WHY NOT WEAR TROUSERS?

[James]

No doubt a shocking suggestion for this forum!

However, having worn the kilt for rather more years than I'd care to remember, it is one that I must ask; in view of the apparent prevailing attitude of many who contribute here.

My own approach is that to wear or not to wear the kilt should be no more of a decision than which shirt to wear. In fact often the reason I'm wearing or not wearing the kilt on a particular day, is purely based on what I might happen to pick up first-regardless of what I'm doing that day.

Choice only coming into it when there is some particular activity, which directs me to one way of dressing or another. Thus working on the car would suggest very old trousers; whilst a walk in the country the kilt-and so on.

There again I've never had any opposition or problems in respect of wearing the kilt: so do not feel there are barriers to be broken down, or that I need to worry if wearing it to a social occasion or for something as mundane as going to the supermarket.

My thinking being that then kilt should be regarded and worn as a normal day to day garment, and there are no points to be gained from wearing it or not wearing it on any particular occasion: the mood of the moment being the deciding factor.

Obviously I'm seeing the matter in a very different way to many: so I'm asking why?

James

[Freelander Sporrano]

I'll Stand up here...Hi, my name's David and, I wear Trousers....There I said it.

Why ?.....'Cos I only have 1, 8 yard hand sewn tank at the mo' I do however use it as much as I feel I can. Given that work is a no-no. Messing around in the Garden, Changing wheels and oil on the car all are really no go areas for my £400 Rolls Royce.If I had an older kilt then maybe.( I was going to add cheaper kilt I feel however that even a cheaper new kilt shuoldn't be trated in such away)

I'm amazed at all you guys that manage to wear the kilt full- time.Then again you have more than 1 kilt.So in escence I agree ...for the moment anyway It's "orses for courses"


PS. Nr 2 should be here anyday now andNr 3 is about to ordered

[MDR-V300]

James:

You're seeing a concentration of one point of view for a very simple reason - You came to this forum.

This forum is a magnet for those who have just recently discovered kilts [or more accurately, just discovered the possibility of wearing kilts daily]. Some are nervous about trying something new, some actually encounter hostility, some need to be reassured that skirts aren't always for women. Most are a mixture, I would guess.

It's also a very positive and reassuring community. As such, there is always going to be a flood of comments saying "Of course you should wear your kilt to [event]!" and so forth. We will exaggerate the positive and downplay the negative so as to keep the atmosphere that we all like here.

Apart from any group reassurance we give ourselves about kilt wearing, there is the plain ol' novelty/bragging factor. When somthing new enters one's life, it is given a disproportionate amount of importance. Sometimes it dies away fast, and sometimes things stabilize, and you marry it
One way to keep the feeling of novelty alive is to talk about it with like-minded people who are also excited. Enthusiasm is very contagious.

Now, to be clear, I am not saying that we all go around in kilts every hour of every day. What I'm saying is that the hours spent kilted are the ones that you're going to hear about on this forum. Apart from Graham and Hamish, I'm willing to bet that most of us wear pants as the situation dictates. Some of us wear pants much more often than we wear kilts.

So my opinion is that most of us act similarly to the manner in which you act, but we come here to talk about being kilted. Pants are boring for us. Kilts are exciting, so we're excited to share the feeling.

[Please forgive any misspellings and/or grammatical mistakes and/or crackpot ideas and/or offense. I don't mean to speak for everybody. Long posts are, as always, not my fault. Blame Rum. Rum makes for more typing. Viva Personal Responsibility! ]

Derek

[Martin Fr]

I have the advantage of being retired, and thus not having to toe the line for employment. While still working, it was trousers, sometimes bermudas when very hot, and mugs much of the time otherwise.
For the last two years, it has been mugs exclusively, and I can see no point in going back to leg-tubes and crotch-crushers.
I’m not at all keen on crawling under a car to do repairs, but if I had to, I have enough old home-made, easy to wash mugs, so that’s what I’d be wearing just as I do for gardening.
No, I’m not going back to stuffing myself into trousers or shorts (as I did for so many long years). Dressing and undressing (and using the toilet) is so much easier when one has not got to arrange layers of clothes inside trousers, and hot weather is so much more bearable without double or triple layers of cloth round a sweaty scrotum.

Sometimes it’s hard enough making a choice which mug to wear; let’s not also agonize over whether to go bifurcated or not.

Martin,
In Grenoble, France.

[Aaron]

James, you're absolutely right. Wearing a kilt full time is some people's thing. Some others may only want to wear it part time or maybe only for special occasions. Either way it's nobody's **** but yours and you're free to cover it however you wish.

I have the same response to people who say I should wear a kilt every day as I do for people that say I can only wear pants. (I can't say I've ever heard either, but for hypothetical purposes) And that's simply, "Bite me".

Wear it to suit you, when it suits you. I don't think I'll be giving up pants because for me they serve certain purposes. (working on cars, mowing the grass) And besides, some days I won't feel like wearing a kilt, some days I will. And f*** anyone that tells me I can't do either when and where I damn well feel like it. Besides, regardless of the enthusiasm you see here, I really don't think anyone here would ever tell think to tell you you couldn't do anything. (Except maybe Hamish regarding the sporran chain no-no, but that's for your own good anyway.)

[Graham]

James, good point. I also have the advantage of being self employed. I can wear whatever I want, therefor my choices are made based on what I'm doing and where I'm going.

98% of the time, I go for a kilt. today i wore shorts because I was to be working in main street of the city up a ladder, then later in a Golf Club up a ladder doing honour boards with rowdy, drunk patrons sitting about.

I was glad of the choice I made, but i couldn't wait to get back into a kilt later.

Kilts or trousers are about choice, I find a kilt a more comfortable choice.

[Martin Fr]

Graham
(and other ladder-climbers),
Put a “modesty snap” in your kilt to hold the front to the back while up high. The curious down below will soon get tired of looking.
(in British English: a press stud sewn to the middle of the inner front apron and to the middle pleat at the back will keep pryong eyes out of your kilt, and you’ll be able to get on with your work in peace. The stud can be released for everyday wear, of course.)

Don’t you feel cold without that comforting thickness of good wool round your lower back?

Martin

[Jerry]

I only have two kilts (3 if you count my Sportkilt in Blackwatch tartan. Thus I don't go kilted all of the time, I more or less reserve the Kilts for going out to eat and such, although I do sometimes wear the Sportkilt out shopping or on long trips. A kilt is nice for a quiet walk on our farm acerage too.

[Mychael Sporrano]

I wear whatever the situation dictates, though I do wear a kilt much more often than not. Like a few others who post here, I do have the freedom associated with being self employed, so I am better able to do what I want.

Now that the temperature has dropped, I tend to grab pants when I get up in the morning. If the day warms I might change into a kilt. Once the snow falls I will probably be back in my LL Bean flannel lined jeans. In my opinion they will be more practical than wearing a kilt, but that is hust me.

One tremendous advantage of mixing it up is that I present a variety of looks to the missus. She is used to seeing me in kilts, and while she loves the look, it [like anything else that is done exclusively], can become blaise after a while. Yesterday, Karen spied me in pants and did a double take, telling me that she forgot how much she also likes me in pants. According to her, pants are tough to beat where emphasizing the male tush is concerned.

"Except maybe Hamish regarding the sporran chain no-no..." What, pray tell, is the sporran chain no-no??

Mychael

[Casey]

For me, wearing a kilt is about choice.

I don't wear kilts to work; and I don't see that changing.

The interesting thing is that I wear my kilts when I am not at work and now I have more kilts than casual pants.

I am at looking covering the knees for our Canadian winter.

Casey