my own personal inconvenient truth

[Kilted Mason]

This is going to be long, so let me say I’m sorry now. Being a giant of a man at 5’6” tall and weighing 180 lbs I’ve already came to terms with the fact that I will not be able to wear off the shelf kilts. 24” be the standard, that would put the top of the kilt about 4” under my armpits.

From my research I know your true waist size has little to do with your pant size, but OMG, is it really that much of a difference? I wear 36” jeans and they fall off me, wearing them about an inch under my navel. So imagine my surprise when she told me the tape read 44” at the navel O_M_G!!! What the H_E double hokey sticks is up with that. I’m no Adonis by any stretch of the imagination but neither do I suffer from dickey-do disease (that’s where your stomach sticks out further than your …well you get the idea) I also know the tape doesn’t lie, so after making sure she wasn’t reading the metric side and recovering from my little break down and crying session, I’ve came to terms with my own personal inconvenient truth. I’m short, apparently morbidly obese and have the mental fortitude of a 6-year-old girl. I haven’t even called Rocky yet to order my first kilt and this whole thing is already kicking my butt.

I want to thank everybody that’s said hi to me in the newbie forum and say Its so nice to get a warm welcome from so many from so many different places. I work second shift in a job that puts me alone much of the time. Everybody is in bed and asleep when I get home and I’m sleeping when they all get up and leave for the day. It’s not uncommon to go a whole week and not even see my boys or go two or more days without even speaking to my wife unless it’s on the phone. We both jokingly say that it’s the time apart that’s let the marriage last so long. So it’s been very interesting to get greetings from so many places.

So, no real question at this time, just wanting to vent about my new personal awareness. I do want to look at the Masonic tartans, anybody know where I can look to see them?

[Erisianmonkey]

I'm 5'6" tall, and when I had a 44" waist (I used to wear dress slacks exclusively, which are meant to be worn near the navel, not the hips like jeans) I was nowhere near morbidly obese. I had a gut, yes, but nobody would have claimed I was anything near morbidly obese. What you have is weight that could be dropped with some modifications to your diet and some exercise, and I don't mean much. I'm 330 lbs or so, and have a 57" waist and 61" hips as kilt measures go. If I wore jeans where everyone else wears them, I'd wear size 55. I also have health problems that don't allow me to get the amount of exercise I'd need to drop weight like I need to. I also don't eat much, so diet is not really my problem. My point, you're overreacting, 'cause you could be in my shoes. Once you get kilted, the gut that your measurements tell me is visible in jeans, will disappear. I mean, if a kilt can make my giant frame look slimmer, imagine what it will do for someone with a few vanity pounds to drop!

Edit to add: I did a quick search, and a place called masonicthemes.com says they have permission to get the Grand Lodge of Scotland tartan woven. Give that a shot.

[GMan]

Just be yourself, and do not fret over it, you are who you are.

[sjrapid]

I'm 6ft exactly and I was a 46 waist last October when I ordered my first kilt (a 16oz hand-sewn tank - I went in the deep end!)

However, I've found that wearing the kilt (in public, lots - thanks for the encouragement Hamish and others) gives you a real increase in self-confidence and a boost to self esteem. It does make you look slimmer, no doubt about it. Having lots of nice lassies strike up conversations with you is also a part - but also there's something in going out knowing you look both sharp and different.

Also, I've found that wearing the kilt puts you back in touch with your body in a way that trousers/pants don't. I've found this helpful. You're suddely aware of your own knees and legs again, as well as having the kilt wasit wrapped round your torso. Being aware of myself *and* confident has helped me take a bit more control of myself and shed some 15kg since January 1 this year, and reduce my kilt waist size by 4 inches so far.

Of course, this creates the problem that I need to buy more, better fitting kilts (like who needs an excuse to feed their kilt addiction?) But as a waist-loss measure, I've found the 'notch of kilt straps' measure to be a helpful motivator.

Best regards

[RK-REX]

Hey man, I'm 5'8" tall and 210ish pounds. I wear 33-34" jeans and my casual from Rocky is a 39 and at the navel I'm a 40. Don't worry about it, order your kilt and wear it proudly. I think being shorter and more stout in build makes the kilt look better myself.

This was taken yesterday morning. (Mother in law and I) You can't notice that my waist is much larger then the clothing industry wants me to think it is.

[BEEDEE]

KM - first a disclaimer - I am not a mason and don't know a lot about freemasonry. That said, I did a search for Masonic tartans and found the same link as erisianmonkey. Further down I found this link: http://www.rosslyntemplars.org.uk/masonic_tartan.htm which claims there is no historic tartan for Scottish Rite Masons. But it adds in a footnote that the Gransd Lodge of Scotland has registered the same tartan and offered by Masonic Regalia.

Probably does not clear this up for you, but hopefully this gives you some other avenues to pursue in you hunt for a tartan.

Brian

[Woodsheal]

There is apparently a "universal" Freemason tartan:

http://www.kilts.com/freemason.htm

[brandycr]

They arent a man alive that wouldnt look better kilted lol.

[Tattoo Bradley]

As the others have said... don't worry about any of that. I'm 6' and my "kilt waist" (about 1" above the navel) is 42". A lot of it is your shape, not just a gut. The numbers aren't necessarily indicatvie of a beer belly.

[billmcc]

Greetings Brother,

Don't get hung up on the tape measure's numbers. I also work second shift and sometimes feel "out of step" with the majority. You are not alone.

There are two masonic tartans. They are the Masonic Universal tartan by the Grand Lodge of Utah and the GLOS Masonic tartan by the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

GL of Utah tartan:
http://www.utahgrandlodge.org/publis...tartan-pricing

GL of Scotland tartan:
http://www.grandlodgeshop.com/

Another online seller of the GLOS Masonic tartan and kilt accessories:
http://masonicthemes.com/?sk

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the Masonic tartans.