Comfort Level

[Brian Boru]

I think for me it took about 2 hours. I bought my first kilt about August of last year, a Blackwatch phillabeg at the MD Ren Faire from Wolfstone Kilt Company. They were kind enough to let me leave my jeans there and told me to go out and enjoy myself. By the end of the day I had returned to their shop, purchased a Royal Stewart Ancient, placed an order for a third one in County Monaghan tartan and have been quite happy with wearing kilts since. I must confess one thing, I'm sorry that I didn't try one on sooner (like about 20 years sooner) I now wear them when I feel like and wearing one to work is no problem, the ladies in my section love it (I'm the only guy in my section, the rest plus the boss are all ladies) and my boss has no problem at all. The soldiers just look at me and grin, and every now and then I get a whistle from one of the female troops that come through my section. As for getting strange looks, I'm used to it, I have worn my Confederate Officers uniform in to work, (my wife and I are both Civil War Reenactors) I get more questions from that than when I wear a kilt in to work.

Brian

[Geoff Withnell]

It was several days into my wearing kilts essentially full time, when I went to the gym in a kilt. In my gym the locker room is in back, so after walking the length of the gym and changing in the locker room with nothing but positive feedback (from guys and gals) I got over any jitters. If the macho type guys in the gym and the buff foxy ladies all agree that I look good in a kilt, and my Lady agrees, who am I to argue?

Geoff Withnell

[runewolf]

Well now after being kilted a total of 26 hours and hating to take it off to go to bed, I can say that it took me about an hour to get comfortable. I am still concerned as to if my belt and sporran are straight and that I haven't messed up my pleats from the car or bathroom, but it feels so good! I believe I have a form of Aultism known as Asperger's, I have not been formally diagnosed as such, but my doctor thinks so too, but would have to do "tests" to verify it lol. I have problems in crowds and physical touching (hugs and people being in "my space"), but fortunately I am of a high enough functional level to have recognized that some of my feelings were not normal and have worked on them for many years to be able to express myself to new people and be as outgoing as possible (years of being a salesperson for my father's business help greatly too). So I can kinda say that a kilt is part therapy, as there is no way to not attract attention both good and bad. Fortunately for me from years of being picked on and having an older brother, I have a fairly think skin and have developed a wall or blinders that keep me from noticing other people especially in stores. I hate running into people I know and being stuck talking to them for 20 minutes in the middle of Walmart when I went in to get something I needed real quick. I have walked past family members and never noticed them lol. I forsee the kilt helping me to be more normal, heck the first day I was hit with everything from "you play the bagpipes?" right outside of USA Kilts to "the question" in a restaurant. You just really have to get in the mindset that the only thing that matters is what you think (and your significant other if you have one). I could care less that a group of young people laughed when I was using the bathroom kilted, they do not matter to me and you can't fix ignorance. I could have ripped them a new one about their hats being on backwards and their pants are down so far they are showing butt crack, but in the larger scheme of things, do they matter or affect my life in anyway other than they are occupying the same restroom I am? Nope so they are classified in my mind as a "non-entity" and I move on.

[Nighthawk]

I'm sure that it was your honeymoon helped. You were away from home after all....

Maybe. Knowing me, though, I don't think that was it. I just decided that I no longer cared. Truth is, I think it was my dads retirement. I realized that life is just too short to let the dictates of the ignorant concern me.

[Kilt TN]

Once i put it on, and step out the door.. that's all it took

[TheKiltedCoder]

I wear my kilts at home and am perfectly comfortable (and was literally from the second I put my first one on). However, I'm still not completely comfortable in public (and I've worn them in public - pretty much full time - since last April or so).

The problem is that people feel the need to comment on my kilt. For good or bad. And I generally don't like most people too much (not really agoraphobic, but I do have tendencies that direction). So, it's been a bit of a trial for me to grit my teeth and accept that people are going to start a conversation with me. And I refuse to allow myself to get grouchy with them (it's not really their fault I'm wearing a conversation starter, and, since kilted men are not very common in the U.S., I'm conscious that I'm representing the lot of us, at least to them).

So, I do my dead level best to be nice and polite. But I do wish more folks would just treat me like I was wearing p__ts.

But, I knew the job was dangerous when I took it.

Brian