Well, there are like 5 million people in the 'greater Houston' metropolitan area, so I think it would be a little hard to nail down a "generally held notion" for all of them. But I guess it depends on your 'range'....
I'll say that at the stores, pubs, resturants, etc. that I go to regularly, "they" think it's just fine, and indeed at some of those places I'm likely to run into a kilted friend or two as well.
But I don't just go to my local, I've worn a kilt, at the appropriate level of dress, to all kinds of places/events etc.. and I can count on one hand the number of really negative remarks I've heard. As I said, I know several local kilt wearing guys, a couple I've not seen in trousers, and I don't think any of them have ever spoken to me about any problems either.
Truth be told, I just don't think or care about what "they" think. "They" could saw 'nice kilt' to my face and think I'm crazy and silly looking. Really, they could say 'you're crazy and silly looking' to my face and I wouldn't care. I think most people I see look like they dressed in the dark anyway.