WHY wear a kilt?

[jsrnephdoc]

I've been taking up space in this community for about a year now, long enough to know that some folks show up interested in topics discussed here but reluctant to expose their knees in public for fear of being accused of gender ambiguity (or worse). I ALWAYS kilt when I want to look good. Among the first things I replaced in my wardrobe after it all went up in flames back in 2017 were two "Saxon" business suits. I almost NEVER wear them anywhere. I NEVER replaced my tuxedo, nor have I rented one.

Last night, I wore my LEAST favorite kilt to the symphony with an Argyll jacket and waistcoat (but also the much-deprecated-here tartan flashes and Ghillie Brogues), with the right calf topped off by my paleontological little Sgian Dubh joke that appears in my avatar).

NO ONE smirks, or points at their manly man escort and says "just look at that fool."

Instead, I get things like this: actual comments, last night, all from complete strangers (most of them attractive ladies decades younger than I).

"You look SMASHING."

"You know, I've been watching you for the entire symphony season thus far. Consistently, you're the best dressed guy in the audience."

(In his presence) "My husband could learn a thing or two from you."

At my first concert here in Las Vegas, a woman broke away from her conversation with her companions in the lobby, handed her iPhone to one of them and said "I HAVE to get a picture with YOU." (Of course, afterwards she confessed she was the secretary for the St. Andrews Society of Southern Nevada).

And NO ONE has ever asked "what's under that skirt?" (Of course, I AM almost 80, so that's probably unimportant anyway

[Canadian Vet]

WHY wear a kilt?

It's not legal to walk around naked in these here parts.

[OC Richard]

I'm with you Doc, Highland Dress is my only option when anything more than casual attire is called for.

I haven't owned a suit since the 1980s.

Of course as far as the thread title question goes, Highland Dress is the sine qua non of being a piper. The vast majority of pipers I've known over the last 50 years intensely dislike being required to wear Highland Dress and don it only when absolutely necessary, but long ago I started relying on it for any dressy occasion.

During my university years I dated a violinist (and general high-achiever) who was regularly attending glittering formal events and my Prince Charlie got worn often.

I wore Highland Dress for everything formal including my own wedding.

About the compliments one gets, last year I wore Highland Dress attending the NAMM show (at which our band performs every year) which is full of people in suits and also eccentric dress of all sorts. At one point a woman walked up and said "at least somebody here has a sense of style."

(At NAMM 2025)

[jsrnephdoc]

At one point a woman walked up and said "at least somebody here has a sense of style."

I trust that's not she in the photo (ducking)

Just curious: where will you be tartan day weekend?

[OC Richard]

Just curious: where will you be tartan day weekend?

The first weekend in April? I don't have any plans.

Actually I think your post might be the first time I've heard the term "tartan day weekend".

I've heard of a "tartan day parade" in New York the last couple years, mainly through USA Kilt's Facebook page, but really not known what it was about, so I just now looked it up.

Wiki says

Tartan Day is a celebration of Scottish heritage which originated in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1987.

It is celebrated in Canada (since 1987, officially and nationally since 2010), the United States (since 1997, with increasing recognition in 1998, 2005, and 2008 as National Tartan Day), and Argentina (unofficially from 2006).

The same date (April 6) is used for locally official Tartan Days in Aberdeen and Angus, Scotland (from 2004).

Tartan Day has expanded into an entire Tartan Week in New York City and Angus, and into multi-day events in some other locations, including Washington, DC.

In the home to the town of Arbroath the day is increasingly renamed Declaration Day, since 2016...

International Tartan Day is held in various states of Australia (from 1989) and in New Zealand (since 2008) on July 1, the anniversary of the 1782 repeal of the Dress Act 1746...


I haven't heard of any such thing happening here in California.

I had of course known for many years that April 6 was Declaration Day.

Back pre-COVID as an employee of Disneyland (Anaheim California) I had routinely experienced a number of different "days" events such as Dapper Day, Bats Day, Potter Day, May The Fourth, etc.

These are grassroots things organised by Guests, not events created or sanctioned by Disneyland.

The largest by far is Dapper Day, when thousands of Guests show up at the Park dressed in vintage clothing, especially 1950s fashions, inspired by photos of Disneyland Guests taken after the Park opened in 1955. Dapper Day started with a few dozen Guests, then grew to hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands.

These "days" were enabled by the Disneyland "passport" program: you bought an Annual Passport and you could attend any day you chose. Thus Guests could get together online and all agree to show up on a particular day dressed a particular way.

I had thought for years about trying to get a Disneyland "kilt day" going. All it would have taken is to get on Social Media and spread the word. Like Dapper Day it might start with a few dozen people, but who knows how it might have grown over the years.

However COVID put the kybosh to any such plan! When Disneyland re-opened after a year of shutdown the Annual Passports were abolished and to attend the Park you had to secure a Reservation. The Park's attendance is capped at a fairly low number, days get booked up months in advance, so hundreds of Guests can't just all show up on a particular day on a whim.

[Troglodyte]

Why..?

Why not..?

It has been said that every man who is taller than he is wide looks good in the kilt.

The kilt is probably the only garment that can be worn with all varieties of other clothes, both formal and casual, without losing any of its charm and appeal, and remaining perfectly appropriate.

This was illustrated on this forum in an old post, showing how one kilt can be adapted to whatever the occasion - and there are many men in Scotland who go through life with their one and only kilt, that gets worn with equal pride and panache no matter if it's at the Games, the Foottie, a ceilidh, wedding...

I cannot think of another garment that can have the same said of it.

So, get a kilt and get sorted for life..!

[Janner52]

Why..?

Why not..?

It has been said that every man who is taller than he is wide looks good in the kilt.

The kilt is probably the only garment that can be worn with all varieties of other clothes, both formal and casual, without losing any of its charm and appeal, and remaining perfectly appropriate.

This was illustrated on this forum in an old post, showing how one kilt can be adapted to whatever the occasion - and there are many men in Scotland who go through life with their one and only kilt, that gets worn with equal pride and panache no matter if it's at the Games, the Foottie, a ceilidh, wedding...

I cannot think of another garment that can have the same said of it.

So, get a kilt and get sorted for life..!

I agree. As a late starter I cannot get enough of it. As well as all of the above let’s not forget the comfort and freedom of movement.
Also a hard wearing garment that can last a lifetime if looked after.

[Iain Ruaidh]

I wear my kilts A LOT because they are really comfortable (and I get lots of positive comments from the ladies).

I am currently trying to complete January without wearing trousers. I have nearly managed it with the exception of attending a funeral in a saxon suit.

On 6 April (Tartan weekend) I will be playing pipes at the Hallaton Bottle Kicking. The band stands well back to avoid the pie-throwing, and we don't go into the rugby field where you can easily get run over by a scrum of around two hundred players.

[Jock Scot]

I can’t say that I give wearing the kilt a thought. Sometimes I do wear the kilt, sometimes I dont. It’s no big deal either way. At the moment I am wearing plus 4’s.

[OC Richard]

...one kilt can be adapted to whatever the occasion...worn with equal pride and panache no matter if it's at the Games, the Foottie, a ceilidh, wedding...

I cannot think of another garment that can have the same said of it.

Here in the US Southwest, with our quirky-to-nonexistent dress codes, it's somewhat like that.

There are men, including millionaires and celebrities, who wear the classic Hollywood black t-shirt + blue jeans for all occasions. Alone it's everyday office dress. With a sport coat it passes for things where many men are in suits. With a tuxedo jacket it passes for formal attire.

Ditto "Western Wear" where a man might wear the same cowboy boots, boot-cut jeans, and cowboy hat to any occasion whatever. The only concession to formality might be the addition of a bolo tie.

I visited NAMM kilted again Friday, here with fellow kiltie Tim Ferguson at his father Ren Ferguson's high-end guitar booth. (Originally from California they've relocated to Montana.)