to wear a kilt with a cowboy hat and boots!

Both in Scotland and in Texas!

Wait a minute - I already did about two weeks ago. But it was for an impromptu party and we were supposed to dress silly. It was the best I could do from what I had in my suitcase. (I will say I saw very few Texans wearing boots or cowboy hats, just like I've seen very few Scots wear a kilt.)

Seriously though, beyond my clan gathering and the Gathering of the Clans in Edinburgh this last summer, I wore a kilt several other times while visiting Scotland and only received positive comments from the locals.

Some wanted to know what the occasion was and I just said I liked wearing a kilt and where better to wear one then in Scotland. I had a couple of people say how they wished more Scots would wear a kilt for other than weddings, funerals, and the like. I even got a free dram or two, much to my wife's surprise.

But like Jock has repeatedly said, Scots are too polite to publically object. I got the usual looks of curiousity, but no evil-eye stares, and for the most part I would say most Scots I encountered just ignored me (or perhaps didn't really care).

**Noel Christian Riddell** · 24th March 10, 09:54 AM

I guess I'm a staunch individualist in many ways -though I cannot help but roll my eyes at certain fashions (hip hop clothing makes me throw up in my mouth a bit, the local farmboy redneck 'uniform' frustrates me, neck tattoos? why not just wear a sandwich board which says TRASH?).

Somehow the kilt goes way deeper than fashion or fad. It's a family link. Clan or tribe -you can be whoever an whatever you want to be and yet you're always welcome as part of a large extended family.

But going back to the original question of how are kilted visitors viewed IN SCOTLAND, one must remember where the majority of the world's kiltmakers are located.
And the kilt is not like a piece of Waterford crystal or some Hopi pottery, you can put it on and wear it!

In Scotland or any other place, you're going to stand out in a kilt. Just be ready to back up your choice of clothing by either stating (1.) your clan affiliation or (2.) "I just like it and I don't care what anyone thinks!".

When I was in Scotland I only saw a few old men, a sports teams, pipers, and kiltmakers wearing kilts -and I was in numerous cities and towns. Next time I visit my family's home country I will definitely take my kilt -but I'll be in jeans most of the time (just like at home).

**escherblacksmith** · 24th March 10, 09:58 AM

I agree with the odd looks if you look odd. I remember going to Spain in March one year, it was -5 or so here (a really brisk end of February), and 50F there. So, I was walking around in a tank top and jeans. Add to the fact that I was 2-3" taller and a good 100# heavier than anyone we met (and a nearly 2' ponytail), I got lots of odd looks. One elderly woman in Toledo told my mother that she needed to get me some clothes before I froze to death. The second time I went (some years later), I wore a utilikilt for a good part of the trip. Oddly enough, it seemed to fit with the rest of me, so I actually caught less attention than the first time around.

Pretty funny stuff.

So, incongruity (whether with the surroundings, or with yourself) will be noticed. But, with the right non-belligerent attitude, everything works out fine.