Advice/support regarding attitudes towards kilt-wearing

[Mr. Kilt]

I know..... and I've had my share of stunned looks too... some of them from specific ethnic groups, some from slack-jawed yokels, others from people who just feel compelled to make exaggerated affectations. Collectively, I've ceased caring about all of them. I refuse to allow their ignorance to influence how I live my life. Life is way too short!

I have to agree with Blu here. I've had alot of "second looks", but I can't recall ever seeing anyone outright stare at me. Then again, I don't pay much attention to what's going on around me when I'm out in public, at least in regard to what people are doing/thinking about me. I am very good at ignoring things. LOL

[Manu]

All those reactions you get Beery are nothing but people's insecurities coming out to the surface. If you reply with more insecuritiy, then we are not making any progress. Take the advice you read here and try again with a artan kilt, or simply radiate confidence as you walk, but dont let the "man" bring you down!!!!!

[Beery]

All those reactions you get Beery are nothing but people's insecurities coming out to the surface. If you reply with more insecuritiy, then we are not making any progress.

Thanks, but I'm not sure why people here seem to think I'm exhibiting insecurity when I'm out in my kilt. On the contrary, I'm not. But the attitudes I'm seeing are bothersome even though I'm confident, and that's why I'm bringing it up here. Telling me not to be insecure is not all that helpful, because (and trust me on this) I'm not radiating insecurity when I'm out and about in the kilt.

Let me try to get people on what I think is the same page as me:

1. I find it easy to be confident when I'm out in the kilt - trust me, I've worn much more outrageous outfits in the past, as I'm a keen reenactor and I've worn outfits from the middle ages to WWI in public.

2. I'm not going to reply with any insecurity. It's not in my nature to be confrontational unless people are confrontational with me, and if I do respond to criticism it will be with a smile and a joke (unless I'm in a bar and being told that they won't serve me in a kilt - THAT will cause a problem, LOL).

Any insecurity I feel is only being broadcast here, and it's only being broadcast here in an attempt to get some helpful responses. It's like doing anything for the first time - the smart folks get advice to help them learn and progress as effectively as possible. I think that's more like where I'm coming from.

[Beery]

HGrin at them and laugh at their discomfort...

That is usually my response.

[NewKilt]

Beery,

The bottom line really comes down to what you are willing to tolerate in order to wear your kilt and feel good about wearing it. The suggestions about giving a tartan kilt a shot for a time is a good one. The uninformed think that all kilts are tartans. You can mix it up by bringing your Utilikilt back into play.

You have to put them through the old "stimulus/response" training until they finally figure out that the Utilikilt is a kilt. Then it's a matter of whether or not you get negative reactions because you are wearing a kilt.

All of us who choose to wear the kilt in public pull people out of their comfort zone of what they perceive as normal. Some folks are glad for the change and compliment you, others say nothing, and a few might make negative comments because they feel compelled to defend their perception. It's all part of the kilt wearing gig.

Darrell

[Manu]

Well, I think that it all boils down to this...do you really care that much about how people look at you, what they think about your clothes? I find it easier to piss them off by smiling at them when they look at me nasty, and I get a kick out of it.

[Alan H]

I agree with the idea of starting out with a tartan kilt.

Get a Stillwater Standard Black Stewart. Buy a kilt belt, or just a wie black belt and a sporran. You're talking about $125 here, or the cost of another UK.

It's fair game for anyone to wear...The 2006 SWK models are very nice kilts by all reports, and it's TARTAN...doesn't everyone know that kilts are supposed to be plaid? Thus the whole "what is THAT?" thing you're running into will go away except for the A.) truly, truly stupid or B.) people from cultures with no exposure to the kilt.

You will now get asked all the never-ending questions about your clan, bagpipes and so on. Read through the forums, and you'll see the respones we've all dreamed up over the years.

The thing is, a tartan kilt is very widely recognized as a KILT, not a skirt and acceptable, though unusual clothes for a man. Wear it around for a couple of weeks and you acquaintances and friends will get used to it. Then start slipping the UK back into the cycle, and it'll probably go better.

If you decide that you really like tartan kilts, you have choices beyond your wildest dreams in terms of pattern and color.

[Rigged]

I wore nothing but Utilikilts for five years and most people recognized it as a kilt.

The people who had a hard time with it were recent immigrants from Hispanic countries and some Middle-Easterners.

It's simply unusual for a man to wear a kilt outside the context of a Celtic event or a wedding.

I was very self-conscious the first few times I wore the kilt, and probably "noticed" things that weren't really happening. If someone's giggling behind me, it's just as likely that their friend just told them a joke as it is that they're giggling about me.

If someone's looking at me funny, it's most likely that they aren't used to seeing a kilt outside of the usual contexts. Or, they come from a culture where men don't have any garment like a kilt and so they don't know what to make of it.

And there might be the occassional person who thinks I'm gay or a cross-dresser.

I can't do anything about the ignorance of others.

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Beery, welcome! And you should maybe PM Andrew Beecher, another poster here who lives in Beantown and is a regular kilt wearer.

[Beery]

I was very self-conscious the first few times I wore the kilt, and probably "noticed" things that weren't really happening. If someone's giggling behind me, it's just as likely that their friend just told them a joke as it is that they're giggling about me...

I realise that. But yesterday I had a person point, giggle, and circle me TWICE, staring directly at me and giggling as she went. It's not like such a thing could be paranoia on my part. I felt like an animal at the zoo. I just smiled and ignored her, but I guess I could have said something along the lines of "What's the matter - haven't you ever seen a man in a kilt before?"

On the one hand, such attention is amusing and perhaps even flattering to a degree, but on the other hand, it's also quite disrespectful.

By the way Rigged, did you happen to ever do any WWI reenacting as a Black Watch soldier? Back in the late 1990s I participated in some reenactments in Pennsylvania and I briefly met a member of the Black Watch who looked very much like you. If it was you, then you may remember me as I was a staff sergeant with the British HQ unit.