In a perfect world...

[Roderick]

It'd be nice if it was more commonplace, but I have to confess that I enjoy the compliments and attention from random chicks on the Stanley Park seawall...

[kiltedsawyer]

Darn!

Based on the title I thought this was another thread about gin!

sigh
:ootd:

Jamie, now I like you.

But as to the central theme of this thread, I say thank you CDNSushi, (and Guiness,) quite thought provoking indeed. I do enjoy the attention, but as a occasional kiltie I do wish kilts were more widely accepted. How ironic that the most masculine of garments is connected with feminist traits by the ignorant masses. (Living in Georgia, I know ignorant masses.) My perfect world would accept all forms of dress,............except the vulgar, (like jeans worn below the butt.)............ So there is no perfect world, unless we are willing to accept everything we find unacceptable.

Respectfully,
David

[CDNSushi]

Wow! I go to bed to sleep off last night's revelry and come back to 3 pages of postings. Crazy stuff!

Looking back on what I wrote and what people have answered is indeed interesting to me. I left it open in my original post and didn't offer my own take on whether I enjoyed being in the spotlight or not.

Fame is a funny thing. It's one of those things that are cool when you think about, and figure, "Man, it'd be nice to be famous." But the reality of it is far different. Until I got transferred to a college, I used to teach English in the city's elementary schools. 12 of them to be exact. I was a traveling roadshow and the kids saw me every two months for an hour of fun English games, songs, and whatnot. Needless to say, that made me very well known and popular in this city of 200,000 people. It's no small thing to teach 4,000 kids. When you go out shopping or to a restaurant, it's not unusual to run into your students and have them notice you. I didn't exactly LIKE being noticed all the time, but I tolerated it. What really just about made my head explode was when one day I walked into a McDonalds to grab a quick lunch. The restaurant was pretty full, mostly with my students. I got the shock of my life when every single eye in the room focused on me in the entrance, and with one mighty shout that shook the building, they all blurted out, essentially in unison: "JIM-SENSEI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The whole friggin' restaurant. It was so disconcerting, I seriously had to turn 180, and leave as quickly as I could. It was just way too much for me to handle.

Therefore, in my own poll, I also chose a happy medium. It feels nice to be noticed. It makes you feel good when people comment on something you take pride in wearing and an outfit you put together... I enjoy telling people about the tartan I'm wearing, its history and some cool facts about it. Ever the teacher, I like telling stories and educating others about things they may have never seen or experienced before. Yet, it has its limits, and I often like to go about my business without having to worry about what the next person will say or think, and whether I'm going to have to stop and take time from my itinerary to talk to him -- even if it's 100% positive.

With apologies to Panache for not starting another gin thread, I must say that I appreciate everyone's responses thus far and into helping me see what makes you 'tick'.

Jim

[DTrain]

I guess to a large degree it depends on what type of attention you attract the most. If it is favorable comments from the ladies, I am in favor of being noticed. If it is snide jeers from other peers, I prefer to blend in.

Usually kilt wearing attracts some of both, and I've learned to take the good with the bad. Most of the time you can't put too much stock in excess criticism OR praise, and following that idea has kept me on a fairly even keel.

[Riverkilt]

No one seems to notice or care if a woman is wearing pants, dress, or skirt - even a pleated tartan skirt. They have the freedom to choose.

My hope is that it will some day be the same for men in the World outside Scottish themed events.

I know sometimes it feels good just to wear jeans and blend in without the silly questions. I'd like to be able to be kilted and not expect all the comments.

Probably not before I die, but some day, maybe men will be accepted in kilts in the day-to-day world.

Ron

[TheBlueCow]

I have been wearing shirts with funny or "witty"/creative sayings on them since high school. I choose sayings I like, not really intending to get a reaction out of them, but if someone notices them and likes it and points it out to me, I'm happy with that too. It's nice to get noticed in a positive way every once in awhile. The default t-shirt I wear with my Utilikilts is a shirt that says "POOP" on it. More times than not, I have been told by people that they love the shirt... and they don't even mention the kilt. I think that's kind of funny, but I don't think most people notice the kilt because I've been told by others that they even almost didn't notice it because UK's look so much like shorts. Anyways, my point is that it is nice to be noticed in a positive way every once in a while, but not in a way that someone makes a big deal out of it. And I don't care if it's the shirt or the kilt or the Vibram FiveFingers, or whatever random thing someone notices about me. I think almost everyone likes at least a little positive attention on occasion, but not as an overly frequent occurrence in their daily lives (though there are certainly exceptions to that on both sides of the spectrum).

While I certainly don't see why any one wouldn't want to wear one, I can tell you that I desire a society where the kilt isn't a bad thing anywhere. ...

... What I don't want is a society that praises you for your bravery to wear one.

... It feels nice to be noticed. It makes you feel good when people comment on something you take pride in wearing and an outfit you put together ...

... Yet, it has its limits, and I often like to go about my business without having to worry about what the next person will say or think, and whether I'm going to have to stop and take time from my itinerary to talk to him -- even if it's 100% positive ...

No one seems to notice or care if a woman is wearing pants, dress, or skirt - even a pleated tartan skirt. They have the freedom to choose.

My hope is that it will some day be the same for men in the World outside Scottish themed events.

I know sometimes it feels good just to wear jeans and blend in without the silly questions. I'd like to be able to be kilted and not expect all the comments.

Probably not before I die, but some day, maybe men will be accepted in kilts in the day-to-day world.

Ron

I would certainly like the kilt to be commonplace enough that it didn't make the person wearing it the "odd man out" by default, but I don't care for the entire male population wearing it either; to each their own (I know it sounds like heresy but I think pants have their place and usefulness at times, and not just as camouflage for "fitting in").

I also desire the equality in freedom of clothing choice that women already enjoy (or rather, for that freedom to be widely accepted/realized by society, since all of us on this board have already exhibited our freedom by wearing kilts).

I realize that wide acceptance of unbifurcated garments means I probably wouldn't hear the compliments as often, but it also means the negative comments would almost disappear.

[slohairt]

I voted for "happy medium". The positive attention can be nice as others will feel inclined to talk to you at social events. But you also have to take lumps with your gravy sometimes!

[Rex_Tremende]

I voted for "No one would look at me twice..." but in my mind I substituted "for wearing a kilt" rather than "when I wore my kilt."

I don't mind compliments, but when someone would say "Nice kilt," I'd rather it be because it was a nice kilt, not because they noticed I was wearing one and not trousers.

I try to dress well at the office, and I'm often called out for it. No one says, "Hey, look! You're in a suit!" They say, "Nice suit!"

Is this the same thing as a happy medium? I saw it differently.

Regards,
Rex.

[george7]

I think if you play bagpipes and don't expect to be the center of attention in a kilt... you don't live near other people.

[McMurdo]

Interesting idea for a thread, I think for myself I've hit that happy medium, as a daily kilt wearer, the people I know have come to expect it. They know that this is how I choose to dress. My friends love it and some have borrowed my kilts and are now waiting on their own. Getting attention for wearing a kilt is of course two sided. I love the compliments, and they happen often, but from time to time there are those who for whatever reason think they have the right to dictate what I wear, at times dealing with this type can be challenging. I have found however that the more I wear the kilt the more complimentary comments I get, the rude ones really are few and far between. So yes I'd have to say a middle ground is perfect. One thing that has helped me get to this point is this, when you wear your kilt try to set forth a positive image be neat and wear it like it's a normal part of your life, most people pick up on that and they will not question you at all.