First post, first question

[Cawdorian]

Welcome from the highlands of North Atlanta. The more you wear your kilt the more comfortable you become with it.

Be sure and look at the photos of the others, the tartan, belt, sporran and other accessories will bring your outfit to perfection.

[Raphael]

It is too bad that your friends didn't accept the way you dress. But you are in university, and you should be able to meet new friends. Just wear you kilt, I bet within weeks, a fellow student and come on to give you a positive comment. University is a good place to meet free thinking individuals and I am sure there a few of them on your campus.

[cavscout]

Perhaps I'm over analyzing this but if we look at this sociologicaly we can develop a strategy that's fairly reliable.

Please do not take offense to anything I may say from here, it's purely my observations of human nature and how it can be used in our favor.

Starting with some fundamental human tendancies. We've all met strange characters who we would prefer not to have met. Usually those people have been identifiable by an unusual or extreme or eccentric appearnace. In our culture, wearing a kilt would fall into that classification to the typical person, so it will be expected that they will react on their previous experiences and be leary of a man in a kilt.

Some people will be very closed minded and avoid us all together.
Some will feel the need to try and intimidate us by ridicule or mocking.
Some will be ingnorantly rude.
Some will be respectfully curious.
Some will be enthusiastic.
Some will wonder where the highland games are.
Some will be willing to accept that others have there own way of doing things and not worry about it.

I've probably left out a position in this spectrum but I think I hit the major ones that would typically be encountered.

Safely we can isolate the first two and choose not to deal with them unless absolutely neccessary.

The ignorantly rude can be dealt with at kilt wearers discretion though courtousy is the best way to go when unsure of the other persons intention.

The last 4 are very easy to deal with as they have shown to be at least well enough adjusted in social skills to accept a persons freedom to dress as they choose and possibly understand the culutral signifigance of the kilt.

There are plenty of one liners to deal with the first 3 groups. These are more easy to deal with as you gain experience and see what works for you.

The last 4 while more accepting will still struggle to put the kilt into a context that they can understand. Why is this guy wearing a kilt? Is he doing something special today? Wedding? Funeral? Storming a castle?

Seeing a guy I don't know, standing around on campus doing nothing in a kilt would lead me to think this guy is SCREAMING for attention. Soooo, let them see you doing something. Doing laundry, going to a party, arguing with the registrars office about your schedule or even just being casually sociable with those you pass walking across campus.

When they see you being a typical guy, doing typical guy stuff, it will help them grasp what is happening and ease their adjustment. Some will say, "screw them, it's not my job to make them comfortable." and no it's not. bUt it benefits us all if we don't jsut pop out of the wood work and expeect people to know how to react to a guy in a kilt in todays culture.

I've rambled enough and hopefully I've made some logical point that helps. Wear the kilt, and the more you do, the more confident you will be, and soon.....no worries.

[Roan Carter]

Well, as the title says, this is my first post here. As you may have gathered, TheSp8 is my daddy. Now, he recently bought me an Amerikilt, and I'll have it in a few days. I've been asking some of my friends their opinions, and disappointingly, the responses have been unanimously negative. I go to Kansas State University(and I'm an Ag Major, no less), and although I love the school, it does have the downside of being strongly rooted in farming and cowboy hats, and therefore rather unused to anything remotely foreign. I've asked upwards of 15-20 of my friends, and all of them have replied in some form of, 'Dude, if I see you on campus, I'm totally walking the other way.' Has anyone else had a similar experience or any comments?

I had a friend once say "Please don't wear your kilt to my house. I know you're into that Celtic stuff but I don't want my neighbors to get the wrong idea." So I visited him in pants that day, and never visited again after that. I don't believe the friends who say things like that are very good friends anyway.

Also ... I think in some people's minds, the tartan makes a big difference and associates the kilt with a traditional heritage, making it more acceptable. But wearing a kilt will usually pit you against the majority. I think enduring that confidently is what makes a kilt wearer attractive.

[turpin]

Well, as the title says, this is my first post here. As you may have gathered, TheSp8 is my daddy. Now, he recently bought me an Amerikilt, and I'll have it in a few days. I've been asking some of my friends their opinions, and disappointingly, the responses have been unanimously negative. I go to Kansas State University(and I'm an Ag Major, no less), and although I love the school, it does have the downside of being strongly rooted in farming and cowboy hats, and therefore rather unused to anything remotely foreign. I've asked upwards of 15-20 of my friends, and all of them have replied in some form of, 'Dude, if I see you on campus, I'm totally walking the other way.' Has anyone else had a similar experience or any comments?

Let them walk away. Less competition for the ladies that are sure to be drawn to a man confident enough to wear the kilt openly and for no special occasion whatsoever. Once they see the result, they may be drawn back for the honey themselves.

Seriously, don't expect miracles, but once you start you should be consistent. This doesn't mean you have to wear it all the time, but if you put it away after initial negative response, they have won and you have caved. Only you can decide whether you want to be defined by your own values or those of others.

For a more comprehensive and thoughtful answer, I can't think of anything I've seen on this forum that addresses your specific issues beteter than Cavscout did above.

Good kilting - you dad will be proud!

[jfellrath]

Good for you, Junior. If I had known about Utilikilts and the like in college, I'd have been wearing them too. Of course, they may not have existed back then... but the fact remains that I'd have LOVED to wear kilts in college. And with the experience I just had going back to my college for a football game in a kilt, I can guarantee you that the ladies love kilts.

Your friends will come around once they see it and the attention it gets you, I think.

[MacTavishOfJapan]

Welcome to the forum from Japan.

I don't think you should worry too much about your friends think but at the end of the day you should do what makes you comfortable, hopefully that's wearing a kilt.

Good luck!

[Blu (Ontario)]

... but once you start you should be consistent. This doesn't mean you have to wear it all the time, but if you put it away after initial negative response, they have won and you have caved...

I'll second this thought.

There is no need to wear a kilt all the time unless that's what you decide is right for you... but if you put it away for a length of time, it gets more and more difficult to wear it. You may want to set aside -say- fridays as a kilt day. vary that based on your schedule or activities.

And after the others have had their bit of stupid fun, they will tire of it, and you will have won.

Persist and prevail.

.

[morrison]

...... 'Dude, if I see you on campus, I'm totally walking the other way.' Has anyone else....... ...... ?

Walk this way, She told me to walk this way !!


Hmm, A Klingon. Another Klingon!
Hello, TheJrSp8. Welcomo to XMTS. It's your walk.
Those walkers, they'll soon catch up to you if they've true interests.

[Vince]

I hope that I did not offend as that was not my intention.

As far as your friends' reactions, it comes down to two aspects; geographical and social. A student walking around a campus in Kansas or Wyoming wearing boots and a cowboy hat wouldn't evoke much notice. Do the same on the NYU or Stanford campuses and I am certain that there would be some comments and looks. People are not alway comfortable with things that are different or new and find a kneejerk negative reaction the easy escape. Laugh at it or ridicule it and it will go away, then I won't have to deal with it. These aren't necessarily mean spirited people; just people that haven't thought it through. Of course, there are those types that think they can feel better about themselves by putting someone else down.

Again, best of luck. Looking forward to the photos.