What the kilt means to you

[Andrewson]

I am a Scot who point-blank refused to wear a kilt when I was a boy growing up in Scotland. No amount of persuasion by my mother had any effect - and she really did try.

I first wore one about 17 years ago because my wife and I had got back into Scottish Country Dancing and we were selected to do a display somewhere. I then discovered just how comfortable it was, especially for dancing but also just in general. Then I discovered the attention it got when worn for non-Scottish black tie events. Not just comfortable clothing but a boost to my self esteem. How could I then resist? And, as a bonus, I have now discovered many more fellow Scots (and folk with a Scottish connection) in the local community because they go out of their way to introduce themselves to me in my kilt.

Comfort
Confidence
National pride

[Dirk Skene]

Well McG, for me it was at first a very comfortable way to dress that was a little odd (I live in Memphis, Tennessee USA). Later I discovered my roots. Now it is comfort & pride. And by wearing it I honor those brave me that fought and sometimes died for freedom.

[GG]

To me the kilt means:

Comfort
Variety
Being different

I just like wearing it, it is my peferred casual wear.

Greg - non-Scot, but there is a little bit of a Scotsman in every man, isn't there?

[staticsan]

A lot of different responses and a lot of similar responses.

The reasons I wear a kilt are actually quite complex. One of the main ones is that it's an unbifurcated garment - a skirt to most people - for men. I wear skirts (i.e. non-kilts) from time-to-time anyway and did way before I got my first kilt, so I already knew the advantages of that style of clothing. A kilt, though, is unmistakebly a male garment.

Another quite important reason is that it represents a part of me that is me, a part that wants to take risks and chances. You see me in a kilt and you see me living out "carpe diem". I wear it as a way of saying "today I don't care what the world thinks!".

And then, too, my mother is Scottish, of clan MacGregor, and she is very proud of that. So my first tartan kilt is MacGregor. It's sad that more kilt-makers don't have MacGregor tartan.

Wade.