Your first experiance with a kilt.

[Geoff Withnell]

I always though kilts were VERY cool. A few years ago, while at the Maryland RenFair, I was in Wolfstone Kilts booth, (drooling) They had a 5 yard piece of double wide wool-poly blend in an approximation of Royal Stuart, they were selling as a great kilt. The price was doable. Michele said OK. They took me in back, helped me on with it, and I was hooked. THIS is the way a man is supposed to dress, at least that is the feeling I had. I still have the great kilt, but almost never wear it, I really prefer the tailored version. But I only wear trousers when there is a compelling reason not to be kilted.

[EagleJCS]

When I was in 8th grade (about 13 years old), I went to Highland Middle School here in Louisville. (The area the school is located is the ‘highlands’ of Louisville. They're some of the higher elevations near the city - except for the knobs in the SW part of the county – with lots of hills. Most of the streets in that area are named for various places and families in Scotland.) The school mascot was, of course, the Scottish Highlander. That year, there was a new band director for the school brass/concert band. At the spring concert, he and one of his piping students played Amazing Grace for us. After that, I pestered my parents to get me a cassette of the 48th Highlanders (Can) Pipes and Drums from either NPR or the Smithsonian (we got a catalog in the mail). That tape was eventually worn out and has since been replaced with the CD.

Fast forward a few years. My family moved across the Ohio River to Southern Indiana (still in the Louisville area) and my sister attended Floyd Central High School, whose mascot also happens to be the Scottish Highlander (because the community of Floyds Knobs is in the "highlands" of Southern Indiana). My sister played clarinet in the band, and one of her good friends (a flautist) decided to learn to play the bagpipes for one of the marching band competition seasons. The band director at Floyd Central happened to be college roommates with the Pipe Major of the Louisville Pipe Band, and the pipe band provided lessons to several Floyd Central students in exchange for the students playing with the pipe band for a while.

I decided to get contact information for taking lessons through my sister’s friend, and also attended the pipe band’s concert that year. Through my piping instructor, I found out about the Highland Games, and went to listen to the pipe band compete. At the first Games I went to, I found out that 1) there is a Clan Scott (surprise!), and 2) there are several tartans recognized by the clan. I started doing some family tree research to see if I could find a connection to Scotland through my main family line. I didn’t find one (still haven’t, but I keep hoping), but I decided on the strength of the family name to go ahead and join the Clan Scott Society and order myself a kilt in Red Scott (my avatar).

The first time I wore it I was with my family visiting my aunt down in Owensboro. They were all a bit bemused by it. My father and brother still aren’t sold on the idea of wearing a “skirt” themselves, but since I’ve joined the pipe band and performed with them, at least they don’t tease me about it anymore. It’s just something I wear from time to time. Now, I’ve just got to break my nieces from calling it a skirt. (My s-i-l’s mother calls it that, even though she’s been corrected and asked not to. GRRR. )

[rir179]

I was an 8 year old inner city wee lad on holiday with my Aunt visiting family up in the highlands at Brora where the family had settled.

We arrived on a Tuesday and by Friday everything I'd brought in my suitcase was dirty (this before the washing machine became commonplace) My "Great Granny Brora" produced two kilt outfits and that was me hooked! I never wore trousers again for the rest of that 6 weeks holiday and even travelled back home to Manchester fully kilted. I still have the sporran which was actually my Grandfathers when he was a lad

Those experiences stayed with me always, So after some 30 years service with the British Army where incidentally all my mates seemed to be Jocks! I started researching my family tree and my Scottish roots and finding that my Great Great Grandfather was a 78th Highlander and served in the Indian Mutiny, this only enforced the idea that I should have a kilt to show my heritage.

So with the bit between my teeth I now have 5 kilt outfits and wear them as often as I can (2 of which are my family tartan - RUSSELL (Ancient & Modern) I'll be kilted at a wedding on the 4th of June

[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.

[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!

[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!!

[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.

[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