Friday, January 8, 2010

Who’s under the kilt?


Men from all walks of life are wearing kilts. Kilts cross just about every demographic boundary, and includes men of diverse description: bikers, musicians, actors, librarians, engineers, scientists, computer types, mechanics, truck drivers, and even a few video production/freelance writers. In some cities, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, and Austin modern kilts are becoming a frequent sight. In fact, according to an online kilting newsgroup, Texas leads the country in kilts per capita, but I’m not moving!

Currently, according to my rather unscientific research, there are a few kilt wearers in Tri-cities, Tennessee. I found this out when I took mine to the cleaners. A chat with the clerk told me that they get several people bringing in kilts for cleaning.

We have a Celtic Festival locally, and when I last attended I noticed the tags on the cars in the lot, by far the most were local folks. This tells me I am not alone. I can not say I know anyone personally but it’s only a matter of time until our numbers grow. The 3rd largest Highland Games in the works are held only an hour away from me. I attended this year along with my wife; however her condition was “if you wear a Kilt you go alone.”

I also travel to Stone Mountain Georgia in 2009 for their Highland Games; once again the law was lay out on the table….. so this time I went alone. I was kilted from the time I left home until my return 3 days later. I would have enjoyed the trip so much more if the stubbornness had not been in play.

Honestly, wearing a kilt isn’t for everybody. It helps to be a little outgoing, or at least not shy. If strangers approaching you for no apparent reason makes you paranoid, and you don’t like being asked either “What’s up with the kilt?” or “What are you wearing under there?” by strangers who wouldn’t otherwise give you a second glance, then I suggest you stick to the trousers.

Getting any reaction from people these days is tough; the body modification movement has made tattoos and piercing, which just a decade ago would have marked a person as an outsider, now seem commonplace. It gets harder to stand out everyday, but you know you’re onto something when the teenage girl with the tongue, lip and eyebrow piercing, plus the neck tattoo, eyes you up and down, and says admiringly, “Man, that’s cool. It takes a lot of guts to wear a kilt.”

I’m in my mid forties. I’m not a flamboyant guy, but I like to think I have a little style, which can be tough to pull off, as I left my 32” waistline behind in junior high school. I find my kilts to be comfortable and stylish, while letting me set myself apart from the pack without making a great deal of effort; you could say I’m a lazy extrovert. I’m a typical example of a modern kilt wearer. I’m not shy, I’m comfortable with my sexuality, and I don’t mind answer a few questions occasionally.

The only downside to the kilt for me is that my wife, an avowed introvert, hates it. While not causing outright fights, it has frequently been the source of numerous disagreements. I have only been seen publicly in the kilt alone as she refuses to accompany me kilted.

Her reaction is typical of her altitude in general. She sees it as an attention grab, something she avoids at all cost. I on the other hand could care less what others think. I have been in Speedo’s longer than I can remember. Now my wife says it is time to can the Speedo’s for more “age acceptable” trunks. Give in on that and next I am expected to give in on everything else as well. Yes I am talking about the kilts.

One kilt newsgroup refers to kilts having a very high “CDI” (Chicks Dig It) factor. I have to admit I do get a lot of positive reactions from women (not that I look for it) while I’m wearing my Utilikilt, Practikilt or a Tartan. Women approach me, smiling, and ask questions like, “WOW!! That looks so awesome” or “I love your kilt?” which I’m sure they intend in good fun, and I accept their admiration as such, but I always wonder how long it would take for me to be hauled off in handcuffs if I asked women I didn’t know similar questions.

Men either want to know where I got it, where can they get one, or say something along the lines of “It takes a real man to wear that.” One gentleman on his 70s came up to me at a restaurant and said “ My wife thinks you are the best dressed man she has ever seen in real life, and I can see that you are the kind of man more [men] need to be like” Hey, who am I to argue. I have expected a few negative reactions, but so far, apart from my wife, I really have had only one.

WHO is under the Kilt?
A man. Nothing more and definitely nothing less.

1 comments:

Unknown said...

As a Scottish Highlander I find it a great shame that your wife refuses to accompany you while you wear a kilt.

I really enjoyed your article and wonder if you would care to submit an article to my web site, which you can find at http://www.your-kilt.com

Kind Regards,

David.