Upcoming first day outside..

[Richard_D]

I have allmost finished my first kilt , which is by the way a kilt made by the instructions of an X-kilt, and I am a bit worried about the reaction around people. I have talked about the kilt to my friends and explained stuff about it to them and their attitude towards it have changed. But one problem comes across. Since its an "everyday" kilt it is not made from tartan and it is beige coloured so it doesnt quickly resemble as a kilt to people that dont know anything more about it then the basic look. Also I live in a society that has never had men wear any skirt type of clothing. Live in finland by the way.

So my question is : How have you overcome the stereotypes and peoples laughs and pointings... I am bit shy from my character but still, like a said to my friends, "none of you can go outside wearing something like this and be proud of it... "

How do you cope?

[Big Mikey]

Due to my size I have always stood out in a crowd. I have liked the look and heritage associated with kilt wearing for many years and just discovered casual and affordable kilts in the last year or so. I don't worry about other peoples opinions much. My wife likes me in a kilt, my 18 year old daughter thinks its cool, my parents think its great. Check through the forum for snappy comebacks to negative comments and practice them! Here's a few to get you started.

"What's under the kilt?"
"Boots and socks!"

"Nice skirt!"
"It's only a skirt if you are wearing bloomers!"

"Are you Scottish?"
"Nope, I'm comfortable!"

Good luck!

[JimB]

Finland is a little out of my range of experience, but my advice is not to wear it until you have a sporran and some hose and flashes to go with it. Then it might be more recognizable as a kilt to those not used to seeing them.
Porrick hails from Norway and maybe he can give some better advice for kilting in that part of the world.
But anyway, welcome to XMarks and I am looking forward to seeing how your xkilt comes out.
And one more thing. Don't worry about the laughing and pointing. I'll bet it will not be like you imagine. I was scared to death on my first kilted outing, and now it's no big deal. I've never had a bad comment yet. When I do, and I know I will someday, I will just ignore it and remember all the comliments that I have already gotten.

[Martin S]

my advice is not to wear it until you have a sporran and some hose and flashes to go with it. Then it might be more recognizable as a kilt

Do you really think that people notice flashes, or pay more attention to anything, including sporran, compared with the way they look at the sk... , I mean, kilt?

My advice would be, if you feel unsure, wear a tartan kilt, that will be recognizable to most people in western Europe.

Don't worry about the laughing and pointing.

I'll go along with that.
What does it really matter what perfect strangers think?
Friends are different; one likes to have their approval, but, if they are real frinds, they'll listen to your point of view and probably come to accept it. The only thing is, don't make them uncomofortable by obliging them to go around in public with your kilt.

Martin

[McMurdo]

First off congratulations on the xkilt. I would agree with most all I have read here, this is my experience with wearing a kilt, I hope it helps.
When I started wearing a kilt a guy in my old apartment building was giving me the gears about it, saying things like nice skirt etc. I told him that it as a kilt, well he kept calling it a skirt, at first it really bothered me, however I came to realise that I could not change his ignorance, and why should I check with him about what I was to wear or not?
Well that was quite some time ago now, and I can tell you that the vast majority of times I only hear compliments on my attire.

I still dont wear a kilt everyday, but I am up to 5 or 6 days a week.

A funny thing happened to me the other day when I went into my local tartan shop (a dangerous place for me), I had been moving stuff from the old apartment to the new house, and so I was wearing jeans, well the woman behind the counter didnt recognise me without my kilt.

[The Wizard of BC]

Hello Richard,

If I haven't already, Welcome to X Marks.

WE DON'T COPE! We wear what we want. And you will find that usually the lack of reactions you will encounter will be a let down. I wore a kilt for three months before anyone said anything to me about it. I also have only had three negative comments in four years. Two were from young men driving by in trucks and yelling out the window. One was from a "Tartan Cop" who kept referring to it as a skirt because it wasn't a Tartan. All of them were easily dismissable.

It's actually quite a disappointment that so few people comment. We all fear that first time out in public. We have all felt that anxiety of "will they laugh at me?" or "Will someone think I'm weird?"

The normal or average comment is usually "OH WOW, what a cool kilt!" & "Where can I get one of those?"

So from someone who has worn The Kilt daily for quite awhile my advice is -
Wear your kilt with pride. Take pride that you made it.
When worn with pride there is a power in The Kilt that is unmistakable and everyone, and Women especially, will fall under the power.

Just a word of caution - learn to notice those little noises cell phones make when they take a picture. You WILL start to hear it more often.

[beowulf67]

Welcome.
Like the ancient god of footwear said "Just do it!"

I understand how you feel because I'm a fairly shy person myself, but I tend to feel more confident when I'm walking around in the kilt and I think others pick up on that and leave you alone.

[souzaphone711]

Congratulations. I wouldn't recommend worrying about it but heed Jim B's advice and wear a sporran and hose or at least a sporran with it. I've got a black Utilikilt as my only current kilt so I do occasionally deal with skirt comments but it's simply because I am about 17 and in high school. I public you get far fewer negative comments as most people recognize them for what they actually are. Just be ready with a few good responses and enjoy the extra attention you get from the ladies.

[BEEDEE]

I would just point out the Scots regularly repelled the Viking raiders, some of whom were probably from modern day Finland.

Brian

[cessna152towser]

First time out in a kilt is always intimidating; but once people see you look confident in it they will leave you in peace. I'd agree with the suggestion that you should wear a sporran with it. In my experience a single colour kilt will draw a lot less attention than does a tartan kilt.