After lurking for a while I’ve decided to introduce myself and my odyssey into kilting.
About a year ago, I was intrigued when a local radio personality discussed his recent purchase of a Utilikilt. I explored their website and although I didn’t quite look like some of the hard-bodies in their photos, I thought I could still pull off wearing a kilt. I immersed myself in all things kilt visiting as many websites as I could find. X Marks proved a wealth of information about etiquette, logistics and even what’s worn under the kilt and how to handle the related inquires. I ordered a tan Original and my journey began. I’m a bit left of center and have an artistic/creative/okay say it: eccentric streak that often shows itself. I started out wearing the kilt only to venues where there would be little controversy about my attire such as art festivals, gallery stroll evenings and the like. Though, at first, not taking full advantage of the freedom a kilt offers, I truly enjoyed the comfort of an unbifurcated garment. As time passed, I grew more confident and could be seen in restaurants, grocery stores and shopping malls truly enjoying total kilt freedom. I’m not of Scottish descent, though some of my ancestors may have wandered north from Wales at one time, so I have no family tartan to sport or rich heritage to carry on. I chose wear a kilt for comfort and, as an added benefit, a statement of originality. At 56 I don’t much care what people think about what I wear or how I wear it so I’ll be content to don my non-traditional kilts, sandals or boots and a golf shirt and smile to myself as I continue to keep folks wondering about the odd, old guy with the ‘man-skirt.’ Thank you X Marks for a very informative and entertaining forum.