Party Scottish style.

[Father Bill]

Traditional forms of dress still remain traditional and acceptable, but they needn't be slavishly worn by everyone, at every turn, to remain relevant.

Aye Tobus; well said, but then I wasn't talking about slavishness, just that what I read described here, to me seems to be a slow and gentle decline towards eventual extinction.

[Jock Scot]

Jock, Jimmy and the Q, I will try to respond.

Jimmy:-

By fancy dress, I just mean an unusual costume that is worn for some kind of special occasion or to attract attention. I think I was teasing Jock.

Jock:-

" whirling cogs and shafts" Yes - equivalent to chainsawing.

"I rarely wear the kilt outwith the Highlands " That is a choice that puzzles many of us. I have a feeling that, in your youth, you only came to the Highlands on kilted holidays - maybe it's a repercussion of that. But it is a choice.

" Horse riding ... also not a good idea with the kilt" ??Trews

" kilts and chest waders(fishing) do not go." and " The kilt and shooting and deer stalking do not march happily together" I am in ignorance here. Definitely not my lifestyle! Ticks - see later.

" My two full time kilt wearers have passed on" The way you express that they sound like family members; were their lifestyles so different from yours?


The Q:-

" Sailing would destroy a kilt" Suggests the kilt was not favoured in the Isles where boats were ubiquitous.

" oil and kilts are not a good combination. ( The oil is a skin irritant)" and " Riding the motor scooter" Again - like chainsawing.

" Gardening, aka jungle clearance, although we don't have anything deadly, nettles, brambles, and horse flies are not to be given easy access..." Well, at my age, I now have many "gardening" kilts and a well stocked jungle of brambles, whins, nettles etc. frequently adds some extra rips and general distressing. Diesel off the tractor adds to the tartan pattern - and Mrs neloon likes the smell of diesel! Clegs, midgies etc will get your exposed parts anyway - use repellent.

Jimmy and Jock:-

Ticks. Here, we're surrounded by sheep, deer, pets and all manner of other carriers but I don't seem to get bitten any more often than Mrs neloon. You just have to check when you get in and wheek the little devils out with one of those clever gadgets. My daughter and her chums on Duke of Edinburgh expeditions wore breeks, gaiters end so on but still got regularly attacked.


I realise I'm eccentric - aren't we all a bit. I just think that Scots have slipped into focussing on reasons for wearing the kilt rather than is there really and truly any reason why not. Jock went to his drinks party unkilted - just for variety?
So really, really, what fraction of our lives is it truly not a good idea to wear the kilt or is it just "Well, you don't wear the kilt to go shopping, go to the dentist/doctor/hairdresser, visit friends, go out for a drink/meal ... people just don't do that. "

Alan

I spent most of the first 7 years of my life being brought up by my Grandparents living in the Highlands and mostly wearing the kilt, as both my parents were away at the war(WW2). Father in the Royal Navy and mother a surgeon in a military hospital in Glasgow. Wearing the kilt outwith the Highlands was a common no-no locally even at the local school, so it was what this part of Scotland taught me and I can see much to commend it.

Yes ticks and general biting insects are UK wide although the Western Highlands do "boast" our very own wee midge. Trousers do at least give a modicum of defence when compared to the kilt, but for sure the wee blighters in all sorts of shapes do get through one way or another.

I am sure you noticed that I did not rise to your wee dig?

Jodhpurs/riding britches are worn whilst riding, why? Because the kilt is not the best option.

No , I had no connection to either of the full time kilt wearers that are now deceased, other than I spent many happy hours chasing deer with them( different estates) far away from this locality. In passing, if I had any thought about deer stalking in the kilt, these two gentlemen showed me unintentionally I am sure, clearly why the kilt was not a good idea!!

I cannot say that I consciously chose to not wear the kilt to the party, I think I chose to wear trousers that day on a whim as I might do on most days. Sometimes the kilt, sometimes trousers its like tossing a coin and I am quite happy to wear either to the dentist, doctor, dinner, cinema or wherever whilst in the Highlands. I think my pictures I have posted here might demonstrate some of that.

I think I have covered all the points raised?

[Jock Scot]

Aye Tobus; well said, but then I wasn't talking about slavishness, just that what I read described here, to me seems to be a slow and gentle decline towards eventual extinction.

Actually Bill, I genuinely think that your concern is misplaced.

[Father Bill]

Actually Bill, I genuinely think that your concern is misplaced.

I certainly hope so!

[neloon]

Bill,
I think the "popularity" of the kilt (in civilian life) has fluctuated enormously over the years. The kilt is certainly worn by more Scots today than in, say, 1800. But it is not worn as "the norm" to anything like the extent to which it would have been seen from the 1920s to the 1970s. Some part of this is due to all sorts of external influences. Clothing is nowadays globally produced rather than locally made and fashion is more international. Decline in church attendance removed the need for "Sunday best" for both boys and men. Perhaps de-kilting in the army other than for ceremonial underlines the "special occasions" angle. We live much more in a "conforming" world than in days of yore. There is also a semi-political component But kilts are quite widely owned and I believe, like Jock, that only a small change in the public psyche might bring about a considerable increase in the visibility of the kilt. Pendulums swing.

Alan

[tpa]

But look at the increasing numbers of kilt wearers at highland games whether participants or not,...

When I was at the Braemar Gathering last year, whilst there were a number of kilt wearing spectators, the proprietor of Lamont Sporrans in Braemar told me he could remember a time, quite a few years ago, when almost 100% of the male spectators would be kilted. Last year I would optimistically guess at maybe 10%.

[The Q]

Neloon,
I should have expressed it, the type of sailing I now take part in, would destroy a kilt.
We are sailing on rivers mostly, tacking from bank to bank, often in under 30 seconds, water coming in over the side occasionally with a mass of ropes and boat fittings in close proximity, all of which would cause major kilt damage and there would be no time to set the kilt right for sitting each time.
If I was still sailing in the Outer Hebrides from South Uist (Loch Carnan) to say Skye, where you basically set up and set off for several hours in a comfortable cruise, then I would be quite happy wearing a kilt.

I can't afford to get diesel or anything else on a kilt, SWMBO queries even the cost of a PV one.....

[KMCMICHAEL]

Kind of ironic to think that I wear a kilt more than a large percentage of you, I find them perfect for hiking in the nearby river bottom.



I do want to make some comments regarding ticks.
They have become rare in Texas over the last few decades because of fire ants but the area I hike in floods regularly and is full of feral hogs. The flooding keeps the fire ants away and th hogs are perfect host for ticks, so the area is infested with them. I took a dog, she got ticks. I thought from rummaging in heavy brush.I took my wife, she got ticks and never left the trail. I never get ticks. Due to dry skin and my habit of going unshod, I use coconut oil from the knees down. It is inexpensive and effective. It turns out that ticks are repelled by coconut oil because it contains lauric acid.

I doubt that any of you hike as illustrated above and I would probably see a tick before someone else but it certainly works for me. I do avoid sitting down for fear of them.