Have your friends told you they felt underdressed while you are in a kilt?

[Alan H]

One of these days I'm going to have to post a picture of me all dressed up really nicely again, just to prove than in fact I don't live, eat, breathe and p**p "Slob" 24/7. It's like I have to prove that in addition to wearing a Hawaii'an shirt with my thrashed and sun-faded PV clan kilt...or sweating like a horse in my digicamo kilt on some Sierra peak with three days of sweat dried on me and stinking hair, that I can actually clean up OK when the situation calls for it, and that I respect the traditional look as well as the sweat-stained-and-sunburned.
Anyway, never mind me.... carry on.

[Nile]

It is strange that some people equate kilt wearing with dress up. I wore a utility kilt with a USPS golf shirt to our United States Power Squadron picnic a couple of years ago and a several of our older members came up to me and asked why I was dressed up. I was dressed just a casually as they were but I had a kilt on instead of shorts. I believe it has to do with our point of view; we kilt wearers are aware of the different types of kilts and how they might be worn for a given situation but, the general non-kilt wearing public has no clue and see it one dimensionally.

Speaking of weddings, my wife and I recently attended a wedding (as guests) that the parents of the bride (very good friends) actually requested that I wear my kilt. I wore my black, semi-formal jacket (not a Prince Charlie), no vest and a black bow tie. I personally didn't think that I out dressed anybody; everybody was dressed up. My wife was dressed to the nines and actually got more compliments than I did. (In my opinion, "nice kilt" doesn't count.) Besides, a lot of our friends were in attendance and they are used to seeing me in a kilt; no big deal!

That said, we attended the Celtic Woman concert on Sunday in Salisbury, MD and I dressed THCD daywear. It was hot and almost everyone was dressed casually; I was the only one there in a kilt except the bag pipe player in the cast. Well... that did attract a lot of attention, even from some of the cast members during the intermission. Again, my wife was dressed up and wore her "Outlander" tartan shawl and looked great but I got all the compliments.

I, like most of us here X Marks, dress as I see fit or feel the most comfortable and not necessarily for the compliments or to be 'different' (or even perhaps, as I might expect my kilted peers to approve of). It's what 'we' do not what 'they' do. Wearing a kilt to our St. Andrews Society events or a Celtic festival is common and almost expected but, when worn to general public events, one has to expect some attention.

Nile

[James Hood]

(Grimly ironic) Amusing comment above about the guy who will not "dress up" because it will be caving to "The Establishment."

NOT EVER,EVER wearing blue jeans is this "undercover/ incognito" hippie's continuing rebellion, because nowadays, almost regardless of where on earth, much of THE ENTIRE FREAKING ESTABLISHMENT ALMOST ALWAYS WEARS BLUE JEANS!!!!!

It started when to be an "official hippie," blue jeans (preferably bellbottoms for a couple years) and tee were all but"required uniform." Now, seemingly...

...every teenager, soccer mom, office dad on casual Friday and everywhere else after work hours, pre-teenager, tween, hipster, pre-tween, grandma and grandpa at Wal-Mart, "Housewives of....", kid in the hood, kid in the burbs, kid in the city, blue collar worker, light blue collar worker, small-towner, skinny-jeans girl, outlaw biker, bartender, off-duty cop, "Hell's Accountants" biker, churchgoer, gangsta, to-sports-events-goer, bachelor / bachelorette-party attendee, supermarket shopper, mall-browser, to-concert-goer, vacationer at Disney World, kareoke singer, retail worker, bar dart-thrower, person on the street in Chicago, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, London, Moscow, Prague, LA, Frankfurt, Toronto, Seattle, Kyoto, Melbourne, Dallas, Atlanta...

...is wearing blue jeans.

Stimulating this five-decade veteran, still rebelious, still free-thinking hippie observer, to ask, "Who is really the (great lowing herd) establishment...?"

'Thinking, not kilties. Nope, not kilties.

[Jock Scot]

Again, my sense is that its level of dress will technically depend more on the type of sporran it is than who made it or how beautifully done it is within a given style.

I have an Artificer custom that is the absolutely most beautiful leatherwork I own... but it is a day sporran because it has a leather cantle etc., so it wouldn't normally go as well with formal kit. On the other hand, a full hair sporran with a metal cantle is pretty well formal even if it's in horrible condition, or horribly made.

Having said all that, if you know the rules and do everything else right but choose to break a custom (there are no rules) that's up to you. I believe that our friend Jock has one sporran and wears it regardless of the level of dress of the rest of his kit. That's because he knows exactly what he's doing and wears it with confidence, and probably with general disregard for the opinion of others. The result: it will look right regardless.

Funnily enough, the last time I wore the kilt(some months ago now as I am outwith Scotland for a while) I was at a wedding and for the first time in some thirty years I was actually asked, very nicely and out of pure interest, by a fellow guest who was new to the kilt, why I was not wearing a more formal sporran with my black barathea silver buttoned argyle(morning coat equivalent). My reply of, " you find me one that I like and I will wear it with pleasure", was met with some surprise, but on thinking about it and after further conversation, he did say that he could see my point. Know the conventions, know the event and minor adjustments to convention are acceptable.

Overdressing for any event looks just as dreadful as underdressing in my view and it matters not whether the kilt or jeans, or lounge suit, or "tails" are required and shows little consideration for the event, your hosts, or others attending the event. As far as the kilt goes, it is the foundation to which your other attire is dressed up, or, down accordingly, but the kilt in itself is not a dressing up garment.

[Peter Lowe]

(Grimly ironic) Amusing comment above about the guy who will not "dress up" because it will be caving to "The Establishment."

NOT EVER,EVER wearing blue jeans is this "undercover/ incognito" hippie's continuing rebellion, because nowadays, almost regardless of where on earth, much of THE ENTIRE FREAKING ESTABLISHMENT ALMOST ALWAYS WEARS BLUE JEANS!!!!!

It started when to be an "official hippie," blue jeans (preferably bellbottoms for a couple years) and tee were all but"required uniform." Now, seemingly...

...every teenager, soccer mom, office dad on casual Friday and everywhere else after work hours, pre-teenager, tween, hipster, pre-tween, grandma and grandpa at Wal-Mart, "Housewives of....", kid in the hood, kid in the burbs, kid in the city, blue collar worker, light blue collar worker, small-towner, skinny-jeans girl, outlaw biker, bartender, off-duty cop, "Hell's Accountants" biker, churchgoer, gangsta, to-sports-events-goer, bachelor / bachelorette-party attendee, supermarket shopper, mall-browser, to-concert-goer, vacationer at Disney World, kareoke singer, retail worker, bar dart-thrower, person on the street in Chicago, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, London, Moscow, Prague, LA, Frankfurt, Toronto, Seattle, Kyoto, Melbourne, Dallas, Atlanta...

...is wearing blue jeans.

Stimulating this five-decade veteran, still rebelious, still free-thinking hippie observer, to ask, "Who is really the (great lowing herd) establishment...?"

'Thinking, not kilties. Nope, not kilties.

I could not agree more! Some 50+ years ago I had attended a school function on a Saturday morning and, living out of town, did not change my trousers etc before going to a football (soccer) match. All my mates, dressed in jeans, accused me of being a conformist until I pointed out that they were all dressed the same and that it was me who was not conforming!

With regard to the original question my answer is "no". However I have lost count of the occasions where friends have said "oh, I could have worn my kilt" when they see me.

Peter

[tpa]

I could not agree more! Some 50+ years ago I had attended a school function on a Saturday morning and, living out of town, did not change my trousers etc before going to a football (soccer) match. All my mates, dressed in jeans, accused me of being a conformist until I pointed out that they were all dressed the same and that it was me who was not conforming!Peter

Some 50 odd years ago at University, I was frequently asked why I did not wear jeans, like everyone else (I did not own any) and here we are 50 years on, still not conforming to the norm. So not much has changed really, except that with the advent of cheap kilts I can now wear a kilt on a daily basis instead of the cords, I wore most of the time when younger. In those impecunious days my only kilt was too expensive to risk for casual daily wear and also too expensive to clean. Still have cords for car cleaning.

[Jock Scot]

TPA.

I too have not owned a pair of jeans, or T shirt in my life. I have yet to buy a cheap kilt either and I doubt that I shall need to at my time in life, not because of any sense of oneupmanship, but there has always been a new(ish) kilt for the more smart affairs and usually, an old kilt(rather more at times) lurking in my wardrobe for the more rustic uses. I too am a fan of cords.

[Arboribabe]

My wife says that often. I am usually the best dressed man in the room, even around other kilt wearers. I don't dress to impress, I dress in THCD because I enjoy it and I find it comfortable.

I just had to come to terms that the peahen is simply not as flashy as her mate. I generally try to dress well and try not to do the "mom look" that got me through those child-rearing days, but still, I'm not the one most people notice. On occasion, I can pass him up with fashion, but it is a rare event, indeed. I'm NOT complaining, mind you.

[Alan H]

Truth is, I'm wearing pretty much exactly the same thing now that I wore in college.... well, except for the kilts. However, I work at Stanford University in a building devoted to biomedical laboratory research and half of the professors show up looking scroungier than I do.

[Arboribabe]

One of these days I'm going to have to post a picture of me all dressed up really nicely again, just to prove than in fact I don't live, eat, breathe and p**p "Slob" 24/7. It's like I have to prove that in addition to wearing a Hawaii'an shirt with my thrashed and sun-faded PV clan kilt...or sweating like a horse in my digicamo kilt on some Sierra peak with three days of sweat dried on me and stinking hair, that I can actually clean up OK when the situation calls for it, and that I respect the traditional look as well as the sweat-stained-and-sunburned.
Anyway, never mind me.... carry on.

Oh, Alan, I think you do "Slob" and sweaty peak-climbing and sunburned athlete so darned well, probably better than most. But I have to say, I got the best chuckle of the day out of this and in my post-op, pain reduced state, it will keep me giggling for a while. That said, I'll have to be on the lookout for that promised post with your dapper, traditional look.