Two years back I was planning to teach a course built entirely around Macbeth - the historical record, Shakespeare's play, and the many adaptations -and bought enough "MacBeth modern" tartan to make a great kilt, to talk about what might have been worn in Scotland c.1605, and whether Shakespeare (or indeed King James) would have known about this.

I then became Interim Chair of yet another department, not my own, and was unable to teach the course; a colleague got to do it instead. I was scheduled to teach it this year, and again was made Interim Chair; yet another colleague got the course. Is this my version of the curse of the play-that-must-not-be-named?

In any case, I had John/Slohairt of Keltoi turn that tartan into a splendid military box-pleated kilt. I wore it to work today - not the first outing for this kilt, but the first that was not a special occasion - and the reactions were great. My favorite:

A woman walked out of an office as I passed, saying "a man in a kilt," and from behind her I heard another woman call out, "must be Garrett; he does that." She then exclaimed: "but he is looking particularly resplendant today." And then, like a couple of others, she just had to check out the pleats. In detail.

The pleats are well worthy of checking out, both for the fine work and for the effect. Having the kilt pleated to the stripe, in the narrow box pleat, means that the back (mostly red) and front (dominant blue) almost look like different tartans ... until those pleats start moving, and the blue shines out.

It certainly does not "Hang loose about [me], like a giant's robe / upon a dwarfish thief" (Macbeth 5.2), but fits beautifully.

Sorry, no pictures yet (I know, I know ... but I don't exactly have photographers following me to the office). I just wanted to put in this belated review now, before I forget, because this kilt (like the other two he has made for me, but ... differently) really is resplendant.

So is the matching plaid, with hand-purled fringe, but I wasn't wearing that at the time.

Kudos to Keltoi.