Fashion vs Tradition

[t_challa]

What is a kilt? An obvious question and one i'm sure every member of XMTS knows the answer to. As a garment, it's history dates back to the Scottish Highlands of the 16th Century. According to Wikipedia:

"Since the 19th Century it has become associated with wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic (and more specifically Gaelic) heritage even more broadly…..Although the kilt is most often worn on formal occasions and at Highland games and sports events, it has also been adapted as an item of fashionable informal male clothing in recent years, returning to its roots as an everyday garment."

Or has it? It is the last part that I wanted to talk about. According to all the months of research I did before buying my first kilt, there are no rules to govern when or where a kilt can or should be worn. According to history, kilts were a garment to be worn daily. And yet, in today's society, in Scotland, they only seem to be worn for formal and/or special occasions.

Obviously, the heritage of wearing a kilt is very personal to many people and rightly so; as individuals, we should be proud of our cultural backgrounds. Marcus Garvey once said:

"A person with no knowledge of their past is like a tree without roots"

XMTS has shown that there is a large population of people around the world who are proud of their Scottish/Celtic/Gaelic heritage. The Traditionalists (as I shall refer to them for the remainder of this article) take great pride in their family history, clan tartan and making sure that every part of their outfit is authentic according to the occasion. Growing up and seeing pictures of people in full Bonnie Prince Charlie attire or pipers on parade was a wonderful sight behold.

Personally I think that this is wonderful. I lived in Japan for a couple of years and there is a growing movement over there to preserve the traditions of their culture. A lot of the younger generation are increasing influenced by Western culture and clothing. This has resulted in a lot of things that make Japan culturally unique and special are being lost, with no young people taking an interest to continue them.

Anyway, I digress. Back to the kilt.

During the months of research I conducted before buying my first kilt, I was extremely happy to discover that while it is a traditional Scottish garment, anyone can wear it. The more I researched the more interesting information I found: universal tartans, kilt pins and proper placement of them on the kilt, hose with flashes, sgian-dubh, waistcoats, tweed and so on. I found my excitement growing as I eagerly read each new piece of information.

It's at this point I would like to share some information about me. I live in London. I'm currently studying for a masters degree in psychology. I DJ at the weekends (mainly soul, funk and rare groove). I have dreadlocks that touch the top of my shoulders (my way of honouring my Caribbean heritage). I have a couple of tattoos. I'm a massive geek. I go to the gym about 4 times a week and love sport (rugby mainly, because I'm a firm believer that real men play rugby while prancing overpaid prima-donnas play football).

I have been doing research into my family tree and found my earliest relative (so far) - a freed slave on a plantation in Jamaica in 1818. None of my research has thrown up any links to Scotland. And yet, I too wear a kilt. The question I get asked the most (apart from the "obvious" one) is why I'm wearing a kilt. Have I been to a Scottish party? Was I on a stag-do? (English name for a bachelor party). Was it a dare? More often than not, my answer is usually "why not wear a kilt?". The truth is fair simpler than that. I wear it for fashion.

Now I know this may not be to taste of The Traditionalists, but I have slowly discovered that on XMTS there are a number of members who are the same; they view kilts as a viable alternative to wearing jeans or trousers in everyday life. I think now is an appropriate time to repeat the statement from Wikipedia:

"Although the kilt is most often worn on formal occasions and at Highland games and sports events, it has also been adapted as an item of fashionable informal male clothing in recent years, returning to its roots as an everyday garment."

A Kilt as a fashion item
In 2001 Samuel L Jackson and Robert Carlyle starred in a movie called The 51st State. Throughout this movie Sam Jackson's character wears a kilt and makes it look damn cool too. This was the first time it had ever occurred to me that someone black, not from Scotland and not going to wedding could wear a kilt. It was many years after watching this movie that I actually got my first kilt, but that movie had a profound and lasting effect on me. Elmo (Sam Jackson's character) leaned very much towards the modern casual look with his kilt (hose scrunched down into chunky boots etc). It is a look that I put my own spin on when I'm kilted up.

As men, we are extremely limited with what we can wear fashion wise - jeans, trousers or cargo pants, short shorts or 3/4 length shorts. They are all basically variations on a theme.
Is being fashion conscious an age thing or a generational thing? I know plenty of people my parents age who can only be described as hipsters (and make it look good). I know a lot of young people who don't really care what they wear. For me, even though I'm in my 30s, I like to look good. Unfortunately, the current fashion trend in the UK is for skinny fit jeans and trousers.

For me as an avid gym user this means that I can barely pull them up over my calves, let alone my thighs. In addition, I have always liked to be "different" and not wear whatever is currently "fashionable". I found kilts to be perfect for my personal unique sense of style. By their very nature, kilts are designed to be a versatile piece of clothing; been invited to be a black tie event? Perfect. Going hiking? Perfect. Going to Highland Games festival somewhere? Perfect. Going to the pub? Perfect.

The Point
I have only been on XMTS for just over a year (my how the time flies). I have found it to be an invaluable resource for information about absolutely any topic I had about kilts. I'm not sure how long it's been since members read the sites mission statement, but here it is:

"This site is a place where our members can enjoy the company of all other fellow kilt wearers. We wish to provide a place where those who choose to wear the kilt can find friendship, information, guidance, advice, and share their kilt experiences with others."

As an individual who, respectfully, but exclusively wears kilts as a fashion choice, I love coming onto the site to get the "opinion" of others. And I am always respectful of the diversity of kilts and kilt wearers. However, it does occasionally feel as though The Traditionalists would prefer for me to look less unorthodox. Maybe there is an assumption that all kilt wearers motivations are the same. Or maybe there is an assumption that all kilt wearers enjoy the same activities (like hiking, renn faires or highland games events for instance).

Here are a couple of dictionary definitions that I found:

"Opinion - a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge"

"Preference - a greater liking for one alternative over another or others"

I am not looking to start an argument or cause any discord on here. I'm just trying to point out that if the mission of XMTS is to provide a place where our members can enjoy the company of all other fellow kilt wearers, surely that means embracing the different motivations that some kilt wearers may have. As welcoming as everyone on here has been since I became a member, I am occasionally left with the feeling that others view my way of wearing a kilt as "wrong". Obviously it hasn't changed how I wear my kilts, but I was hoping for a more all encompassing attitude for the new, the different, the unusual or the unorthodox.

That being said, if everybody in life agreed about everything, wouldn't things be boring.

(Some articles about kilts and fashion)

http://www.scotsman.com/news/kilt-vo...thing-1-804458

http://www.scotland.org/features/the-21st-century-kilt/