Your first experiance with a kilt.

[OC Richard]

Made myself some coffee in my French press and grabbed a mug. I sat to enjoy my morning brew and I looked at one of the ads. It was for that pipe band. I looked them up online and found that they offered free lessons. I went that night and joined.

Wow, the workings of Fate!

Like several of the people above, my kiltwearing came about due to piping.

In my early teens I listened to my Dad's bagpipe albums over and over (those and his Bach albums) and I keenly watched for Pipe Bands in each year's Rose Parade on TV. But seeing pipes and kilts in person didn't seem to be a possibility, living as we did out in a remote desert place.

Then in my third year of High School, at lunch break one day, what did I see but one of my fellow students marching about in a kilt playing the pipes? He was the very image of the piper, freckles and red hair and all. It was a huge school- around 4,000 kids, and I hadn't met or known of this guy.

I ran up to him when he had stopped playing and told him that I really wanted to learn the pipes. He steered me in the right direction, telling me to get a practice chanter (the existence of which I had not imagined) and the COP Tutor and ideally to go up with him to Canada each summer to Piping School.

I visited his home a couple times and met his charming Scottish parents and got a few tips on playing. Having never seen pipes or kilts or anything up close before, I was fascinated to see his kilt hanging in his closet like ordinary clothes (which looking back seems foolish- where else would he have his kilt?) and to see his lovely silver and ivory pipes in their case shoved under his bed (which also amazed me, because for some reason I didn't imagine pipes being kept in cases like other instruments).

So I tooted away on my practice chanter diligently and a year and a half later when it was time to graduate my Dad asked me what I would like as a graduation present and I immediately said bagpipes. That was my first set- made by Lawrie in Glasgow- and I thought I had won the lottery the day those came, in the summer of 1975.

About the kilts, the only thing I knew about them was what I could glean from The Scottish Shopper catalogue, a place in Seattle that did mail order (this being long before the internet). It was so interesting to look through- ghillie brogues! Montrose doublets! Evening and Day sporrans! Sword and targe kilt pins! I had no idea any of this existed.

My first kilt was made by my grandmother, out of plaid wool bought at an ordinary fabric shop. I wonder where on earth that kilt is today.

My second was also made by my grandmother but this was made from actual tartan, MacDonald of the Isles Hunting, got from The Scottish Shopper.

My first "real" kilt was loaned to me by the first pipe band I played in, after we had moved to Greater Los Angeles, in 1976 or 1977. It was a heavyweight MacLaren Ancient kilt. That band wore the whole kit- doublets, feather bonnets, horsehair sporrans, etc for gigs and I was very excited the day I got issued all that.

Oh, here's a photo of my second kilt, which my grandmother made around 1976, from Scottish tartan got from The Scottish Shopper. The doublet is a home-made affair as well: I bought a navy blue suit coat from Goodwill and cut it up and turned it into what you see. Since I didn't know how to operate a sewing machine, every stitch was by hand. My new pride and joy was the feather bonnet bought with the money I won in an art contest.

[Riverkilt]

My grandfather Murdoch took me to many highland games when I was a lad - but it never occured to me to be kilted too. As a young man I went to highland games and still, it never occured to me to be kilted.

Then, a while back I was at a Ren Faire and saw a guy in a caramel workman's Utilikilt and I caught the fever. Had to have one. Followed him around until I deciphered the logo on the back pocket. Went home and surfed the Internet to find Utilikilt.

Took three long months for the first UK to arrive, but meantime I had the fever and ordered THREE Amerikilts and TWO SportKilts...and I was off and running. Since then I've purchased about 68 (somewhere in that range) kilts and have thirty some left that still fit me.

Two memories of being kilted early on - the sheer FREEDOM of hiking kilted, and my boss running into me kilted in the local hardware store. He broke out in laughter - doubled up...couldn't stop laughing. I stood proud though. Kilts remain a strange sight in my little rural town.

[Kiltboy]

The first kilt I saw in person was my neighbors Utilikilt. Loved it immediately. After a evening of silliness and a drink or two, my neighbor bet me I couldn't wear it for an entire day.

I had fun winning that bet. I found so many friends and met many "former strangers" with Celtic background, who also owned kilts, but never wore them, and thought it was a really good idea. I agreed.

I was hooked.

[Joshua]

This is a long one, and isn't as direct as many of the posts here, but here goes...

For me, it was the Games, always the games.

Around late 2001 I was morbidly obese (440lbs) and sedentary, a PC gamer by night and a helpdesk engineer by day. I was soon-to-be married to my lovely wife, but we worked in the same place which prevented our marriage unless one of us left. I figured I could get another job.. so I left. Two weeks later a handful of jihadist pricks flew some planes into some very important places in NY and DC. The job market dried up... overnight. I had 4 very promising interviews lined up, and between September 12th and Sept 20th I had 4 cancellations due to a "hiring freeze".

Fast forward 6 months, I'm stopping by my friend Mike's homebrew store for a beer and "shop talk", after a day of literally going from company to company in my suit and tie, resume in hand, begging for a job. I told him "Screw I.T., I could be happy working here" - he said "ok, come in tomorrow, and don't wear a suit". So I ended up teaching people to homebrew, selling homebrew ingredients, beer, and equipment. One of the perks to working at a homebrew supply store, was that I got invites to certian functions...

One of these functions happened to be the Dunedin Scotch Tasting, that happens just before the Dunedin Highland Games.

At the Scotch Tasting, there were about 6 burly, surly lads in kilts and t-shirts, whereas everyone else was wearing their Daywear best... of course, I'm 440lbs and casually dressed so I naturally feel more comfortable with them than I do the others... and after talking with them for awhile they are shocked, surprised, and appalled, that with my size I'm not a thrower. "But I'm not Scottish!?" I cried... "Me neither..." was the response from several. "But I'm not an athlete!?" I cried... "Me neither..." was the response from several. "But I'm not strong!" I cried... "Then you need to get strong." was the response...

That put a bug in my ear... Within weeks I was weight training, absorbing all I could from strength training books, studying and practicing nutrition, etc... by 2003 I was well under 350lbs, competing in strongman, had bought myself a kilt (sportkilt in green Morrison), and was throwing on the weekends with those same athletes that goaded me to do so in the first place.

I can honestly say, the Highland Games saved my life. And with that, the Kilt helped.

[Mickey]

Joshua, THAT is a pretty great story!!

[ohiopiper]

We had some family friends that were firefighters, father and son both. Kenny, the son, was almost my parents age and played for the Cleveland Memorial pipes and Drums. Being a little kid, i had no idea he played the pipes and had only a vague idea of what bagpies even were. Until one day...

We went over to visit them and there was this sound coming from the backyard. Absolutely mesmerizing. I became an addict. Listened to every piping cassette I could find (this was well before cd's) until i was old enough to handle a PC. Kenny got me introduced to a local band called the Geauga highlanders and hooked up with lessons.

When i was about 12 or 13 I was marching with the band and wearing a kilt, although the kilt was a very distant second in my interests. Stopped piping when i went into the service and picked it back up a few years ago at the insistence of my wife who is of MacKay extraction. Was asked to do a few gigs which i had to refuse because i had no kilt. So the answer was to buy a kilt. So now i have a USAK "premier" from Rocky and wear it even when i'm not piping, sometimes.

I'm tossing around the idea of getting a casual kilt in the near future to save wear and teear on my 8 yarder so i can save it for gigs and more formal stuff.

[JiminDC]

I don't remember the first time I wore a kilt, but I've got an idea. I was a historical re-enactor (SCA) before I got married (20 years this year) and had a Scottish persona. I bought 8 yards of plaid fabric (with a Black Watch look) and decided I had a kilt. Since I already had a thick leather belt all I needed to do was lay it out on the bed and pleat the fabric in place and hitch up the belt. I did this for a couple of years before I decided to "cheat" and sew the pleats in place.

About 20 years later, I was at a Relay For Life to help raise money for the American Cancer Society and as a part of a memorial service the Prince George's County Police Pipe Band (PGCPPB) was playing. I approached them when they were done and found out that they are a teaching band and would be happy to teach a new member. I have a tenor drum that belonged to my grandfather - inherited it by being the first grandson. I have a picture of my grandparents in kilts in the snows of Montana from the 1950's.

So here was a chance to learn how to play my grandfather's drum and listen to bagpipe music. I started going to practice and learning to play the drum. After awhile as the summer parade season approached I was issued the uniform. My first time wearing the kilt in public was in a parade as part of a band. It might have been because it was a police band - but we didn't get any hecklers. (I am not on the police force, just a citizen volunteer - but I got to wear a police issue shirt as part of the uniform.)

I am no longer part of the band. I started a new job in January and do not have time for practice and do not want to perform when I don't have time to practice. But I miss the chance to wear the kilt and in April ordered my first modern kilt in Dundas Ancient from Burnets and Struth. A casual kilt to get me started. Once I see how it fits (haven't gotten it yet) I want to order a tank in Dundas Modern - still looking at options and reading reviews of the different kiltmakers to decide where to order the tank from.

[kilt4beer]

... and my boss running into me kilted in the local hardware store. He broke out in laughter - doubled up...couldn't stop laughing. I stood proud though.

THAT is cool. Just stand there proudly. Best possible response. I love it!

[rondo]

I had known about my Scotish heritage as far back as my pre-teens. Dad had told me that my grandmother was a Dunbar and what the tartan looked like. Dad never kilted up but I was interested. This desire was dormant until I was in the Navy and my submarine docked in Dunoon, Scotland. I saw a few kilted gentlemen and spent more than a few evenings drinking in local pubs with some Regimental types [I don't recall the regiment]. On a sailors salary I wasn't able to pull the trigger on a kilt at that time. This was in the late 80's.

Time moves on, got married, raised children, then in 2000, my wife and I started going to the Colorado Renassaince Festival. What a cool fantasyland of anything goes partying. I decided I wanted to kilt up for the next Ren Fest. Ordered a philabeg from Celtic Croft and was on my way.

I eventually plan on ridding myself of trousers entirely. Until then I'll wear my kilts when I can.

Rondo

[Santa Wally]

I started to type a reply and had the background done, but I had to check out the spelling for the town in FL, Zephyrhills. When I came back, the reply I had started was gone. I'll need more time than I have right now to retype the background and the rest of the story of my first kilt, so I come back later to do so. Stay tuned....