How does what "they" think affect what you wear?

[Highlander31]

When we lived in San Jose, the comments were mixed. Due to the melting-pot nature of the Bay Area, the comments were predictable based on the culture. On one occasion, I went shopping with my wife in the Almaden Mall. We stopped at one of the little vendor kiosks that dot the walk area. The vendor, who later said he was from Pakistan, stated "it must take a lot of guts to wear a skirt." Having just completed an assignment, I was still pretty edgy. I moved to within a couple of inches from his face and explained in a low tone it was a kilt, and if he had a problem with it,...my wife would kick his a$$. He laughed and apologized for not knowing the difference.

Now we live up here on the coast with the closest town being less than a thousand people. The area was founded by Scots/Irish. Most people know what a kilt is, but only three or four of us in the area wear a kilt. I wear it to walk, to parties, etc. However, working on the property is not conducive to wearing a kilt. As for what people think,...they have a right to think what they want. It doesn't come into consideration when I'm deciding to wear a kilt or not.

[Korvyn]

This actually has been interesting for me. I live in the south and people in my area can be well Difficult. At first i had thought wearing my kilt would be looked down on by people and while many including some freinds pkoe fun at me i found that alot of people are more receptive to it than i had originally expected. I get countless thumbs up and approving comments just walking through the mall. I rarely dress up and don't even own a kilt jacket.

However i think that as american's (never been to any other country so I'm basing this on what i have seen here.) we tend to categorize everyone by what they wear like Rocky said. If you don't fit into a category they are at a loss. Which i happen to love. I'm as likely to dress in cowboy boots, Wranglers and a cowboy hat as i am my kilt, tshirt and black Guinness cap on backwards with my hiking boots. it's fun to watch peoples reactions.

So basically i wear whatever i feel like for the day and couldn't care less what people think of me. Plus very few people are brave enough to mess with a 6' 2" 250 lbs. man in a kilt.

[Sammac]

I do not worry about the general public, mostly Dutch, Danish, and German around here, and I have not had the unfortunate experience of a know it all trying to tell me how to wear a kilt. I've heard all the usual comments about bagpipes and take it with a grain of salt. It seems most people use the pagpipe comment as a way to start a conversation as they are curious about kilts or why someone would wear one.

[Semiomniscient]

All reactions tend to be based on context (that is the place I'm wearing it) tempered with the experiences of the individual.
Since we have quite a lot of parades down here, and three pipe bands in Baton Rouge alone, many know what the kilt is--but assume that I play the pipes. (That's usually the question I get in a non-event kilted appearance.)
There is also a racial discrepancy in as much as acceptance of the kilt. My students (100% of whom are black) at first usually make fun of me when they hear about it or see a picture of me in a kilt. When I taught at a private school with more diversity between white, black, asian, and arab populations, it was more accepted (I guess *** for diversity promoting acceptance)? But by the end of the year, my students were interested in the kilt and all my "Scottish stuff."
At an International Heritage celebration, I was approached by a Nigerian woman who asked if wearing the kilt made me feel as though I lost my masculinity. I was very taken aback by this, as I've never thought of the kilt that way, seeing my dad, grandfather, brothers, and many of their friends wear the kilt often. But I guess that this view is there for those who aren't used to it.
I'm trying to get my friend into a kilt as well, and he seems less than enthusiastic about it. One of our dancers does not feel comfortable wearing the kilt he's borrowed from our instructor. Neither grew up seeing the kilt prominently worn. So they have to overcome their initial inclination to see it as skirt-like. But in general, I think there is a fascination with the kilt... but it becomes a different ball game when you move from curiosity to getting someone to wear it.

[Korvyn]

but it becomes a different ball game when you move from curiosity to getting someone to wear it.

But once you do they love it lol

[piperdbh]

I live about an hour away from Grandfather Mountain, and if I'm seen kilted in the summertime, people assume and/or ask, "Are you going to the Highland Games?" I think the proximity and the large Scots-Irish presence here have sort of tempered people to at least realize it's a kilt. Not everyone, of course, but the people who matter.

edited to add something I just remembered
Last summer I had the privilege of showing Mael Coluim around my town, and we stopped for lunch in a local over-rated eatery. He was wearing Caledonia; I was in Carolina, which look sort of similar, so it looked to a lot of folks like we were matching each other. As we made our way to our booth, I watched other patrons' eyes to see where they would look, and overheard a few folks saying to their lunch partners, "Must be Highland Games this week."

[Semiomniscient]

But once you do they love it lol

Well like I mentioned with one of our dancers, he doesn't love it. I'm all for him wearing trews for dance demos.

[Duke of Delrio]

Oh, I don't know, Alan . . . you're no slouch when it comes to clearly stating your thoughts. One of your many virtues!

Around here kilts are rarely seen. When I wear mine, I tend to hear things like" . . . Oh yeah . . . my grandfather used to wear a kilt." That one always puts a spring in my step. I know one other guy within 50 miles who wears a kilt, mostly to highland games and such as that. Bless him, he's learning to play the pipes too!

I am 6'4" tall and range around 235 lbs. Nobody has ever cracked wise with me about wearing a kilt. At least, not to my face. Since you can toss those weights higher than I can throw a small head of red cabbage, I wouldn't get cute with you either. . . . no matter what I thought of your kilt wearing.

Truth to tell, my kilting is mostly done for more formal occasions when nearly everyone is wearing something you would not see them in down at the store or the gas station. Perhaps that has kept any negative comments out of my hearing. Any rarity can be considered odd. In this neck of the woods, a man on foot is about as rare as a man wearing kilts. A man walking while wearing kilts, however, might have to walk farther before he is offered a lift.

[3fingerslinger]

Except for growing up in a family that was kilted I have yet to see anybody else on the street wearing a kilt, other than me or at Celtic events....I have never had a hostile encounter...a few jokes but no hostility......I'm going with the concensus here and say I wear a kilt and don't really care what anyone thinks, my family (what's left of them) loves it, and why is a kilt a big deal....people wear srongs (pacific islanders) turbans (middle eastern) daschikis (african) and nobody gives it a second look.....but they all notice a kilt and do you know why???? because KILTS ROCK!!!!!

[Mickey]

In my 11 years here, outside of Tartan Days, I have seen one guy in a kilt, one time, in a grocery store and that was about 9 years ago. There are a fair number of piping bands downtown and they are always in various parades. Most everyone in this area knows what a kilt is, but they just aren't seen in "daily wear" settings.

I kilt up at least one day each weekend and am out and about, everywhere. Like many others in this forum, I also really couldn't give a rat's ankle what people think of me or my clothing, especially being a rather non-social person. I go out expecting the worst, but have never had a negative comment (looks are a bit of a different story... a lot old guys here don't approve, but they don't approach me, or my son for that matter). However, even though I don't care about what they think of me, I do care about what they think of kilts as a whole. Similar to when I wore a uniform, I feel that I am representing something other than myself, so I pay attention to wearing it well, and even behave myself much better, making sure to be extra courteous (when normally I would be a bit of big toe to some folks).

Even though I'm Irish, I feel a certain amount of pressure to not disrespect the kilt in public. When kilted, I stick out just by being there. They won't remember me as a person one way or another, but they will remember the jerk in a skirt, or the gentleman in the kilt. It is up to me to decide that for them.