Comfort Level

[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.

[SteveB]

Way back in ancient time, (40+ years ago) I was involved with a high school pipe and drum band. My girlfriend's brother was a bass drummer, and needed a tall thin (skinny) person to carry the bass drum in parades. The three of us attended different schools. On band days I would bicycle to his school and we would practice various marching maneuvers. When the band had a parade to march in, I would go to his school and the two of us used his locker to store the band uniforms. I had worn my clan kilt to family functions since about ten years old, so donning the kilt was easy. I think it was the third or fourth time we worked together that we had a two parade day with about four hours in between. Most of the band members just hung around together, not sure about wearing a kilt to the local sandwich shop. I had no problem with being kilted, I was hungry. I went to the shop and got a copy of the menu, brought it back and took orders and currency. I then went back to the shop and placed the order. A short time later I rejoined the group with several large bags of food, along with four of the local lasses to help carry the food. The rest of the group were surprised at how the power of the kilt could tie on so many beautiful lasses. I guess that since I have had a kilt most of my life, it never was an issue. For these lads, my comfort with being kilted in public, (with attachments) convinced them that it was very good to be kilted. It also helps that since eleven years old I had been 6'1" and about 125 lbs. I towered over many of my peers.
A week after this event we had a band competition. We took the top prize. The next day I went to my school in the band uniform, just to rub it in my sister's face that the band I was in beat the p@#ts of the one she played in. Hers wears trousers on all performers. The school officials had no problem with the band pride thing, some of my classmates got a little extra education about the kilt. The power of the kilt.

[TheBlueCow]

I took the whole week off of work when I got my first kilt, and wore it every day (excluding one night at a bar). At the end of the week, I didn't want to take it off.

[Larry124]

Depends on the venue.
At home I take it for granted except for being aware of being very comfortable.
At certain events nearly so.
Anywhere & everywhere - not so much.
Yet.

[GG]

Hell-o all,

Just out of curiosity how long did it take you to get completely comfortable wearing the Kilt regularly?

For me it took about three days.

It took me about 30 seconds to realize that a kilt is a fantastic garment to wear. It took considerably more time to feel totally at ease when wearing it.
I had a feeling that everybody were looking at me and talking about me. When walking in a street and hearing laughter I thought it was over me.
Then I started to imagine that I was wearing a kilt when in fact I was in trousers. And I had precisely the same feeling. There were laughter and other kinds of suspicious noises. But it couldn’t be over my kilt – which I was not wearing.
Therefore I came to the conclusion that I had a problem when I was kilted. Other people hadn’t or just couldn’t care less.
And if they didn’t care, why should I?

Greg

[shawhighlander]

Then I started to imagine that I was wearing a kilt when in fact I was in trousers. And I had precisely the same feeling.

Great observation!ith:

[Mipi]

I had a feeling that everybody were looking at me and talking about me. When walking in a street and hearing laughter I thought it was over me.
Then I started to imagine that I was wearing a kilt when in fact I was in trousers. And I had precisely the same feeling. There were laughter and other kinds of suspicious noises. But it couldn’t be over my kilt – which I was not wearing.
Therefore I came to the conclusion that I had a problem when I was kilted. Other people hadn’t or just couldn’t care less.
And if they didn’t care, why should I?

Greg

Exactly!!!!!!!!!

I'm not the person who likes to be in the focus. So, I feel good in the kilt, but the question is more how I deal with crowd in general; kilted or not. As I'm getting older, I care less for others (who are not impotant to me). Even in the crowded mall, basically you're very much alone - everyone is alone with their thoughts and doing their business (more or less). Maybe shopping mall is not such a bad idea to start; no drunks, a lot of people to feel safe...

Good luck a lot of courage to all!

[McNulty]

It took me a couple of weeks to get comfortable wearing the kilt. It has taken me about a year to be wearing it regularly and be comfortable in it. I am now kilted Friday through Sunday, all day. At one point, out shopping or whatever, every laugh, voice, comment, look, or gesture, I imagined was directed at me because I was kilted (I haven't worn a kilt to the local rodeo YET). Now, even if the comments etc are directed my way, I ignore them and hold my head up and motor on. I'll smile, nod my head, and say to myself "Now, that was easy."
Nulty

[ForresterModern]

Suited up for the first time (outside the house) for the Arizona Highland games in Phoenix about this time last year, about a week or so after my kit and first kilt had arrived. Felt a little self conscious walking from the car to the entrance but immediately felt better when I entered the gate and ran into another guy wearing my identical ForresterModern tartan kilt (my wife noticed it first). We spoke, and although we share a last name and probably distant ancestry did not have any common background or known relatives. That made me feel more comfortable , enough to cruise the games the rest of the day without any self consciousness. Strange though seeing one's own family tartan right off the bat that first day. It is not a common tartan, and other than the Clan Forrester website and tartan listings online I have never seen it since. Also seeing about every other or every third male kilted helped as well---definitely not sticking out in the crowd helped immensely. Thereafter, has not been a problem wearing it whereever I choose.

Also helped that I had my two week old son with us in his stroller wearing an infant MacDonald kilt as well----nice distraction for passersby to focus on him instead of me.

[Kiltboy]

Took me a one day. After all the freedom, the comfort, and receiving four phone numbers from random strangers who wanted to know me better , I knew the kilt was for me.