Quote Originally Posted by highlander_Daz
Traditional Tartan kilts are almost exclusively seen in scotland, Modern "kilts" dont seem to have caught on at all in the eyes of most scots they are not realy kilts, recently two scots TV presenters appered at an award show in plain black and plain white "kilts" and there was a number of letters to the newspapers bemoning these garmets to the effect that they are not Kilts, but skirts for men. a firm in Scotland called 21st Century Kilts makes these as well as Vin Diesels Leather "kilt" . I think to most people in the street a "kilt" is associated with scotland and has a Tartan pattern, I am not keen on the modern designs, Ive never worn one and I really do feel they look like skirts to most unenlightened people.

Their misconception shouldn't become my problem. The Irish wore solid color saffron kilts with their leine long before Utilikilts and other solid color kilts (and yes, they are kilts; no offense to anyone, but despite what the "scot on the street" thinks, scotland doesn't have a monopoly on kilts). More pointedly, "Highland Socities" comprised primarily of aristocratic non-highlanders were responsible for much of the revival of the kilt during the Romantic Revival of the 19th Century.

Wikipedia also has this interesting tidbit to add

The Garment's name comes from the Scots word kilt meaning to tuck up the clothes around the body. The Scots word derives from the Old Norse "kjilt", which means "pleated", from Viking settlers who wore a similar, non-tartan pleated garment.
I think that "tartan" and "kilt" became associated with scotland/scottish nationality/ancestry/whatever only because of the interpretations of the aforementioned non-highlanders, and this is a misconception that needs to be confronted and eradicated. The "Tartan" kilt is obviously a creation of scotland, there is no doubt about that, but the "kilt" itself has been around along time, and as a part of several different cultures. Utilikilts, freedomkilts, etc, all fall under umbrella term of "kilt".