Quote Originally Posted by Woodsheal
Consider the terrain/vegetation dealt with by the historic Highlanders who developed the kilt: open, boggy, heather-covered hillsides and moorland, rocky mountain terrain, and old-growth forests (no underbrush!). Quite a bit different than 21st century N. America, where the kilt often doesn't work well outdoors - especially in our second-growth woodland with all its thick, prickly undergrowth...!
Yes, I was thinking the same as I read through this thread. I read something about this just yesterday on Robert MacDonald's very informative Web site. To quote Mr. MacDonald:

"I believe ... the use of the kilt in Scotland was a case of convergent evolution.

There were no roads in the Highlands to speak of until the Industrial Revolution. The few roads that existed before then were the few military roads constructed by General George Wade in the early 1700s to connect the British Army’s garrisons. Any travel therefore was by pony or on foot.

Wading through the damp bracken quickly soaks your trousers and without a regular means of drying your clothes your health quickly suffers. In the worst-case scenario, a cold leads to pneumonia leads to death. If this happens before you breed the next generation, it’s called ‘eugenics’ and academic puff-buttocks write papers about you."
This makes perfect sense to me - the kilt as a practical garment.

If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, do yourself a favor, set aside an hour or so and check out Robert MacDonald's Web site.

Regards,
Scott Gilmore