The Kilt and Anxiety

[EagleJCS]

The only person who did make a nice comment, was an American tourist guy from Kentucky about in his 50's, while I was paying the bill in the cafe after lunch. He said he had been here almost a week and I was the first kilt he had seen. He asked was I on holiday and I said no, we live here. So chatted for a few minutes and he said they were going to Orkney next. I said you won't see any kilts over there, they are all Vikings. He laughed and said have a nice day. (do you guys over the pond still say that ) and off he went and looked like he was happy to actually see a kilt in Scotland.

Well, we do here in Kentucky! (And no, I have no idea who you could have met - it may seem like a small place, and people are fairly friendly - most of the time - but there's a little over 4 million people living in the Commonwealth.)

I also have a couple of social phobias (phoning someone I've never met or spoken to before is the really problematic one). I've pretty well gotten over worrying about what people think about what I'm wearing. It seems like half the time I go out somewhere, I'm either wearing my Scout uniform or my pipe band uniform. I don't wear my personal kilt very often, but that's just because I usually prefer to wear it for special occasions.

[Korvyn]

I have social anxiety disorder and some days even going to the store is a big thing for me. With the kilt i did things in baby steps. at first it was around the house and the yard. I took the girls out to the park at the school a couple blocks away. My firwst real outing in it was with my fther in law at a golf course on a very unbusy day. now i treat it just like i was wearing anything else. Probably the biggest thing for me is to go with people that don't care if you wear it. That helped me alot

[O'Callaghan]

I started out quite confident, but became less so because my wife doesn't believe I should wear a kilt except at home or at a celtic event, plus my daughter won't be seen with me if I wear a kilt at any other time, so generally I don't.

[piperdbh]

He laughed and said have a nice day. (do you guys over the pond still say that ) and off he went and looked like he was happy to actually see a kilt in Scotland.

We say it every now and again. We also say, "Come back and see us again," "Keep the rubber side down," and my favorite, "See you next time."

Is it not a common expression in your corner of the world?

[chrisupyonder]

We say it every now and again. We also say, "Come back and see us again," "Keep the rubber side down," and my favorite, "See you next time."

Is it not a common expression in your corner of the world?

No. never heard it except on TV. Our usual departing words are "See ya now" or "See ya later" or if some one just says "Bye" the other will return with (sounds like "eye, eye") with the first "eye" at a slightly higher tone than the second. This may be just Caithness and not general in Scotland. We're a funny lot up ere!

Chris.

[Droid]

I say all the time, especially to my fiance, that I wish I could go kilted all the time. Why don't I? Well, one reason is my job, it would not be feasible to wear a kilt to work... and the other reason is basically I'm not in the habit of doing so. Like I mentioned before, I only own one kilt right now. I'm sure having more than one would lend itself to me kilting up more often.

The more I read this thread the more I realize there are a bunch of us that love being in a kilt but feel a little apprehensive just before getting dressed. Is that due to tradition? For me, probably it is. I'm sure the more I do it, the more comfortable I'll get. Wearing a kilt is just to comfortable to not do it more often.

[mookien]

piperdbh: Where I hail from, a good bit south of NC, those three expressions are generally rendered as ...

Ya'll come, hyea ("hyea" being a contraction of "you hear?").

Don' let your meat loaf (having something to do with an old rock star, I think).

Catch ya later (to which the recipient usually replies, "not if I see ya fust").

Have a nice day.

mookien (John)

[chrisupyonder]

I think a lot of anxiety is alleviated if you have the support of your family and/or close friends.
Like most of us, I purchased white hose with my first kilt because I did not know any better. But the first time I wore it all, my wife (Veronica) said "the white socks are no good" and next time we went into town, she bought me a lovat blue pair. Such good taste she has! We have been married for 42 years.
She has recently had operations on both eyes for cataracts (she was almost blind the last 2 years) so now she can see me in great detail and make sure I am dressed correctly ith:



It was not any special occasion, I was just trying on my new argyll jacket etc. Her teeshirt is the group "Take That". She is a fan.

Chris.

[Calico]

Before I got my 1st kilt I was very worried about how much "nerve" I would need to work up to actually wear it.

One thing I did was buy the best I could get, first, so I wouldn't have any issues about sub-par clothing. Then I spent four months jonesing and reading everything on this forum.

By the time I had a kilt outfit to wear, there wasn't much anxiety at all. I knew I wouldn't actually look foolish, I knew some of the better answers to "the question" and my wife really likes it.

Since all I get are compliments when wearing it (other than co-workers who feel a need to make remarks simply because they are co-workers - it feels like high school here sometimes ) there is very little anxiety before putting it on.

Honestly, though... I'm not sure my wife will ever let me wear it somewhere when she won't be along. She likes the comments I get, too. But her arm tightens around mine. "this one is mine, get your own!"

[dutchy kilted]

If your wife is supportive of you wearing a kilt, give her your house keys, throw a kilt on, run out the door, and have you wife lock the door behind you.

Seriously, I think most of us have gone through some anxiety the first times we have gone kilted. I found that wearing mine to Ren Faires, Celtic Festivals, etc, where there were lots of other kilties made the transition easier.