Two Telling comments? The Answer Perhaps?

[English Bloke]

In my experience, with some exceptions (Tartan army, Burns suppers, occasional weddings, street buskers, or folk generally regarded as eccentrics...) the kilt as a form of daily garb for men is as unpopular in Scotland as it is anywhere else. Most Scots who see a Kilt being worn in a non-special setting in Scotland, naturally assume foreigner / tourist. And to be honest, they'd not be far wrong. I'm chums with some Scots who have never, and will never wear a Kilt.

It's just the way it is. This is why it's important to encourage the Kilt both within as well as outwith Scotland or the whole industry around production of same will just fade away, or worse, be consumed by shoddy low quality imports. But that's an argument for another day perhaps.

[Mel1721L]

I went to pick up some people from the airport last night. I didn't know until one of them called my mobile number and I heard his voice that they were Scottish. I was wearing a cilt and sporran with the Welsh Dragon on the flap. On the homeward journey, I asked why he didn't wear a kilt and his reply was "I haven't got the balls!"

[cessna152towser]

I agree with Jock and Steve here. Wearing a kilt on the street here in Scotland midweek I have often been taken for an American tourist.
The kilt is neither the most comfortable or practical garment for many activities.
For casual wear during warm summer weather I have found the Utility kilt style with pockets and no sporran is a comfortable alternative to shorts, yet non-trad kilts haven't caught on as mainstream wear here in Scotland where there is still an assumption that kilts should be tartan and are only for more formal occasions or for following the national soccer and rugby teams.

[MacKenzie]

Interesting. Jock, you (and others) have danced all around it before, but just hadn't actually stepped on it. In fact, just the other night, after reading some comments on the other thread I told The Redhead that, "I believe Scots don't wear the kilt in Scotland because they're afraid they'll be taken for a tourist."

Or go to the Edinburgh Tattoo. I liken that to, many years ago, when I lived just outside Colonial Williamsburg. The LAST thing I wanted to do was go to Colonial Williamsburg.

[thecompaqguy]

The issue of anyone wearing the kilt in England doesn't have the same response, so I edited what I posted earlier...

Anyway, I think I throw people a curveball being a man of colour... Today, I dropped in on the Harpenden Highland Gathering, I was expecting to see perhaps 25 to 30% of the crowd who went to watch kilted... it was a sea of shorts and jeans, and aside from those running a stall, or pipers either playing or taking a break. Granted, I should have mine on (I was going to wear my black & white Menzies tartan, but I was working 'on call' and railway stations don't take kindly to kilts as it's not part of Health& Safety workwear if you're working near the track, or , bending down to fix equipment )... so I decided to forego the kilt this time... I packed it in the car, but there's no place to change into a kilt... Perhaps next year... I met Chas, but I don't know who else from the Forum dropped by...

[MacMillans son]

Could it be the dilution of tradition over time Jock? As the younger generations get further from their own heritage, and by many Scot's admission, a heritage that is seen less and less, save for a couple of special gigs a year, the opportunity for the caricature Scot, as defined by others, increases. When tourists wearing the kilt far outnumber the natives in kilts, it is easy to see why the native would make the correlation to the tourist.

I assume this will continue at a somewhat exponential rate, as the result of a self-fulfilling prophesy. The less Scots wear the kilt to avoid looking like tourists, the greater the percentage of kilts seen are on tourists (and we all know how well most pull that look off ). Add to that the natural age related decline of a generation of native kilt wearers and, voila!, Harry meets Sally at your kitchen table.

I fear that pretty soon we'll have to send a contingent of Xmarks members to retrain the native population on their own traditions, based on what some old farmer name "Jock Scot" told us.

Best to you and yours,
Brooke

[TheOfficialBren]

It's also likely related to the Highland/Lowland divide that's always existed in Scotland. As Neil Oliver once said, "the two often don't understand one another."

[Jack Daw]

When I first went to Scotland back in 2003, I was warned by an American kilt-wearer, who had been to Scotland 14 times before me, not to take my kilt unless I was attending an event that was specific to the kilt, otherwise I may be taken for a tourist by the locals. So, I didn't pack it. In 2008, I took my niece to Argyll for the Worldwide Gathering of Clan MacIntyre, that called for a kilt on two evenings. I admit, I felt more self-conscious about wearing the kilt than I did at home.

To turn the story around a bit, on another occasion, I had to meet a colleague who was from the New York office of our bank. He had never been to Texas before, but he showed up wearing a broad-brimmed hat (a straw in winter), a western shirt, a "string" tie, standard business suit, and some strange boots. By trying to fit in, he got the stereotype wrong and looked the odd duck instead.

[tulloch]

I believe we are over-thinking the issue. I do not dress for what I imagine others are thinking. Although aware of what may be viewed as novelty, eccentricity, or rebellion I do wear what I like. Life is too short to dress for (possibly erroneous) imagined views of others. I love my kilts. I love how they feel when I stand and walk in them. I do not like wearing them when I will be sitting for a long while. I would not wear pants climbing and hiking. Last summer I was privileged to visit Glasgow for two weeks. I wore my kilt all the time. Next time I go I will make one change - I will bring my arch supports. My feet were killing me after all that walking.

[Blake Roth]

I live and work in Gettysburg, one of the most frequented and 'sacred' sites in the western hemisphere. When I leave work for the day I can still get comments from most people about my long side-whiskers (which look more like beard at the moment)-to which they either think 1) that I am of the local plain folk (Amish/Mennonite/Dunkard) or 2) I'm a re-enactor on my spare time. I am neither. I just like the elder look I think it gives me, but any tourist will automatically think its one of the two categories because of where they spy me. I would not be caught dead wearing a kepi, in either blue or gray here. I whole heartedly understand the opinion of the neighbor's son....I do not have anything to do with Civil War/American Victorian anything in my life outside of work because that's what we trade to the tourist here: the 'official' image, the way it is packaged/presented to the tourist, the certain exploitation applied to it, and most crucially and uncontrollably, the final interpretation/expression of the tourist him/her self which is infinitely variable. Manifested outwardly, the expressions evoke the ever-growing stereotypes. I should believe the same is probably similar in other localities, including our Scotland.