No Kilts seen in Scotland!

[northernsky]

Just home from my honeymoon. We went to Shetland, Orkney, along the north coast to Ullapool, then onto Lewis & Harris, N/S Uist, Eriskay, Barra and then onto Skye. The only kilts we saw being worn were tour guides on Skye. I did get a lovely tie in the Eriskay tartan though.

[Hauge]

Yeah. It is mostly worn at weddings and similar formal events.
Or at sports events, highland games ect. as well.

Casual wear is very seldom seen. And if, mostly by tourists...

[Tobus]

Hence the saying, "The kilt is a garment usually worn by Scots in America, and by Americans in Scotland", or something like that.

[OC Richard]

I too have seen almost no kilts while in Scotland except at the Highland Games I attended.

As people have said, men's Highland Dress has become very popular for weddings, and Kilt Hire Shops the equivalent of our American Tux Shops.

My takeaway from my first visit to Scotland (1986) was that almost nobody owned Highland Dress, but almost everybody got married in it. I saw wedding photos on the walls of several homes and the men were kilted.

Outside of Highland Games I think the only kilted men I saw were bagpipe buskers and the employees of a couple Highland Outfitters.

Kilted tour guides? Personally sitting all day on a bus the last thing I'd want to do in a kilt.

BTW the rise of Kilt Hire as a National Dress is more recent that I had imagined.

Somebody actually did a study- perhaps university thesis- and they chose Hawick for the reason that it's far from the Highlands and not a major population centre like Glasgow and Edinburgh.

You can see that the percentage of kilted gents rose from less than 5% in 1970 to 70% in 1995.

Interestingly Kilt Hire has risen similarly to white wedding dresses and "location" weddings.

[Nemuragh]

I too have seen almost no kilts while in Scotland except at the Highland Games I attended.

Apart from such special occasions, almost nobody wears a kilt where I live (‘Auld Ayr wham ne’er a town surpasses’). When I was a kid, my cousins (with whom I lived for a while) went to church wearing their kilts each Sunday. At a recent funeral, I felt, as I usually do when kilted, as somewhat eccentric.

John

[Jock Scot]

Generally speaking, the areas you mentioned and visited have never ever been locations of strength for the civilian kilt.

For the rest of Scotland most would perhaps, normally regard the civilian kilt as a garment to be worn on special occasions. Everyday kilt wearing is only carried out by, at best, a minority.

[Ayrkiltie]

Apart from such special occasions, almost nobody wears a kilt where I live (‘Auld Ayr wham ne’er a town surpasses’). When I was a kid, my cousins (with whom I lived for a while) went to church wearing their kilts each Sunday. At a recent funeral, I felt, as I usually do when kilted, as somewhat eccentric.

John

Hello
Im in Ayr too and agree with what you say. Its the same all over now though. Kilts for formal but not as the standard dress. I feel eccentric too as Ive often worn my kilt in Ayr and other towns in the area. Surprisingly though it always meets with remarks about how good it is to see the kilt being worn by men nowadays. I often also take a run up to Glasgow wearing my kilts. Always well received so I dont quite get why we dont see more of them. I keep hoping I'll start something going about kilt wearing so will keep fingers crossed. I also wore a kilt to church as a boy and also to school by choice and it was never really a talking point. Kilts were hard wearing and didnt go out of fashion and could be passed onto another family member when I grew out of them. My sister used to tell me when my kilt was too short and she'd also tell mum that I should have another one!

[Troglodyte]

Just home from my honeymoon. We went to Shetland, Orkney, along the north coast to Ullapool, then onto Lewis & Harris, N/S Uist, Eriskay, Barra and then onto Skye. The only kilts we saw being worn were tour guides on Skye. I did get a lovely tie in the Eriskay tartan though.

No kilts seen in Scotland, huh..?

Well, I see several every day, here in the old country, when I open the wardrobe and select the necessary for the day ahead.

I sometimes even see one being worn, if I stand and admire my manly figure as it stares back at me from the mirror..!

But I take your point, and understand your disappointment - I had the same experience when I visited the USA.

Picture me, togged-up like a good 'un in my best Wild West duds, from ten-gallon hat to snake-skin boots - and all genuine and modelled on the heros of the Western movies of the '40s and '50s.

Even after two weeks in New York, and venturing way out West as far as Philadelphia to see their famous bell, I didn't come across a single 'genuine' American..! It beats me how a whole population can abandon its culture and heritage in this way.

I did receive some rather forthright comments while riding Uptown on the Subway (a delightful experience I can thoroughly recommend, by the way) which I am still not entirely sure were compiments, and I replied politely in my best Mornigside tones - but the language barrier got in the way here.

So, help me out if you can, where can I find genuine Americans in America dressed like Americans..?

In return, I'll let you know here all the kilted Scots lounge around, waiting to be seen.

[northernsky]

Try Calgary...

[OC Richard]

...where can I find genuine Americans in America dressed like Americans..?

Your post was hilarious! And you perfectly flipped the idioms.

Western Wear (as we call it) is still seen, but generally with ranchers, as one would expect.

And just as someone who doesn't ordinarily wear Highland Dress might wear it to an RSCDS Ball or a Scottish-themed concert, many Americans who don't ordinarily use Western Wear might wear it when going Country Line Dancing or attending a big-name Country Music concert.

When going out for an evening with a sister and her husband we arrived at a bar only to find it was a Country bar. The place was full of Cowboy hats.

My brother-in-law and I looked at each other and said we should have worn our hats. (The point is, most people I know have hats, but they don't generally wear them.)