The Importance of knowing the Rules of Kilted Fashion

[Abax]

I break the rules when I wear a kilt where I live. Now what? I should follow the rules for wearing a kilt somewhere else? I think this is the essence of what Jock Scot and others perceive as arrogance.

For me, yes . . . I follow many of the rules for wearing a kilt elsewhere as I traipse about the United States. It makes me feel like *some* of the people I meet might think I'm following the rules. It's also a shortcut for looking good

Abax

[BroosterB1]

The keynote is looking good. Somehow when kilted you just care a bit more...you want to look; well your best. That feeling infuses into the rest of your attitude. I mean who wants to look sloppy when kilted?

Yes, you carry yourself a touch higher, and yes, you are a bit (not alot, a bit) more self aware, but as to rules? You are breaking the biggest rule of them all, conformity! So if it's drum an pipe full dress, or X-lilt with a tee shirt, have at it and loose the dogs of war! If you look good, and you feel good, that should be enough!

[The Wizard of BC]

If I may,,,

There are so many people on this thread getting upset over the word "rules".

May I suggest we change the word in the title to "Conventions"

A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom.

This is what we're really talking about here. We usually agree that some things are just wrong. We usually agree that some things are right or OK.
The entire "Kilt do's and don'ts" thread proves that.

If one person breaks a rule, and others agree that it is an improvement and begin to emulate it then it becomes an accepted "convention".

If one person breaks a rule, and we all laugh at him, then we have agreed it was stupid.

A rule, like a law, is not a rule if it is not enforceable. And as we all know there aren't any Kilt Kops. So there are no "rules" to be broken.

We all police ourselves. We make judgments of others and how they wear the Kilt. We then choose to follow, or not.

Over the last 200 years we Kilt wearers have agreed that a Kilt looks better with the Pleats in the back. We have agreed that a Jacket worn with a Kilt looks better if it is shorter than a Suit Coat. We have agreed that Spats & a Horse Hair Sporran look better on a Pipe Major than they do on the street.

The word "Rule" seems to be one of those button words that upsets the Kilt World. Just as the word "Skirt" seems to.

[ThistleDown]

With all due respect, perhaps there is another misunderstanding in this thread. The Scots present are not critiquing the wearing of the kilt by non-Scots. Neither are they in any way suggesting that the kilt should be worn in accordance with any set of written or unwritten rules – other than, perhaps, the obvious pleats-in-the-back ones, and the like.

This thread is about “kilted fashion” and what we are trying to get across is that the Scottish kilt is just a part of the Scottish National Dress; if one wants to wear Scottish National Dress (including the Scottish kilt) there are customs/conventions to be followed. It is not the kilt we are referring to, you see, but to its accompaniments and the manner of wearing them.

Over time its current form has evolved from attire arguably original to the Scottish Highlands, but that evolution is without question within Scotland. It could not and cannot evolve outside Scotland and still be called Scottish National or Highland Dress.

Scottish Highland Dress is alive today; it did not come to an end with a sketch in 1646, or a memory of 1746, or a painting in 1846, or a photo taken in 1946. It is evolving even as we think and write.

When a question is asked about how that dress is worn today – the conventions -- it is not possible for the answer to be expressed in terms of current custom or fashion in New South Wales, or Ontario, or Nebraska, or Cape Town, or Amsterdam -- but only in Scotland.

The tail does not wag the dog.

[Abax]

You raise some interesting points.

With all due respect, perhaps there is another misunderstanding in this thread. The Scots present are not critiquing the wearing of the kilt by non-Scots.

And yet that is precisely what many people on this forum - outside of Scotland - are asking for. And then some people read the answer and try to apply it to their situation, not realizing that they may have different goals in wearing a kilt and everything that goes with it.

This thread is about “kilted fashion” and what we are trying to get across is that the Scottish kilt is just a part of the Scottish National Dress;

In my vernacular, "just" would diminish what follows. I think I'm correct in saying that Scots are proud of the kilt.

if one wants to wear Scottish National Dress (including the Scottish kilt) there are customs/conventions to be followed.

Perhaps that pride justifiably leads some to protect their national dress from change by external forces. I could understand that (if it's true).

It is not the kilt we are referring to, you see, but to its accompaniments and the manner of wearing them.

The quote above is one of the the most important distinctions I've read in this thread yet. Good!

It could not and cannot evolve outside Scotland and still be called Scottish National or Highland Dress.

But wearing a kilt outside of Scotland *will* evolve, and many people will confuse that with Highland Dress.

When a question is asked about how that dress is worn today – the conventions -- it is not possible for the answer to be expressed in terms of current custom or fashion in New South Wales, or Ontario, or Nebraska, or Cape Town, or Amsterdam -- but only in Scotland.

The tail does not wag the dog.

You've made it clear for me that there are really three different discussions going on here:

1) Highland Dress in Scotland.
2) Emulating Highland Dress outside of Scotland.
3) Everything else about how kilts are worn. This category is broad not to be facetious, but to more accurately describe something like "How kilts and their accompaniments are worn outside of Scotland."

I'm in the last category. Perhaps I'm diluting the national dress of Scotland, but then I'm not very likely to wear a kilt there casually (I'll be visiting in the next few years).

I hope there's room on XMarks for all the different categories of people I've described. Conventions for wearing the kilt seem likely to vary based on the goals and perhaps even the location of the person wearing it.

Abax

[davedove]

...

You've made it clear for me that there are really three different discussions going on here:

1) Highland Dress in Scotland.
2) Emulating Highland Dress outside of Scotland.
3) Everything else about how kilts are worn. This category is broad not to be facetious, but to more accurately describe something like "How kilts and their accompaniments are worn outside of Scotland."

...

I hope there's room on XMarks for all the different categories of people I've described. Conventions for wearing the kilt seem likely to vary based on the goals and perhaps even the location of the person wearing it.

Abax

You are correct about the different categories. I was just thinking along those lines myself.

If one is trying to dress as a Scotsman would (or more specifically, a Highlander), especially a formal outfit, then there are certain standards and expectations, as have developed over the years.

If one is just trying to put together a good looking kilted outfit, then only the standards of appearance and good taste apply.

There are, of course, some overlaps between the two categories, but they are two different standards.