The First 3 Weeks

[Space Moose]

I've had my 8oz [er edit that, 8yd 16 oz] traditional for 3 weeks now over the holidays and I've already worn it out 4 times. Considering I've been on vacation and haven't really gone out much more than 4 times, that's quite a bit. However the surprising thing is that it feels that I've only worn it infrequently. I'm glad that I'm going to be getting a lot more mileage out of it than I'd originally suspected.

The first two outings were my and the Special Lady Friend's office Christmas parties on the Friday and Saturday at the begining of the month. I must say that I had some butterflies before walking into my party on the Friday, but I was really looking forward to it, as I knew I'd knock 'em dead.

Well, my entrance couldn't have been scripted better. We were a little bit late getting to the party, and I walked through the doors to the room at the UBC Golf Club just as the COO (and Co-Founder) of my company was wrapping up her speech. I walked through the doors stage right at the moment she was saying "So, without any further ado..." 200 or so heads swiveled to me and I got to strut in with my lovely lady. The COO paused a bit as she saw me and finished up, "...lets all enjoy our dinner". It was absolutely classic.

I got lots of comments and compliments through the night, with many of my coworkers asking The Question. I usually replied with what's becoming my standard response (accompanied with an insinuously raised eyebrow): "Well, how warm are your hands?"

--

The second outing was the next night at Jude's office party. She now works at a very swank medical office, and the party was at the Terminal City Club in Vancouver. Think of a yacht club, but for people that own businesses instead of yachts. The dinner had a jacket and tie dress code, and until 27 hours before the dinner, I'd not owned a jacket in my life.

Needless to say, in a crowd of men wearing suits, I was noticed. The dinner was in the main dining room, and most of the patrons were in their Autumn and Winter years. I had numerous compliments with the ladies attending and several nods from the men. One gentleman called to his friend and said "see Bill, you should have worn your kilt!"

There was much jubilation and libation in our party, and the topper for the night was when the wife of the head doc was taking a keen interest in the fabric and sewing of my pleats. All curiosity was perfectly scientific I'm sure.

Here's a pic of us at that party:



--

The final two outings, Jude insisted I wear the kilt (twist my rubber arm), and I wore a more casual ensemble. I have a nice black button down shirt which I wore with a belt and my same semi-dress sporran. Same charcoal hose (sans flashes though).

The first of these was a christmas party of our friends where I was monopolized by the women (a couple of which vowed to get their fellas in a kilt), and envied by the men.

And the last was a couple days ago where we went to the Jazz Cellar with some of Jude's friends to hear some jazz flavoured Christmas carols. I was a big hit with her friends, one of whom took a shine to my legs and got permission from jude to take a bite on one of my calves. I was happy to oblige.

--

So, after 3 weeks, not only do I feel like a million bucks wearing my kilt, I'm beginning to realize that many women get a bit daffy when they see a man in a kilt, and I like it!

Craig

[starbkjrus]

Craig,

Not too much more that I can say -- you seem to have said it all. It's rather nice that one of us ordinary guys can toss on a kilt and become sort of a celebrity just like that. Wearing a kilt to the gas station in the afternoon is one thing but wearing it in the evening to some sort of an event adds both to the "specialness" (butchering the language here) of the event and the wearing of the kilt. Normally I dislike the holiday season because of all the social obligations. This year however I've been to everything kilted and have enjoyed every single party/drop-inn/gala etc. Too much fun!

[Blu (Ontario)]

With good reason... the kilt is often labelled a "chick magnet".

Lucky you... learning this at a relatively young age.

[mbhandy]

Craig,

Nice look and you did not own a jacket. Did you rent or buy? Seems you have enjoyed the holidays.

Got up early (for Xmas) We are doing the meal this year.

Have a Good One.

MrBill

[GMan]

You couldn't have said it any better Craig. Kilts are the most exciting garment around! Don't you love it?

Nice peicture of the two of you.

[Robin]

What a great story!

You look stunning...you both look stunning!

Her blue stola and your green tie match perfectly with the tartan...lovely!

1 small remark...it looks like the sleeves of your jacket are a bit too short.

Robin

[Riverkilt]

You wear it well Craig, a very sharp look.

The more often you wear kilts the more you'll wonder why any male would want to wear pants unless there were a specific need.

Ron

[Space Moose]

I bought the jacket, it's the tweed argyl and vest from Scottishkilts.net. It's the same one that a few of us have, and like the rest, I am quite happy with it.

It is a bit short, as they were unable to send the 42 long that I'd ordered in time for the event. As I was desperate, I had them send me the 42 regular that they had in stock. I've got the correct one on order from them, but even with the short sleeves, I'm very pleased with it.

Here's the look that I wore out on more casual occasions:



Craig

[Riverkilt]

What kilt?? Can only see the most elegant art of the nude in the chair.

If you don't mind, who's the artist?

Ron

[Space Moose]

His name's David Laity. He's an Australian artist. We've got these two posters (cropped and framed):

http://www.allposters.com/GetThumb.a...=0-41296-25893

It looks like you can order some of his other prints, but they're fairly expensive. The Green Room is nice too:

http://www.collect-art.com/artist-work.asp?a=8452

Craig