Many years ago, while working as a manufacturing systems mechanic, I had my knee damaged by a rolling material bin. After my visit to the hospital visited a large immobilization dressing on my left knee, it was obvious that I would not be covering it with my trousers. My spouse brought my kilt to the hospital on my request. I put it on with hose, flashes, sporran, kilt pin, sgian dubh, and belt with a T-shirt. I then got the crutches out and ambled out of the room to the nurses station to check out. The nurses and technicians commented on how I had made my clothes work with the cast. This was further noted by many people as I worked my way through the corridors to the exit. I took the paper work and headed to my place of employment so as to handle the insurance bureaucracy. At the time the fashion for my younger workmates was to have the clip of their folding knife showing on the trouser pocket. I was getting a few "skirt" comments from the lads until I slid the sgian dubh from my hose to peel an orange as I was sitting in the break area awaiting a supervisor. I wiped the blade off on a paper towel and thrust it firmly into its scabbard hidden in my hose. The younger co workers were suddenly very interested in this feat of not cutting myself or the hose. The ears were open and a short dissertation on the kilt and its history resulted in a lot of respect for it and my wearing of it. During the recovery period, one of my coworkers had broken an ankle while on a ski holiday, and was joining the crutch club. He had a rather large "walking cast" that made trousers a real issue, and was wearing sweatpants with a ripped lower seam to work. He got more ribbing for not getting a kilt than I ever did for wearing mine.