Kilt-friendly places?

[bikeman]

kilting freindly places i'm in York Pa we have been in the baltimore area a good bit ive been in my 2 kiltmart kilts and my ameri kilt and peopls smile and go on by and Ive shopped in lancaster and reading and only 1 negitive type comment from a kid but I had a older lady complement me .

[Randy]

Dunedin, FL there for the games and they knew what a kilt was and one could wear it anytime.

Asheville, NC there for XMark meet up. The average joe/jane on the street was okay. The visitors center was very friendly and the bar folk even nicer. The folks on the street asked intelligent questions, where to but, cost etc.

Greenwood, SC not really a kilt town. The women are okay the menfolk just confused but hey I am outta here in 2hours.

[bangkok kilt]

Not sure what the situation is like in the States or elsewhere since I just got my kilt, but I just wore mine out for the first time here in Turkey. I wore mine out walking with a couple of friends and got a second look or two, but no real stares even. I was a little concerned with how it might go over in a Muslim country, but I found no problems and am sure that I will wear it around more often now.

[Master Boid]

I know we were trying to exclude Scotland but come to the United Kingdom and you'll not (as far as I know) get hardly any negative comments!

Scotland (certain areas) are of course the hot spots but there is also northern England and Ireland...oh, and I dinnae think the Welsh mind guys in kilts either.

[BLAZN]

1) People will look you in the eye and smile when you're wearing a kilt—especially other men.

Eh. Yes and no. Some guys just look at me like I'm insane. That's a given. I mean... what guy in his right mind would VOLUNTEER to serve on an ocean going vessel that SINKS ON PURPOSE?!?
Women tend to smile at me a lot.

2) Some will stop you and ask about your kilt, its tartan, where you got it, what's a “Utilikilt,” etc.

Never been approached at all, really. A buddy of mine once asked "what's with the kilts?" "Comfort, man, comfort." That was the end of that.

3) You don't feel like you have green hair or two heads when you are there.

Hmmm... not so sure if that is because the people seem to accept it, or I just don't care what they think. Either way... I don't feel like I have green hair and two heads at all.

4) Nobody you encounter will think you're wearing a "dress."

Not unless you count the ribbing from my neighbor (who actualy thinks my kilts are quite nice looking... bear in mind all the ones I wear were made by me). Otherwise, no one responds this way at all. The worst comment I have heard was from one guy to another when they saw me... and it was nothing more than his declaration of a desire to be more endowed. ;)

5) You're not the only guy in town who wears a kilt in public and you've seen the other one for yourself.

Hmmm... Do recall, I live in Hawaii. Polynesians abound out here. Sarongs are pretty common, especially on Sundays. I see big Polynesian men in sarongs ALL the time. The only kilt wearer I have ever seen is myself in a mirror. I know there's at least one other XMarker on island, over at the Marine Corps base. He's on the other side of the island, where I rarely travel, though.


All in all, I'd not so much say that Honolulu is kilt "friendly" as I would call it "kilt tolerant."

[Rex_Tremende]

I live in Cincinnati, Ohio – not a place known for its tolerance of much of anything – but I have to say that the kilt-friendliest places around here happen to be wherever I am in a kilt, or so it seems.

Hello, I’m new to the forum, and a relatively recent kilt convert. Last year, after a female acquaintance observed how I looked in some loose, knee-length denim shorts and boots, and said, “You’d look good in a kilt,” years of curiosity got the better of me. I ordered two UKs that very week, an olive original and black Mocker, on the premise that, if I didn’t like them, I wouldn’t be out a fortune.

OK, so I didn’t like them. I loved ’em. By the end of this year, I will have added four more from various suppliers to my wardrobe, which means that I may wear a kilt whenever I please.

And wherever. Around Cincinnati, here are some of the kilt-friendly places I’ve discovered:

• Eastgate Mall (olive UK, tan flannel button-down, yellow work boots): Young lady sashays up to me out of her group of cohorts, which includes some young men, to say into my ear, “I like your look.” I wonder what conversation followed.

• Spiral Light, bohemian retail store (think rings, batik, and incense) in slightly bohemian neighborhood of Clifton, near the University of Cincinnati (black UK, black turtleneck sweater with olive stripe across the chest, black ankle boots): Clerk behind counter gushes, “Wow, you look great! Very classy!”

• Brontë Café, for Sunday brunch at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Norwood (olive UK, multi-colored wide plaid – or tartan, I guess – button-down Polo shirt): familiar waitress looks me up and down, gives me a big thumbs-up and says, “Excellent!” Meanwhile, some guy keeps walking by me with an ear-to-ear grin and can’t take his eyes off my hemline, which says all that needs to be said.

• Corner of Sixth and Vine, downtown, later that same day, on my way into the office to do some catch up work: Twenty-something mixed gender couple spots me as we approach, confer with each other, and the young lady says, “We like your outfit,” as we pass. (Thirty yards away, a clutch of inner-city teenage girls giggles and darts nervously between doorways like finches as I pass through.)

• Retail and entertainment complex Newport-on-the-Levee, across the river in Newport, KY (olive UK, tan button-down shirt): At a shoe store, a group of youngsters is inspecting the latest Doc Martin’s when one looks up and says, “I love your kilt.” Later, I’m peripherally aware of heads turning wherever I pass, which could very well mean the king has no clothes after all, but for now, I’ll accept that as admiration and awe.

• Final Friday Gallery Walk at the Pendleton artists’ studios (black UK, emerald green and black seersucker short-sleeve shirt): Seventh floor studio, a patron says, “I like the statement you are making.” Me: “It’s not a statement, it’s clothing.” She: “All clothes are statements.” Me, after a pause, “Yeah, I guess you are right. Thanks.” Fifth floor studio, an attractive couple interrupt their chit-chat so she can turn to me and say, “You know what you are wearing is not normal.” “Which means what?” I ask in deadpan reply. After an epiphanic pause, she says, “Awwriiiight!” and high-fives are exchanged. Fourth floor studio, woman inquires, “Why are you wearing a kilt?” “Because it is comfortable,” I answer, the meaning of which I hope she interprets correctly as, why are you wearing that hideous muumuu? After she leaves, the artist approaches me and asks, “Are you really more comfortable in that?” “Yes,” I say, “it’s really quite breezy, which comes in handy on a day like today.” “I’m jealous,” he says, so I tell him where to get one.

• Shooters, the bar where I do country-western line dancing every week, and the place where my acquaintance gave me the initial encouragement: The first time I walked in wearing the black UK, I got a lot of whoops and hollers, and one friend looked me over and said, “That’s HOT!” It is not unusual to see someone in a kilt here, on average, about once a month or so. Because I also enjoy the cowboy drag, I do not always wear a kilt to dance, but when I do, I have to swat hands away frequently and get a lot of requests to spin fast.

I’ve noticed that the more self-assured I am in my kilt, the more comfortable the people around me seem to be. I’ve been seen by hoi polloi in my UKs in a lot of ordinary places around town, such as the Kroger grocery, Home Depot hardware store, the U-Haul dealer, refueling my car on a busy street, walking my dog, and doing yard work, and reactions have been either positive or neutral, or otherwise kept undisclosed.

Regards,
Rex in Cincinnati

[Livingston]

Rex, welcome to X Marks. You'll enjoy the banter and wit of the members. Not to mention the addiction we all have

[arrogcow]

Rex,

Welcome from another Cincinnati area resident. I've been to most of those places kilted as well. Cincinnati is very cool about the kilt.

Adam

[Southern Breeze]

Rex, welcome aboard!

[Josh_E]

3) You don't feel like you have green hair

What if you do have green hair?