Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the Kilt isn't 'just clothes'.

[CDNSushi]

As we see it, why dress up as a Scot---play being a Scot---when you are not?

Like everything, I suppose there are many ways to look at something. That is certainly one way. A Scot may look out and see foreigners who are playing at being Scots, but I guess I don't see that, necessarily. I think I see it from another angle.

First, the Scottish diaspora has made it so that Scots have not only settled into all the corners of the earth, but they've integrated their culture (which includes the national dress) in with the local culture to the point that it holds the same status. In Canada, I grew up around enough pipe bands and events where kilt-wearing were both represented not as Scottish, but as CANADIAN! When I attended a parade, it never crossed my mind that the pipe band might be Scottish, or imported from Scotland. No, it was a Canadian pipe band at a Canadian parade. When I saw a funeral with a piper, I never assumed that it must have been a Scot that died, but much more likely, an important Canadian... So as far as that goes, for me the kilt represents a Canadian garment as much as it does a Scottish one, so if someone were to ask me: "Why don't you represent your own proud nation?" I feel that I could reply: "I am!"

The best analogy I can give is kind of like when I see a Honda Civic or an Acura, I don't see an import... I see a domestic model, as it was assembled in Canada, by the Canadian manufacturing division of Honda, for use in Canada by Canadians.

Second, as far as cultural identity (and the clothing/national costume thereof), let me just say that if my own heritage (Czech) had a kilt-like garment, I would probably be all over it. I see my own kilt-wearing as a fashion choice and comfort issue, which I am glad to borrow from the Scots. Just like the Japanese know a good thing when they see it, this is the land of misappropriated cultural elements. The Japanese have become experts at taking all the best of what each country and culture has to offer, and make it uniquely Japanese, to the point of unrecognizability from the original. Japanese curry is nothing like Indian curry, Japanese kimchi is nothing like Korean kimchi, and J-pop music is nothing like American pop music... And yet, they happily took what they thought was something worthwhile. In the same light, I've also taken the sarong from the Sri Lankans, the Dhoti from the Indians and the kikoi from the Kenyans.

I am not ashamed of being Canadian, nor of being Czech... But rather, I don't feel that I should put on cultural blinders. When you come to my house for a BBQ, you'll probably see me in traditional Japanese garb. Why? Why not Canadian or Czech garb? Because I wear what makes me comfortable and what I think looks good, and what serves the function I'm looking for which I think is very different from the "I wear what I like" attitude. To me that would imply a lack of good reason...

So for any Scot who would look at me and assume that I were wearing his country's national costume because I wanted to pretend to be Scottish, he would be dead wrong, and I would encourage such a person to consider some other possible reasons behind it. ith:

[Coastie]

In Canada, I grew up around enough pipe bands and events where kilt-wearing were both represented not as Scottish, but as CANADIAN! When I attended a parade, it never crossed my mind that the pipe band might be Scottish, or imported from Scotland.

I had heard the pipes a time or two growing up but my first experience with an actual in person piper was the piper for a unit from the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery that came down with his unit to train with the 82nd Airborne Artillery. Seeing them marching down Gruber (a road at Fort Bragg) with a piper leading the way was one of the coolest things I saw while in the Army.

[DubintheDam]

If you spend your summer holiday in the West of Ireland and frequent a local pub with session music on the go, you will find the band is usually made-up of a few Germans, a couple of Irishmen and Englishman.

Irish traditional music today is better than it has ever been due to this cultural mixing bowl, the Trans-Altantic sessions (both Irish and Scottish) recordings are a prime example as are their corresponding sales. Folk music is not and has never been rooted in ye ol' traditions but has always evolved with people and times.

Although Scottish music has it's own distinct style, many are in fact revived songs that have been preserved in Ireland only to return home so to speak. I like to think that the Irish kept the music alive while the Scots kept the dress alive.

The habit of kilt wearing in 'modern' times as most of us know is in large part due to the love of the Highlands as embodied by Queen Victoria (English/German) and the ensuing Victorian revival in all things Highland.

National traditions today extend far beyond borders and birthplace. Just as levels of individual expression play a more important part in all societies, so is it that costumes become a greater resource for making an individual statement and/or style. The modern fashion kilt of the recent decade is here to stay, wear it because you gay or you're a punk or just like to be different, it doesn't really matter.

Are we to say only Irish people can play Irish music, or only black people can play Jazz, or only Italians can eat pasta and drive Vespa's!

To be a Scot and say, "the kilt is only for Scots" is frankly unpatriotic.
For a Scot to say, "look at how the kilt is worn today and has increased in popularity around the world" is to be proud of this Scottish tradition.

Nothing in this world can be 'owned' and everything can be shared.