Age of discovery

[Martin Septim]

I assume that a substantial number people with the level of appreciation for Scottish dress and tradition found on this site aren't necessarily born into it. I'm from the U.S, born and raised, and it wasn't till about three years ago that I found my fascination with my Scottish heritage. What was it like for those of you who weren't necessarily born into the culture, and around what age did that happen?

[Tarheel]

For me, it was spending summers (late 1950's) with my grandparents, listening to family history. In school (1960's North Carolina) history brought relatives to life in events of the state. Highland games and Fiddler conventions in the NC mountains planted the seeds that led me here. As young as age 4, I was taught my heritage. I am still stirred by the sound of pipes in the blue mist cloaking the Smokey Mountain glens.

I may not be the person you are looking for, but as a "product of the 60's" I tried to ignore my past; then old age (wisdom?) caught up with me.

[The Wizard of BC]

I don't come from a Scottish background at all.
My family always had an oral history that we were Scottish on my father's side but we knew far more about my mother's side who were French Huguenots and among the first families in New Hampshire. Pre-dating the revolution by at least three generations.

I was not raised around Scottish culture, I only heard pipes if it was a parade with a pipe band. I was never exposed to the history nor the myth or lore of Scotland.

I had always admired the kilt but had never worn one. Growing up as I did I believed, like many others, that you had to belong to a Clan and have a 'right' to a Tartan.

I do not have a Scottish name. In fact the family said that our last name comes from a town in England just East of Manchester. Ashton upon Lyne.

It was only at the age of 52, and after moving to Canada, that I got any interest in wearing a kilt. And only because I saw a TV show where I saw my first non-Tartan kilt on a fashion show runway. That kilt was made from Woodland Camo fabric. I had spent 20 years in the military so thought, "Hey, I could wear one like that."

I credit not being immersed in the culture that allowed me to break the mold and create the Contemporary kilt. One where Durability was foremost because I wanted my kilts to last through years of daily wear, one that could be worn at something other than full rise, one that could be made from fabrics other than wool if I wished, and finally one that could have pockets incorporated into the design.

What I call the DFF&P Standing on the shoulders of all those kiltmakers before me I was able to come up with something that does not have to look like cargo shorts. It can, if I want, look like a traditional Tartan kilt brought into the modern world.

[Martin Septim]

I think these are certainly a few of the great qualities of the kilt. For many it's a way to express pride in their family, admire history, or just wear a fashionable and practical garment. My grandfather told me about our Scottish heritage when I was eight I'd say. He never wears a kilt or plays the pipes, but he always seems to admire those who do. The funny thing is, it didn't really take root till much later. In the seventh grade we had a school project about tracing our ancestry back to "the old country" as a joke I said to my friends I could be descended from nobility, and while that didn't hold true, I really started getting into it all.

[OC Richard]

I assume that a substantial number people with the level of appreciation for Scottish dress and tradition found on this site aren't necessarily born into it. What was it like for those of you who weren't necessarily born into the culture, and around what age did that happen?

It's a good question for sure. There must be innumerable paths by which people here came to kiltwearing.

As for myself, kiltwearing came as an adjunct to playing the pipes. When I started on the practice chanter at 17 I became very interested in Highland Dress and got all the books on the subject I could find. It was long before the internet- 1974- and I lived in a place where there were no Scottish events, no Scottish community as far as I knew.

My first interest was in the uniforms of the Highland regiments of Scotland but soon enough I became interested in the history of Highland Dress in general.

My first kilt outfits were a goofy mix of what few actual Scottish things I could find, and home-made stuff. My first two kilts were made by my grandmother, my first two kilt jackets things I made myself by modifying ordinary jackets I got at charity shops. It was a process of discovery as you say. That was 1975, the year I got my first set of pipes.

It was only after getting immersed in playing pipes and wearing Highland Dress that I discovered that I had multiple Scottish threads in my background, to add to one Irish and numerous English threads.

[Andrews Son]

I was raised in a northern irish family but I was born in England. I never saw myself as an Englishman and always said I was Irish. So I started researching history of Ulster and found we came from Scotland. My family never mentioned it even though my grandparents surnames were of Scots origin. I continued reading and wanted to get deeper into the culture and picked up the pipes after the flute. It was difficult to claim my heritage so can't think what it is like to do so on the other side of the pond.

[OC Richard]

and picked up the pipes after the flute.

I went the other way- the Highland pipes were my first instrument. After playing those for a few years I picked up the Irish flute, whistle, and uilleann pipes.

It was difficult to claim my heritage so can't think what it is like to do so on the other side of the pond.

I don't know if I'm typical of Americans but in my case I know some threads in detail, while others are complete mysteries. The most clear are the family of Cornish miners who came here in the 1880s, the Irish brothers from Cavan who came here in the 1840s, the fellow from London who was kidnapped & sold into Indentured Servitude in the 1760s, and the family that was in Jamestown by the 1630s. All other threads- with typical British names like Stanley, Cooper, Stewart, etc- I know nothing about. The most intriguing is the woman said to be born in Scotland named Pemberton, which seems to be rare.

[WoodyGA]

I'd always been told that my family name was of Scottish origin, but there's never been any proof. Our ancestor just appears as a planter in South Carolina in the late 1700s. My paternal grandmother, on the other hand, is of Irish descent for whom we have pretty evidence back almost 400 years. On my mother's side, there's good evidence of Scottish and English heritage even farther back.

Since it was the one we were told most about growing up, I always valued my Irish heritage more than any other. It wasn't until I recently took a short kilt-making workshop that I decided to talk to family and look into my Scottish heritage. I still haven't found anything of evidence on my paternal side, though.

So, for me, it was the opposite of many--the kilt led me to learn more about my family's heritage.

[JasonMc]

Growing up in Eugene, Oregon (USA) my parents had several good friends who were in the local Eugene Highlanders Pipe Band, as pipers and dancers, along with a school band mate of mine who also played snare in the band from a young age (and was a freaky good percussionist to boot). I grew up more in the hippy-culture of the 70s in the area, but have always loved the pipe music, traditional Celtic rhythms, and beauty of Scottish dancing... it resonates with me, if that's not too cheesy. Not to mention my school's mascot is the "Highlanders", so walked to school looking at a painted 20-foot-tall Highland Piper in full feathered bonnet + regalia all my developmental years.

Fast forward a few decades and I started learning about family genealogy that includes Stewarts and Carliles, along with adopting my wife's family name into my own - with my father-in-law's pre-nuptial permission - from the McVeigh's, with a few Howes included. All this threw fuel on an already active curiosity, along with finding more affordable contemporary kilts at The Celtic Croft, and then this board came along. Now I'm perusing the DIY boards insanely thinking I should learn how to sew, craft leather, and study Ceiltis to feed my interests.

In the scheme of things, as a man of the West, I do have a hard time with formal social customs, but truly appreciate the knowledge and perspective provided by the many posters on this site. I think I'll survive if wearing Bostonian style Birkenstocks can serve as a reasonable substitute for gillie brogues... black leather, they can drain water, shine to a good polish, float in water, and accommodate US size 15-EEEE feet.

[The Q]

For the majority of Scots there is no tradition of kilt wearing, living in Inverness and the outer Hebrides in the 1970s I NEVER saw a kilt, both my two sister's weddings(1980s) in central Scotland were totally kilt-less.
Saying that my brothers wedding in England in the 1990s was Kilted, so that, outside of military parades was my first close experience of kilts.
It was only about 3 years ago ( aged 55) when my sailing club in south eastern England held a Burns night, I looked into kilts.
It was then I discovered PV kilts, these were affordable, I had always known fully traditional woollen kilts were way beyond my means. So I bought a PV, having worn it to a few formal events I am now expanding the number of times I wear a Kilt, and purchased an ex hire 8yard woollen kilt in immaculate condition. Luckily my family tartans are commonly available.