Kilts just for Scotsmen

[Nick the DSM]

It is my understanding that the kilt has always been worn in all seven of the Celtic nations (Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Mann, Brittany, and Galicia) to some degree.

Not to pick a fight, but I think that's not correct.


Actually, many think that kilts should only be worn by Scotsmen. They're out there and their is nothing you can do about it. Just wear it and know what you are wearing. If you like it, you like it. Why wear something you detest? That's why I got rid of all my polo shirts. Don't like 'em.

Carry on.

[Spartan Tartan]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. That includes YOU. If you believe the kilt is appropriate for you, then you are just as correct as the person that thinks otherwise.

[Dale Seago]

It is my understanding that the kilt has always been worn in all seven of the Celtic nations (Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Mann, Brittany, and Galicia) to some degree.

Well, no, not perzackly. The kilt itself is -- originally -- a specifically Scottish thing, deriving from the "belted plaid" which was adapted from the even earlier Irish brat.

However, many have since adopted the kilt as an expression of a sort of "generic Celtitude".

And I applaud them for that!

Having said that, however, I also feel compelled to state that the only reason anyone really needs to justify wearing the kilt is that they freakin' LIKE it and think it's cool.

[EagleJCS]

...
Another person answer him as follows

"The kilt was banned in Scotland along with bagpipes and weaponry (which was as much a normal part of highland dress as tartan) as it was an integral part of the warrior class of the Scottish highlands. I think any HEMA group that practices Scottish fighting traditions should at very least experience wearing the kilt if not make it part of uniform"

...

I wanted to ask to the experts (Xmarks-community) if these affirmations are correct, I want to know your opinion, because if the first statement is correct, I dont want to disrespect anyone at the forum being half Mexican half Spanish wearing a kilt.|

The pipes were never a part of the Act of Proscription 1746. (Look it up.) They were once judged 'an instrument of war' by a single English court (not Parliament) as reason to condemn a piper who was at the Battle of Culloden. (This can also be fairly easily found.)

[GM445]

as many have said alot of us have scots blood, but I for one won't gripe about anyone else wearing the kilt.

[Steve Ashton]

One thread that may assist you with an answer to your question is this-

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=68828

There are 12 pages of responses to the thread that may give you a pretty good answer and explanation about how this forum views the kilt.

[MacSpadger]

It is my understanding that the kilt has always been worn in all seven of the Celtic nations (Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Mann, Brittany, and Galicia) to some degree.

No, this is a modern phenomenon, and I mean a REALLY modern modern phenomenon, I'm speaking in the last 20 years or so. And it's not really 100% applicable. I have been to all the places you list, some for long periods, (5+ years in Ireland, over 30 in Scotland, and I'm being kind to myself there ), others for shorter, (a year in Cardiff, around 20 months in Cornwall, yearly music festivals in Brittany and Galicia where I participate) and can say that, apart from actually being in Scotland, or seeing Scottish style pipe bands outside of Scotland, (even the pipers in Brittany and Galicia wear trousers), I have not seen any kilt wearers. It seems to be another one of those "Diaspora" type things.

Omar, Dale Seago has it exactly right. There are Scots who feel that way about their national dress, very protective. There are also Scots who really couldn't give a toss about who wears what. By asking here you are only going to get a number of opinions from, (usually) non-Scots who like to wear the kilt, so it will probably be in favour. Ask the same thing in Scotland and you will get a more mixed response.

To you, Omar, I'd say wear what you like, but just don't expect everyone to agree with it.
It is a national dress to some Scots, and it was once a symbol that was recognised worldwide as originating from Scotland, but, as I've said before, that culture is being rapidly eroded now. A kilt doesn't mean a Scotsman anymore. We are a very small country with, for varying reasons, a culture attractive to many and there seems to be a pick'n'mix attitude to people lifting aspects of it. Personally I find it sad, but there's not much I can do about it.

Funnily enough, some of the most vicious posts I have seen on the likes of Youtube saying that non-Scots should not wear the kilt have come from non-Scots. It's a funny auld world richt' eno'.

From my time on here. I do think that wearing a kilt DOES mean something different to most Scots than it does to non_Scots, (and, to clarify, by a Scot I mean someone born and raised in Scotland. One of the most confusing things on this forum to me is people saying they are Scots or Irish when they are actually not born there. Scots heritage/ancestry or Irish heritage/ancestry I understand completely, but geography and cultural background do shape people differently).

The only other thing I'd add is that the Act of Proscription banned weapons and Highland clothing, there was NEVER any ban on bagpipes. Piping and indeed colleges of piping continued after the ’45, such as the one run by the Rankines in Mull and the MacCrimmon's school in Skye. Piping declined for a while due to lack of patronage and depopulation.
Much attention is focused on the hapless Jamie Reid, who was hung. It's true he was piping for the Jacobite army, but he was hung for being a rebel, not a piper. In the aftermath of the '45, a total of 5 pipers, including Reid, were tried for rebellion. Reid was executed, another who pled guilty was transported, two were pardoned and the records for the 5th have apparently been lost.
Reid was from Forfar in Angus, deep in the Lowlands. He was not a Highlanders and it's fairly likely he would have played the bellows pipes, not a Highland pipe.
Far more Whig/Loyalist Clans (and their pipers) than Jacobite were actually involved in the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. Many of the pipe tunes we play today are taken from sources linked to Loyalist pipers of Loyalist clans, such as the MacCrimmons. Many of their names have been lost, but in the listings for Lord Louden's regiment alone we have Alexander Fraser, John Campbell of Inverary, Hugh MacDonald, Kenneth MacKenzie of Lochcarron, (issued with Pipe Flag), Hector Munro, Hector MacLean of Lairg, John MacKinnon, James Robertson, Colin Campbell, John MacLeod, John "McIlrodich" (Macghileroderick, piper to Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochnell), Donald Ban MacCrimmon, (killed Rout of Moy, 17th Feb '46), Nilles MacCartan, (Neil MacArthur), Finlay Fergusson of Tarbert, Duncan MacFarlane of Farquar, Dunbartonshire, and about as many again who are unnamed, including one who "Joined Rebels" and 2 "captured Prestonpans, 21 Sept '45).

I think that the romance of the 'rebel piper' has a lot to do with the perpetuation of the "outlaw" or "banned bagpipe" stereotype as well, but records seem to show that the bagpipe was firmly established in the Highland divisions of the British Army by the 1740's at least.

That's it for me, I'm off to Rothesay for the Bute Highland Games.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I will add my agreement to the above comments that the kilt has NOT historically been worn as a "pan-celtic" garment. This is a VERY recent trend, and one, as MacSpadger says, that is only really practiced among a certain subset of the diaspora. The kilt, in its origin and development, is a distinctly Scottish tradition.

Now, does this mean one must be Scottish to wear it? Of course not. But this is an opinion some will have. You will encounter those who think the kilt should only be worn by people of Scottish blood or Scottish heritage. The problem then is how does one define that? Is having a Scottish surname enough? What about being half Scottish? Or a quarter Scottish? Or is being one eighth Scottish enough? How about if your parents were immigrants? What if your great-great grandparents were the immigrants? Does that qualify you?

Others think that the kilt should only be worn by navite Scots (those born and reared in Scotland) saying those born in other parts of the world don't qualify. Still others are even more restrictive claiming only Scots can wear the kilt in Scotland, but never outside of Scotland. And still others say the kilt should only be worn in the Highlands. So there you are.

However, if any of this were actually the case, the tartan mills and kiltmakers, not to mention sporran makers, hose manufacturers, and sgian dubh makers, etc., would have shut their doors long ago. A great amount of their business, as you can imagine, is selling to people in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and even more exotic locales such as Japan.

And if one takes the time to examine these "kilt wearing Americans" a bit, sure one will find those with no real connection to Scotland at all who think that a cheap acrylic kilt is a fun thing to strap on and go to the pub in. But one will also find those who wear the kilt because their father wore the kilt, and their grandfather wore the kilt, and their great-grandfather wore the kilt, and what is that but a continuing tradition? (And you are just as likely to find both of these types of kilt wearers in Scotland, as well, mind you).

Really it boils down to this. Since when has one had to "qualify" to wear an article of clothing? The only restrictions on wearing clothing I can think of have to do with uniforms (i.e. don't dress like a police officer). And the kilt -- even though it has been proudly worn by many military regiments -- is civilian attire. So long as you are wearing it as civilian attire, who is to say you can or cannot wear it? Who can look at you and tell whether you have "Scottish DNA" or not? Who can look at you and tell what the kilt means to you, or how much respect you have for it in your heart?

Put simply, if you want to wear the kilt, and feel comfortable doing so, please do. Whatever reasons you have are your own.

It is nice, of course, to respect the Scottish origins of the kilt, to be aware of the traditions that have grown up around its wearing. Most kilt wearers do this, whether they are Scottish themselves or not. But in the end, it's a piece of clothing, and there needs to be room for individual taste and style.

I will end by quoting one of my favorite lines from a Highland dress manual from over 100 years ago.

"The Highland dress is essentially a 'free' dress -- that is to say, a man's taste and circumstances must alone be permitted to decide when and where and how he should wear it... I presume to dictate to no man what he shall eat or drink or wherewithal he shall be clothed." -- The Hon. Stuart Ruaidri Erskine, The Kilt & How to Wear It, 1901.

[Mikilt]

"Badge", I say.
"If you are the kilt police, I'd like to see a badge."

This is my usual response to people who say absurd things like there are only certain cultures and occasions when the kilt should be worn. Wear it with pride.

[Joe I]

I have been all over the internet looking for the answer to this Omar. The Egyptions wore a kilt like peice of clothing in the paintings in the Pyramids, the Vikings also wore a kilt like belted tunic when the invaded Scotland. The Romans wore belted tunics and consider pants to be the garb of barbarians.

This sad little lizard told me that he was a brontosaurus on his mother's side. I did not laugh; people who boast of ancestry often have little else to sustain them. Humoring them costs nothing and adds to happiness in a world in which happiness is always in short supply. -