wearing kilts in Scotland

[Graham]

Well said Hamish, well said! (even though I've not personally taken the step out of tartan yet).

[kilt by death]

Cool topic.

I am a scot. i live in Fife. Day job is in Edinburgh. Band plays all around Scotland and England.

I wear only "kilts:" tartan or non-tartan, they are made the same way and belong to the tradition.

Enough about me.

In Edin, I don't normally get any funny looks. Occasionally, I am get looks but very rarely any neg comments. Lots of positive ones, though.

Going around England, I do get more neg "feedback " but that is through their ignorance, not mine. I like to take time, explain my heritage and the kilt and hopefully educate someone else in all this nonsense in a civil, polite way.

If you come to Scotland, please wear your kilts. Not for me, or us: but for you!! You will enjoy it, and you can do so with pride and confidence.

(P.S. Look me up for a wee malt!!)

[Colin]

The first person I ever saw that wore kilts casually day to day was a guy we met while touring Scotland 5 years ago. He was born and raised outside of Glasgow, and had worn a kilt everyday for years.

[al' Sporrano]

Hi Guys (no I'm not dead yet, just been very busy)

My 10 cents worth/four penneth etc

Anyone wearing a kilt, anywhere, is going to draw attention to themselves and Scotland is no exception.

I've worn mine 'up north' numerous times now and still get stared at. I get mostly good comments and the occasional bad one, but I've learnt not to get upset by those.

Inverness/Loch Ness a couple of summers ago brought a lot of attention from European tourists. Had my pic taken on a number of occasions which can get a bit tedious at times, as Hamish will verify.

Edinburgh - I've been kilted a number of times now and rarely see anyone else, unless working in a kilt store, hotel or tourist attraction or playing the bagpipes, wearing one. International Rugby/Football Match days are good, mind, as thats when the Scots come out in force. Then you get to see a sea of kilts which is some sight believe me.

Floors Castle (near Kelso on the Scottish/English borders) was awash with kilts during a massed pipe band demo a couple of years back. There were only two other kilts on display - mine and the lairds!

My advice - don't wait for kilt wearing to become commonplace in Scotland, just wear it and enjoy it.

Al

[Colin Cameron]

Thank you all for your helpful input, advice, and insightful/thought-provoking comments. (Because they have been thought-provoking, this post goes on a bit. Sorry. Sorry to be so long in replying, too. Way busy.)

On whether or not I’ll be wearing a kilt in Scotland this summer:

No, probably not. Given that both my kilts are casual, everyday-type kilts and not tartan kilts, I’m thinking I’ll leave them at home this time around (Perhaps if I owned a tartan kilt, I might feel differently. Perhaps not.) I’m not concerned with being hassled, or getting stares. I’ve found, as have others, that I usually either get positive reactions or no reactions. As Hamish wrote, the key to going kilted (whatever the type) is the confidence of the wearer. I’ve got that – I think we all have that confidence, or we wouldn’t be wearing any kind of kilt. Certainly not on a day-to-day basis. And I doubt I’d get any more stares than a few years ago when visiting the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC! (Which surprised me…)

But, having said all that, there are other factors coloring my decision. Especially as a first-time visitor to another country. Although I’ll be visiting Edinburgh & Inverness, I’ll be spending much of my time in sparsely populated areas such as Islay, Colonsay, and the Mallaig peninsula. Visiting areas and people that I hope to visit again. I have no illusions I will be seen as anything other than a tourist -- that’s what I will be, after all. But I feel that travel, ideally, should be about making connections with people, places, cultures, about getting a feel for an area, as much or more than it is about the sightseeing. I’ve always found I get a better feel for a place and its people by not standing out more than necessary. So I’ll be looking to avoid wearing a garment that singles me out for a polarized response, good or bad. I’d rather people’s initial response is to me, not my garb. (Yes, I’m aware that that, too, is a barometer of sorts. But perhaps a shorthand approach.)

This time around, anyway… Next time maybe I’ll be an agent of change…

On the whole tartan vs. “modern” kilt vs. skirt thing:

I find myself both amused and bemused by it all.

As a Cameron, I certainly have the genealogical “right” to wear a kilt. And my interest in kilts did arise when I started to explore my Scottish heritage a few years back. But what I haven’t had, thus far, is the disposable income for a good tartan kilt. I live in the Pacific Northwest in the US, and encountered Utilikilts at my local Highland Games. I embraced them as a practical and affordable alternative, specifically designed for everyday wear. I plan to own a tartan kilt someday, but that day is not yet here. (It might come sooner if I could get myself to cut back on single malts and cigars!)

To those of you for whom a kilt must involve a tartan plaid to be a kilt, I suggest such a distinction is both arbitrary and unnecessary. This distinction seems to me to focus on what the kilt represents (heritage) rather than on what it is (an unbifurcated garment worn about the waist or hips). For one thing, you seem to be implying that a traditional tartan kilt is not a skirt. Which, let’s face it, by any practical, functional definition, it is. As Rigged pointed out, it’s all about perception. To say that such an unbifurcated garment (i.e., kilt) is not a skirt simply because of the pattern woven into its material -- or, conversely, that an unbifurcated garment without a tartan plaid must be a skirt and not a kilt -- seems excessive splitting of hairs.

For me, what both kinds of kilts (traditional and modern) have in common is that they’re both a particular type of skirt, designed specifically for the male physique and generally constructed along certain physical guidelines (again, as Rigged pointed out) with an eye toward function and ruggedness.

To those of you planning to wear your kilts in Scotland, good on you. I’ll look forward to reading about your experiences.

Anyway, thanks again, everyone.

Colin

[highlander_Daz]

Colin as a Cameron regardless of your current legal "nationality" your one of Scotlands people-yes you will be a tourist and enjoy your trip here but please dont think that because your not wearing your kilt its going to be any less of an experience. have a look at some of the kilt shops often you can get some ex-hire bargains -but please enjoy your visit -are you a member of the clan -Cameron association?

[kilt by death]

A point of order:

As I look at this page, I can see on the browser bar "X MArks The Scot// a kilt forum- kilts, not skirts| Microsoft Internet Exp..........." Discuss.

For what it's worth: I am sorry you have decided not to wear your, em, skirt. However, if you had been wearing a kilt...

Sorry, I'll behave now.

Personally, I see kilts as having a front apron, pleats at the back and be made with X yards of material in a certain way by a trained kilt-maker. Even in not tartan materials, this can still happen( e.g. 21st century Kilts.) Hamish has said even he feels his Utilkilts type garments are not kilts, but skirts and (without actually seeing one close) I would tend to agree.

My own choice would be to wear a kilt and not a skirt: so even tho I have a cammo, a leather, etc, they are put together in the traditional way.

It is quite possible that I'm a completely insensitive tube, but I really don't percieve there to be a problem with wearing a kilt in Scotland, of ANY design. Misguided? Blinkered? Just plain stupid? Possibly all 3, but I just don't see it, or get it.

[KiltedBishop]

I visit Scotland (well, Edinburgh) several times most years and am always kilted - I've nothing else to wear!

These days up there, I wear my tartans and contemporary kilts fairly casually but always take a full day-wear outfit, just in case it's needed, and for attending the theatre and half decent restaurants. I also wear my Utilikilts north of the border and have experienced no negative reactions at all, in fact I've been told what a good idea it is to have such useful pockets in kilts!

Yes, inevitably, a chap in a kilt is going to be asked to pose for photos in Edinburgh, and it happens to me every time I visit there. Also one is aware that videos and photos from mobile 'phones are often being taken surreptitiously, but it does not worry me. If I have the time I am happy to pose for the tourists.

Go kilted in Scotland with confidence (as anywhere) and you'll be fine.

I actually had the same reaction to my UK on my recent trip there. The phrase I heard many times was "Brilliant" I was in the gretna green (sp?) area, and abouts there. driving so I don't remember every town's name. I was told they are seeing plenty of "fashion" kilts nowadays, pinstripe, tweed, and the like. Wear the UK enjoy it! be proud and be comfortable! I don't think you will get much grief. a##holes exist in every country or continent so be prepared for the Scottish version.

[KiltedBishop]

[quote="kilt by death"]A point of order:

As I look at this page, I can see on the browser bar "X MArks The Scot// a kilt forum- kilts, not skirts| Microsoft Internet Exp..........." Discuss.

For what it's worth: I am sorry you have decided not to wear your, em, skirt. However, if you had been wearing a kilt...

Sorry, I'll behave now.

Personally, I see kilts as having a front apron, pleats at the back and be made with X yards of material in a certain way by a trained kilt-maker. Even in not tartan materials, this can still happen( e.g. 21st century Kilts.) Hamish has said even he feels his Utilkilts type garments are not kilts, but skirts and (without actually seeing one close) I would tend to agree.
quote]

as the proud owner of 3 Utilikilts I will explain the differences between those and Scottish style kilts. They are worn on the hips, not above the navel. The apron is more narrow, but it does have an obvious apron, and the knife pleats point back, meeting in the middle. You would be amazed how little your plears catch this way. And of course the pockets. if pleat direction, and apron size can make a kilt a skirt...well. All kilts are skirts, not all skirts are kilts. I call it a kilt, you can call it a skirt I don't care. just don't call it un-comfortable! besides when is the last time you could fit 20 beers in your sporran? huh?

[philibeg]

Dear Kilt by Death,

Forgive my presumption, but I am assuming that when you open yer moo a lovely Scottish burrrrrr comes out. Non-Scots in kilts, in any country, often are treated well until their accent reveals them to be FAKES, IMPOSTERS, CULTURAL HIJACKERS, SASSENACHS SUFFERING FROM SEVERE BRIGADOONERY, etc etc etc. This has happened to me repeatedly, and let me say that one can go, quite suddenly, from being a happy-go-lucky kilt-wearer minding his own business, to a man on the defensive, fighting tooth and nail to not appear a complete git in front of unsympathetic lookers-on (which never works, people like this don't want to change their minds...).

I can imagine that someone visiting Scotland for the first time would like to avoid such tedious self-explainations and useless self-justifications which can totally ruin one's day and mood (happens to me often, last night included, when I ran into Scots on the street who were furious and offended that "A wasnna a Jock efter aw").

So don't go too hard on us non-Scots who love your country and its costume at our own peril!!