To wear or not to wear

[arrogcow]

* To connect with my roots... after all, William Wallace is one of my great great (with some more greats thrown in) grandfather.

Wallace had kids?

Adam

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Just realized I did not really answer the original question, got distracted by MysticWolf's post. Boy, is Prester John starting a kilt revolution in Canton or what?

Anyway, back to the topic. I kind of did this backwards. Never was much into genealogy. Was at a Renn Faire last summer and thought it would be cool to wear a kilt. Looked into it and jumped in. No heritage, just the comfort. Then, I started getting interested in some of my heritage, mainly to see if I had any reason to wear a kilt from a heritage perspective. First thing I found was that our name appeared to trace back to Wales (on my birth father's side).Cool I thought, then when I attended the funeral of my uncle (adopted Father's brother) wearing my kilt, my other uncle mentioned that he had traced the family history all the way back to Scotland, the Dundee area! And when I reviewed what he had put together, I also found a grandmother from Ireland. So, started wearing it for comfort, and still do, but now also wear it for the heritage. I am waiting to get my first "heritage" tartan kilt. I can't decide whether to get a Dundee district tartan (the Irons family does not have a clan tartan), or one of the Welsh tartans to honor that connection. I will get both eventually, just trying to figure out which one to get first.

[Phil Wright]

I worked for four year at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and fancied a kilt but the cost was prohibitive. I also have Scotish and Irish roots, Welsh connections and admiration for the Cornish kilt wearers. Now... It has to be comfort, but it also really is a pain in the a@@ that so many Brits are woefully ignorant of their heritage given our history compared with other countries that they don't seem able to comprehend kilts as acceptable. I love going kilted, and I enjoy the stories of others going kilted successfully, but so many blokes here are hung up on the 'skirt' issue, they wouldn't even consider trying it to find out how comfortable they are because they follow others like sheep. I was even told in Scotland that I was in the 'wrong place' because I was kilted as casual wear.
Okay, It really is no-one else's business what I choose to wear, and polite people know regardless of their opinion to keep their trap shut. I have no particular political or sexual drum to beat, so how come it is such a big deal in the country next to the one that 'invented' kilts? (No offence intended, given inverted commas!)
Phil