Wearing a kilt

[KellyT]

I realise that there may not be many other girls here from Scotland, but i'd be interested in your comments and thoughts on this.

I love wearing my kilt. My wife loves me wearing my kilt (she thinks I look rugged and handsome in it!). I actually have about 4, 3 of which are actually belted plaids, (the original fore runner of the kilt. It is six yards long, two wide and is pleated and then belted around the waist with enough material to be gathered and brooched over the shoulder. It does look fantastic and I wear it as often as possible. I even got married in it. My wife's aunt made a beautiful pure silk long cuffed shirt and scarf, with a lovat blue large cuffed jacket. I got a lot of comments that day on ow great I looked and how it was so much smarter than a suit with shirt and tie. (despite the comments I couldn't help but be envious of my wifes beautiful hand made dress with fur trimmed bolero jacket, it was a winter wedding and she looked the perfect snow princess).

Anyway my point is that here in Scotland kilts are seen as very masculine and no one gives a second look if anyone is wearing one. They are even making denim, camoflauge tweed and various other styles and patterns of kilts for men. These other kinds do raise the odd eyebrow, but these as usually from more traditionalists. I've just realised I don't have a point here, more an observation that I could go out with a denim kilt on in town and feel perfectly safe and confident, but if I was to wear a denim skirt I would probably attract a fair amount of hostility. Why is that?????????

[Julia Cross]

And if you were to wear the traditional kilt with tights you would as well. The Kilt is a traditionally male piece of clothing. Denim is just a twist on that style. A denim skirt, while in principal is similar, it is a woman's piece of clothing. Unfortunate, but true.

Julia

[susandrea]

I like them. I think they're sexy. :D

My best friend has been trying to get her husband to wear a kilt for years but he won't do it.:rolleyes:

[Sam-antha]

I alos am jealous of the finery that the female of the kilt wearing species get to carry around. Silk and for real jewelery that a male tartan clad ejit can never carry.
Pant...
Me I have three kilts, one aged around 50 and still going strong, a 25 year old weakling and a two year old toughie. Worn most of the time.
Maleness feling... depends, but it does feel good, the swing of it I mean. So do heels, the click I mean.
Tourists loveitup.
Thank goodness that my legs are not of the type that are said to be good for the kilt. That is meaty and muscular. Could never wear a skirt out, with such shapes of pins. All the same I would hesitate to go out drab, with a denim kilt, how in the name of the wee man canyou get swing into denim ? Maxi or mini.
PS how short is thekilt of your avatar, it looks micro-pelmet ?

[KellyT]

And if you were to wear the traditional kilt with tights you would as well. The Kilt is a traditionally male piece of clothing. Denim is just a twist on that style. A denim skirt, while in principal is similar, it is a woman's piece of clothing. Unfortunate, but true.

Julia

Yeah I agree. But essentially it still is a male skirt and I can't see the difference between wearing a kilt or a skirt. I'm sure i'm preaching to the converted here anyway. Without trying to get too deep about the whole matter the conflict just goes to illustrate the hipocrisy that exists with peoples attitudes to appearances, fashion, lifestyle etc, etc....

[KellyT]

I would love to get away with wearing my wifes mini kilt out. Thigh length boots and a wee pink angora sweater. Mmmmmm

[Julia Cross]

Without trying to get too deep about the whole matter the conflict just goes to illustrate the hipocrisy that exists with peoples attitudes to appearances, fashion, lifestyle etc, etc....

And that sums it up. Kilt or skirt, thet are essentially the same item, however, society defines the genders by the difference in appearances. Women wear pants ad so do men, but there are differences there as well, pockets in the back versus no pockets. Details like slits and zippers on the legs, and on't forget colour and fabric choice.

A kilt is for a man, the skirt for the woman. Wearing a kilt is not crossdressing, wearing a skirt is.

Julia

[Denise01]

I agree that a kilt for a man is basically nothing more than a male skirt.

I have worn a kilt for years, and feel no different when wearing a skirt, than when i am wearing a kilt.

The mans kitls are quite heavy, and i am there fore looking for a nice ladies kilt or kilted skirt.

Denise;)

[KellyT]

Wearing a kilt is not crossdressing, wearing a skirt is.

Julia

I agree. Although I may differ from a lot of others here, but I am not bothered about wearing clothes purely because they are female clothes or male clothes. I want to wear what I feel good in, whether that be male, female or a mixture of both. It just so happens that what I feel good in is female attire, and getting to what my original point probably was - I would like (as I imagine everyone here) to be able to wear whatever I want, whenever and not be ridiculed or seen as a deviant. What i;m interested to know is if the rise in the wearing of various different kilts by men(ie denim and full length), will in fact raise tolerance and acceptance levels of society to a point where a man wearing a skirt and/ or any other female apparel would pass without the raising of an eyebrow. I would be fantastic, and I do hold out real hope( it happened with women and trouser wearing). It would be so wonderful for many of us who feel the burden of peer and societal pressure to conform to the dull norm.

[Helen MC]

I wear a kilt for time to time, it's as close as I can comfortably get to wearing a skirt openly outdoors. Now I wear navy blue or bottle green "lassies knickers" under mine, what do you wear, the same as me, panties of some type or what?

[KellyT]

As a true Scotsman I swing free and don't wear any underwear. It's sort of a national pride thing. Although I have thought of wearing my red lace panties, but then the pride thing takes over again, how silly.

[jenny_centaur]

Five or six years ago whilst visiting Fort Augustus in the Highlands of Scotland, I spotted what I first thought was an attractive girl walking towards me along a footpath, with long black wavy hair, wearing a mid-thigh length kilt (short!) and white ankle socks. It was only as 'she' got closer, I realized it was a youngish man! He wasn't trying to be all-out femme, just being himself I guess. He didn't seem to have a care in the world, and just smiled at anyone who caught his eye as he walked happily along with a spring in his step, and his little kilt flipping around his bum.

I own a few kilts myself, but I'm not certain they count as such with being so short. This one's my favourite:

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/191/w1004046s0yb.jpg

[Dragster]

I'm not Scottish, but I love the country. I attend a Burns Night celebration every year, and borrow another friends kilt, jacket, sporran, the whole kit and caboudle! I even address the Haggis by reciting Robbie's "To a Haggis" from memory.
My wife really likes me in this kit, thinks I look so handsome, so why oh why does it make such a difference if it was a skirt? Maybe she'll explain it one day.

Tony

[Butterfly Bill]

I haven't been too much into Scottish kilts because they are usually made of heavy and sometimes scratchy wool, and you have to have a sporran banging on your balls. Plus, you have to wear a thick belt. Plus, ironing the pleats can be a lady dog. And finally, in the US they usually cost in excess of 1 hundred dollars, and not infrequently 2 or 3. (Cheapest place to look is at a Renaissance faire.) I have one, made of cotton flannel

There can only be one length, right at the knee, if it is any shorter it's the lassie's mini version that you see at an American Scottish festival. Any longer, it's a gown.

[Angela Burke]

Kilts are ok.
But take a look at Jenny Centaurs pic.
Who would want to wear a kilt when they could wear a tartan mini, black tights, and heels?
Certainly not me.

[KellyT]

Hi Dragster,
"My wife really likes me in this kit, thinks I look so handsome, so why oh why does it make such a difference if it was a skirt? Maybe she'll explain it one day."

I have the same conflict and this was the main reason for starting this thread.

Jenny, you look fantastic in your mini kilt. I've got to admit, although I love my kilt, you can't beat the sexy feeling of boots, tights and a mini kilt.




There can only be one length, right at the knee, if it is any shorter it's the lassie's mini version that you see at an American Scottish festival. Any longer, it's a gown.

There is a company in Edinburgh making denim full length kilts (21st Century kilts). They are very expensive though. They call them kilts but they bear no resembalance to what we would term a kilt. They are skirts and I assume the use of the word kilt is to try and convince men that they can wear these things. Apart from army kilts i've never come across a kilt that was heavy or scratchy. They are now usually made of lightweight and soft fabric.

The sporran was always worn to the side, hidden under the extra material which was then brooched on the shoulder, (see above). This makes sense as a highlander kept what money and possesions of value he had in here an didn't want to advertise the fact to the world. (& it stops it banging on your balls).

The modern day kilt bears only a passing resembalance to the plaid/ philimor(big blanket) of olden days. The kilt as we now know and the clan tartan colours were a Victorian invention. The philimor was indeed a 6 yard wide blanket that often was worn full length to the ankle. Again this makes sense if you were droving cattle through the cold Scottish mountains. At night highlanders would un belt their philimore and use it as a makeshift sleeping bag. Often they would soak the material in a burn(river). This would have the effect of shrinking the woolen fibres closer togother and insulate the sleeper inside to the cold outside.

Thus endeth the brief, but hopefully interesting history of the Scottish kilt.

[COLOR="darkgreen"]PS William Wallace never wore a kilt/ philimor[/

[Helen MC]

Kelly, I simply cannot imagine wearing a kilt in the so-called "True Scot" manner with nothing underneath, indeed I cannot envisage NOT wearing a pair of knickers whatever other clothing male or female I am wearing over them. I understand that many men and boys who wear the kilt , even if they have no TV/CD tendancies, do wear "lassies knickers" that is navy-blue, bottle-green ,grey, maroon etc cotton knickers of the type schoolgirls and women wear for Netball, (Field) Hockey, Gym / PE, under their kilt and this is quite acceptable even in tough macho areas such as Glasgow. Any time I have seen men in kilts such as Pipers, Scottish Country Dancing, competitors in a Highland Games and their kilts have lifted they have been wearing these dark knickers beneath rather than white or light coloured underpants or nothing at all.

[hjt101]

I wear my Utilikilt most of the time that I am not in the office. I tried a few times at work, but it was a bit inconvenient.

Their sales pitch is 'We sell freedom'. Now is it the freedom to wear whatever we want? Or is it the dangle? Hmmm?!?!

As for people saying a kilt is not a skirt, well according to webster.com a kilt is "a knee-length pleated skirt usually of tartan worn by men in Scotland and by Scottish regiments in the British armies". A kilt is a skirt, but a skirt is not necessarily a kilt. I think it is interesting how the Scots take credit for the kilt even though they were not the first men to wear them.

Jenny, I love the look of that short kilt, black hose, and heels. I have gone out several times in something similar.

[sweeting]

hi kelly i have worn a kilt quite a few timesi like to wear clear nylons garter belt panties and a full slipunder it laurie

[Sam-antha]

Can't say that I have noticed any increase in thenumber of kilted folk around in the last few years.
Bill, there are kilts and kilts, I think you refer to the worsted, or the military kilt, rough, heavy and murcer across the back of thelegs when they get wet.
Good kilts just never get ironed, just hung up when not in use.
Why wear a belt, the kilt is waisted. Belts are military hangovers with high waisted kilts. Normal ones should end just at the belly button. Any higher and its no longer free flowing. Also it probably has two buckles on the right, the lower one does nothing apart from creating a crease across the said ball packet.
why in heck do you want a sporran and in front. You have a side for it to bounce on if yuo have to have it.

[Rachael Warren]

Strangely I feel positively crossdressed when I wear mine! :D

[KellyT]

I think it is interesting how the Scots take credit for the kilt even though they were not the first men to wear them.


I've never met a Scot who's talen credit for the kilt yet. We do however take credit for plenty other things :D
I think the image of Scots from those outside Scotland is wildly different to the actual reality. I've met folk from South of the Border who asked me how we coped with 4 months of snow, and another who (and this is the truth) believed we lived in caves. I believe the media can take credit for a lot of the myths, and then the Scots play along for the sheer hell of it. (Anyone been haggis hunting recently?)

Anyway I digress from the purpose of this thread and site.




Hi HelenMC, i was interested to read your comment about the lassies knickers. I've never heard that one before, and I have several pipers in my family and friends. I'll need to ask them.

Rachael, love the look. There was a high school close to where I used to go to school, where the girls wore similiar tartan skirts, skightly below theknee and in red. I always remember wishing that I had been a girl so I could've worn the same uniform. I always had fantasies of walking into school, skirt swinging, and giggling away with the rest of the girls. Never happened :(

[Butterfly Bill]

Americans think all Scotsmen look like the Dewar Highlander in the old magazine adverts, and he has his sporran on the front. I also suspect some find security against showing a little too much libido by having the sporran always covering the potential source of embarassment.

If you work as a performer at a Renaissance festival, you will be specifically instructed, on pain of disemployment, to wear something under your kilt. Most wear some kind of athletic shorts; I've never observed tighty-whities. But paying patrons at these faires will not infrequently "go regimental" as these Americans tell me the Scots say.

If, after you have unloaded your burden in the toilet, you don't content yourself with mere toilet paper wiping but afterward wash with water, as they do in France and India, the problem that many Americans try to solve by always having undies over it is mostly solved. In the summetime I wear dresses that are long enough to go regimental without having to worry how I sit. It's much cooler and dryer under the Oklahoma sun.

[Tina Dixon]

My this is a fun thread, and I am thinking of getting my first kilt, e-bay has many that are under a 100 dollars, just not as heavy, and it must have a full swing to it, my what to buy?

[Julia Cross]

If you're looking for kilts, look second hand. Here in Ontario we have Value Village, usually under $10. Or try second hand stores like Salvation Army or church bazaars and don't forget the classified section, many in there as well.

J

[Helen MC]

Kelly, many of the boys and men I knew who dressed in kilts wore Girls Montfort or Cherub or other brands of Lassies Knickers under it, full cotton interlock briefs in the Regulation School Uniform Colours such as Navy-Blue, Bottle-Green, Brown, Maroon, Grey, Royal Blue. These maintained modesty better than Undershorts or Y-Fronts. I suppose with modern male underwear being so close in design to women's, many blokes will now wear those but to me who wears such lassies knickers anyway , I will continue to wear my Montfort, Cherub , Magicfit, Gymphlex etc knicks under my kilt.

[Lawren]

I am not from Scotland but my geneology leads there. Clan Grant of Inverness. I would soooo love to have and wear kilts but as yet they are beyond my budget limitations. Even the wool to make my own are beyond my means at present. Oh well, "good things come to those who wait" and all that. Perhaps someday my dream will come true. :)