Clothes Make the Man

[imbrius]

I've been thinking a lot about my place in the 21st century western world and how that relates to the kilt.

Rightly or wrongly, most people see the kilt as an anachronism at worst or a folk costume at best. They file it in the same headspace as lederhosen and kimonos.

With that in mind, and the oft-repeated adages like "dress for the job you want, not the job you have" and "clothes make the man", I question what the place for a kilt is in the modern western world.

It's not a question of can I wear it. It's a question of should I wear it. I keep returning to the fact that being other than clean-shaven, crew-cut, and conservatively-dressed singles one out as "weird". In the business world, people don't like surprises or "weirdness". They trust "normal". "Weird" is risky. Risk is bad.

So I think the bottom line for me is that I'm probably going to hang up the kilt for good and end up resigning from this site, for the sake of not embarrassing my employer, to whom I owe my life and well-being since they graciously provide me with a paycheck and the means to continue living in the western world.