The Rules and Exceptions Thereunto.

[macwilkin]

It was the English that created rules for it. I wear my kilts in the same spirit the old highlanders did, to protect the body from the elements and in modern terms to avoid arrest for indecent exposure. I'm old. I don't have to care about rules.

It's easy to blame the English for everything, yet the "rules", customs and traditions of kilt wearing come from so many other sources than just the English -- The Highland Regiments, general fashion trends, Sir Walter Scott, adaptions of practial garments into "formal" or national dress, even Scottish expats living in other countries who adopted "traditional" Highland attire (even Lowlanders) to symbolize their homeland.

I must say that as a "traditionalist" myself, I really get tired of the "traditionalist bashing" around here. I am a traditionalist for myself, and no one else. I have certain standards in dress that I hold myself to, and no one else. I do not judge others for their choices, and ask only that I not be judged for mine. If one likes to dress in the "traditional" Highland way, then that's just as legimate as those who are dressing in more "nontraditional" ways.

Respect and tolerance is a two-way street...perhaps the reason why some of us traditionalists are grumpy is because some make the assumption that we are intolerant of all change, and anything that deviates from the norm -- we are judged before we get a chance to speak our minds. Sure, some traditionalists are jerks -- but so are some non-traditionalists. You can't judge a book by its cover.

I view the way I wear my kilt the same way I view my faith -- I only know what is right for me, I cannot condemn others because they are different from me.

I'm sorry to be a wee bit grumpy on this point. It just gets really old sometimes.

Regards,

Todd