Good press for a change

I was thinking on what to write today and I came across this bit on the web.

http://www.examiner.com/x-34935-Vancouver-Style-101-Examiner~y2010m1d11-Real-Men-Wear-Kilts


It's nice to see a wee bit of good press for a change.

Are you man enough to be kilted?

So you may be thinking ‘am I man enough to wear a kilt?”
Kilts are not for everyone, and for most who do wear them they are not everyday attire.
I would wear a kilt on special days, like Sunday, or warm days, days that the sun rises in the east (just kidding).
How much can you spend? Well it’s a lot like a suit or a new pair of shoes. How much you spend has a lot to do with what you get. The cheapest kilt I have was $35 it was an experiment to see if I wanted to wear a kilt.
Looking something similar to a Uitilkilt and a fraction of the price I found out I am man enough to go kilted. A true hand made kilt from 8 yards of fabric will set you back $500 or more. I just can’t see myself at the Highland games spilling beer on a $500 kilt.

My next kilt came from Stillwater kilts at less than $100. A medium weight Standard kilt made from acrylic fabric. I quickly discovered I like this enough to order a second one in a different tartan. There is no tartan police anyone can wear any tartan they like. Weathered Mackenzie was a favorite for me because of the darker colors. Some of the better made kilts come from a full 7-8 yards of fabric and have and have a deep first pleat and reversed final pleat this gives a nice finish and tailored look and feel.
Pleats are sewn down at the hips this is a tailoring that makes a better fit and feel when you walk. Leather straps and buckles provide for size adjustment. You will not want your kilt to look to tight around the hips.
Belt loops are nice but a belt is an accessory not always worn with kilts, not so with pants. Kilts with belt loops most times only have 3 or 4 but a “kilt belt” is over 2 inches wide and will not fit your Levi’s. I have one belt and 2 different buckles for it. Kilts are heavy and will take some time to get used to the higher waist.

Full-width comfort lining- extends down 12" this is like a slip that prevents the fabric from chafing the skin, and if you are a hairy dude, trust me you will want this lining. If you should go with a true wool kilt you will understand.
Pleating should be set (tartan pattern appears across pleats) in other words the pattern shows even with the pleats folded.
Bottom edge is traditional selvedge, not hemmed. This is where the fabric comes straight from the loom or from a bolt of fabric. Each row of thread is rerouted back so it doesn’t unravel or need to be hemmed like the cuff of your pants.

Now comes the hard part…. Size….. Your 36” pants have nothing to do with a kilt. You need a tape measure.
For proper sizing, measure your waist at the navel. Do not use your pants size!

The size stated on your trousers tag might be smaller than what you measured (the garment industry often adds an inch or so to your waistband without telling you, so can feel thinner than you really are). Also, kilts are worn a lot higher on the waist than pants. There is no formula where you can take your pants size and determine your kilt size.
Measure your waist at the navel. Have a helper, or read the measurement in a mirror. If you lean over to read the tape, it can make your waist expand! Pull the tape snug but not tight. Please note your measurements can vary throughout the day, you can take multiple measurements to get an average.
Most kilts are offered in EVEN waist sizes 28"- 52". Size is determined on kilts with the buckles fastened at their tightest position. This means a 34" will go up to about 35.5". Kilts look & fit best with buckles at the tighter positions for maximum overlap. This does not mean the kilt should be tight when you wear it! If you are not sure about size, keep in mind that it is easy to alter a big kilt to make it a little smaller (just re-position straps & buckles) and very difficult to alter a small kilt to fit a bigger size.
As for the length the standard is about 24 inches. I am 6’ and 188 pounds with a pants size 34” my kilt size is 38” and a length of 24” fits me fine.
Basically, order whatever size your measurement comes closest to. These are from the Stillwater site so you can’t expect every kilt maker to follow the same measurements.

My next blog I will talk about kilt accessories, including kilt pins, sgian dubhs, plaid brooches, shoes, hose (socks) and the most important the Sporran.

The Price Factor

A constant complaint about men's kilts is their price. Some men feel that it is ridiculous to pay for a genuine man's garment when women's skirts are so much cheaper. Although kilts and real MUGs tend to be expensive, we should not assume that those who make and sell them are being "greedy." Persons who are really greedy wouldn't commit themselves to such a risky venture as making MUG's to begin with.

It is an inescapable fact that, absent an independent source of income, people have got to make a reasonable profit in their business if they are going to survive. The same applies to making and selling MUG's. We have already seen a number of MUG ventures bite the dust.

Traditional Scottish kilt making will probably survive, regardless of high prices, thanks to continued interest in Scottish heritage, bag piping, Scottish dancing, etc. But this will continue to be a very narrow specialty market, limited to a relatively few kilt enthusiasts who are willing to pay the price. Sarongs are sufficiently masculine and reasonable in price, but they are probably too informal and lightweight for most purposes in Western society.

MUG's will not become mainstream until good-looking, comfortable, practical, and reasonably priced MUG's are readily available, so that enough men are willing to set aside their fears and try them out. Most men will not have the courage to do this until there is a sufficient number of other men already wearing MUG's. So there by one or the other must give in first.

And here is where the price factor presents a dilemma. The cost of making quality MUG's is going to be high, because MUG's are a specialty item with a very limited market. The high price will deter many men from experimenting with such a garment, because they aren't sure about wearing one to begin with.

We know how the big clothing merchandisers are able to stay profitable while keeping prices competitive - they mass-produce tens of thousands of the same item in sweatshops in third-world countries. It will be a long time - if ever - before we see MUG's being produced on the same scale.

Therefore, the prices of quality MUG's will not substantially come down until MUG's are mass-produced and competitively mass-marketed like trousers, women's skirts, and other popular items of clothing. This will not happen until there is a mass market for MUGs. And there will be no mass market for MUGs as long as price remains an obstacle, together with men's fear of wearing alternatives to trousers.

Even though men could buy women's skirts for much less, very few men are willing to wear women's clothing. In fact, this is exactly why most men are still reluctant to wear kilts - they are afraid it would look too much like cross-dressing. Therefore, MUG's must be clearly understood to be male clothing if they are to become mainstream.

If we are serious about overcoming Trouser Tyranny, I think we should reconcile ourselves to the following:
Public acceptance and popularity of MUGs will never occur unless there continue to be people who make and sell unbifurcated garments specifically designed and intended for men. If the only source of unbifurcated garments is the women's department, then unbifurcated garments will continue to be regarded as exclusively female, men who wear them will continue to be viewed as "cross-dressers," and other men will continue to cling to their trousers.
The MUG's have got to be well-designed and of high quality. They must be comfortable, practical, handsome, and something that an ordinary man would enjoy wearing. Flimsy, shoddily made, impractical, and odd-looking creations are bound to fail, even if sold at low prices.
We should give our encouragement and support to those pioneers who are helping to expand the variety and availability of good quality MUGs. Products that come to mind are recent kilt variations like the Practikilkt, Mountain Hardwear Hiking Kilt, 21st Century Kilts, Stillwater Kilts and Utilikilts.

Yes, I know that we chafe at the high prices. But I remember a time, about 30 years ago, when hand-held electronic calculators that did multiplication and division originally came on the market. They cost more than $100 at Radio Shack. But I seriously wanted one, and I paid the money for it. Now we can buy calculators that do much more than that for less than $5 and are often given for free as an adverting gift.

The same will be true for MUGs, when and if they ever become popular. But in the meantime, we are the ones who must shoulder the responsibility of keeping the concept alive until it builds up greater momentum, and until MUG-wearing men reach the critical mass necessary to bring the prices down. In the meantime, we've got to give all the encouragement we can to the pioneers who take the risk of marketing MUG's, even if they cost a lot more than a pair of trousers or a woman's skirt at the Gap.

Handling Negativity from Wives

Gathering from messages posted from the internet and other places, the Number One obstacle to wearing unbifurcated garments (Kilts, etc.) is the negative reaction from men's wives. Girlfriends may also present problems, but it's a lot easier to change girlfriends than to change wives. A man can move away from his disapproving parents; he can find relief from restrictive dress codes by wearing his male unbifurcated garments ("MUGs") outside of work or school; but when he can't even wear MUGs in his own home, he is truly a slave in his own castle.

Many men are reluctant to confront their wives about this issue, out of fear of disrupting their marriages - some of which may be on shaky ground already. Even in stable relationships, men may worry about rocking the boat. So they dutifully trudge around in uncomfortable trousers - enduring cramped crotches and jock itch - while their wives freely choose among jeans, slacks, shorts, pantsuits, skorts, short skirts, long skirts, dresses, and whatever else suits their fancy; often times borrowing from their own husbands clothes.

Men hear cries of indignation when women are required to wear skirts at work, and they watch as employers' dress codes for women crumble in response. Yet when a man seeks a more comfortable alternative to trousers, his request is dismissed as being "trivial." A man is told that he is "head" of his household, "king" of his castle, a "free" man living in a "free" country. However, these are but meaningless clichés when a man is arbitrarily denied something so simple and as harmless as the comfort of wearing a kilt, Utilikilt, or other garment he may chose.

Therefore, our desire to wear kilts is not "trivial" at all. Husbands should have as much right to comfort, pleasure, and self-expression in clothing as wives have. If marriage is to be a relationship of mutual respect, a "two-way street," then our wives must come to recognize and accept that fact.

Understanding Wives' Expectations, Fears, and Prejudices

Although my wife jealously defend her own freedom to wear both trousers or skirts, she sees nothing wrong in denying her husband the same freedom of choice. Many women refuse to acknowledge the illogical and inequality of this situation. Even when wives recognize the unfairness on an intellectual level, they may continue to object based on their emotional reactions and deep-seated prejudices. Therefore, we must understand the sources of these emotions and prejudices and create strategies to deal with them.
The most important sources involve a wife's expectations, fears, and prejudices. These are my views:

Expectations. When you got married, your wife wasn't marrying just you; she was also marrying her idealized fantasy of what she expected in a husband. You just happened to be a convenient approximation of that fantasy. While courting, you did your part by trying to conform to her fantasy. She was even willing to overlook some imperfections, hoping to "change" you into a more ideal personification after the wedding. (Women aren't the only ones who have such expectations. At the same time, you were probably expecting her to fulfill your fantasies.)

Your wife's fantasy of the ideal husband and sexual partner may have been drawn from many sources - impressions of her father or other male relatives; teen-age heart-throbs that she and her girlfriends used to drool over; heroes in romantic novels; attractive male celebrities in movies or on television. Unless she had a thing for Mel Gibson in Braveheart, the chances are that all these men wore trousers.

To further complicate matters, you and she were not the only players in this game. She may also have been influenced by the expectations and opinions of her parents and peer group. She may have wanted a husband who would make her look good in their eyes, thereby bolstering her self-esteem.

On a more pragmatic level, she probably expected you to provide her with security. She expected you to be strong and protective, both physically and emotionally. She expected you to hold a steady job that provided sufficient income to help support her and the family. She expected you to enhance her position in the community and in social circles.

She expected you to be a good role model for her children.

In other words, she expects you to conform to a certain preconceived role that she has formed in her mind. Like a Hollywood casting director, she expects you to look and act the part. And all the other men she has seen in that role are wearing trousers and threw by you are expected to follow suit.

Your own choices are no longer a factor, the longer you are married the more the expectation of conformity must exist. Take example where you are asked "what do you thinking about these as a new style for the bedroom." I have never, not one time been given a choice in anything other than a feminine floral print. Nothing in a manly or masculine form. We are under assault and I for one am not handling it well.

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.

Women's Skirts Send the Wrong Message.

In many people's minds, a man wearing a woman's skirt is not expressing his masculinity - he is either "gay" or getting his sexual kicks from cross-dressing. This may be totally false and unfair, but that is how most people will interpret it. That impression is further increased if the man is wearing a miniskirt with shaved legs and/or pantyhose. While it may not be fair, such activities simply reinforce the negative stereotype that skirt-wearing men have either a fetish about women's clothing or some form of gender disorder.

In contrast, the public nowadays should have a much more positive reaction to a man who expresses his male sexuality by wearing a masculine kilt. Many women drool over men in kilts. However, this does not mean that traditional Scottish kilts are the only way to go. I am simply pointing out certain practical things we must keep in mind if we want to move kilts into the mainstream.

Buying and wearing women's clothing will not accomplish this. While I suppose that the first women to wear trousers must have borrowed them from the men, I do not find this to be a convincing analogy. There wasn't the same kind of social stigma against women wearing men's clothing (which symbolizes power and practicality) as there is to men wearing women's clothing (which symbolizes submission and passivity). Women were discouraged from wearing trousers because trousers were viewed as a symbol of men's elevated status and power. If there is any "power" in women's clothing, it is the way in which it expresses female sexuality, by showing off a women's body or femininity to good effect. Therefore, women's clothing on a man looks incongruous to most people.

If we wish to overcome Trouser Tyranny, wearing a man's kilt sends a much stronger message to the public than wearing women's skirts. When asked what your objective is in wearing a kilt, you can explain that you want "the freedom to wear a man's garment that is more comfortable for a man's anatomy." In contrast, the Freestylers' "fashion freedom" objective basically boils down to allowing men the freedom to wear women's clothing. This message does not advance the public's acceptance of unbifurcated garments as men's clothing.

Who makes the rules?

In this age, from the time we were little, we were brought up to believe that men wore pants. There was no asking why. It was just that way. Have you ever used or heard the phrase, "Who wears the pants in the family"? I bet most people have. It has been a lie fed to us from our birth that wearing pants was a masculine thing.

The sad thing is that we never asked the important question "why". So why have we believed this lie for so long? It is amazing how things that you are taught when you are little stay with you for life. Maybe it is the innocence of young age. Who is to say for sure? Breaking out of this learned thought pattern can prove to be harder than it is to learn, however. Children undergo years of therapy to unlearn learned thought patterns just like this. The idea of conformity in society is a heavy issue.

These are the same ideas that your parents were force fed to them by their parents when they were young. Most people find embarrassment in things that they do or say when it is outside of what society considers "the norm". So why would people fall into these crazy ideas? Well, along with conformity goes the need for acceptance. When you do something that is looked down upon by society, or friends in general, how do you feel? Probably not very good unless you are used to it. You feel out of place. You feel the unequivocal urge to conform, don't you? Why do we? Human nature is my guess. We are all just worker ants in a large social chain.

Asking why we feel a need to conform is like asking why when the lead bird in a flock changes direction, the flock does as well. It is convenient and instinctual. Kids in school just have to have the name brand stuff because it is cool and they'll be accepted as cool. So now why would or should a guy want to wear clothing just because everyone else does?

A Brave New World of Male Unbifurcated Garments

If Kilts and other MUG's (unbifurcated garment) catch on and go mainstream, they may help to resolve the frustration felt by males like me, who have found trousers to be irritating in the crotch and who realize that unbifurcated garments are far more comfortable and better adapted to the male anatomy.

In the past, if a boy was curious about what it feels like to wear an unbifurcated garment (MUG), his only feasible option was to try on a girl's skirt or dress - a forbidden activity about which most boys would feel guilty or ashamed. When he discovered that he actually preferred the feeling of a skirt or dress as opposed to trousers, he was likely to feel that there was something horribly "wrong" him. Actually, he has simply discovered a physical truth that Western society has tried to repress: that fact that unbifurcated garments really are more comfortable and more natural for a male than trousers.

The boy may come to envy girls for being able to wear skirts and dresses and pants as well. He may find himself wishing that he were a girl, not for any other reason than the fredom of choice in clothing.
For no other reason than boys aren't allowed to wear skirts, the only option may be to disguise himself as a girl (such as for Halloween or a costume party). The Internet is filled with TG fantasy fiction about this sort of thing, where boys end up allowing themselves to be feminized by their mothers or other female relatives.

A male's desire for the comfort of unbifurcated garments has been routinely equated with transvestism or transgenderism. But what if the boy is perfectly happy with his sexual identity, and simply finds unbifurcated garments more comfortable than trousers? He will nevertheless be taken to a shrink, who will probably diagnose him as having a gender disorder. He may come to believe this himself. He may end up confused about his sexuality and obsessed about female clothing.

Of course, there are many reasons why persons may have a gender disorders, and some people are probably born with it. But I feel that the situation is unnecessarily complicated by Western society's absurd notion that males must only wear trousers and that any male who feels otherwise must be perverted.

Now imagine a world in which MUG's (Kilts and Skirts) have become mainstream. Notice how the following scenerio becomes much different from what the typical reaction would be today.

A boy asks his Mom and Dad, "Do you think I would a Kilt?"

"Why do you ask?" replies his dad. "Are your jeans feeling too confining?"

"Yeah,and" admits the boy, " my Boy Scout troop will be attending the camp out, Kilted."

Mom: "Well, why don't we drive over to JCPenny’s, and you can try on one of the Utilikilts or maybe Gap for a SportKilt."

"If you want to get the "BSA" Taran we will need to get you mesured and sized" his Dad said.

So they hop in the car, drive to the store, pick a Utilikilt off the rack, and the boy takes it into the changing room to try on. He soon comes out wearing the Utilikilt to show his parents.

"It looks really handsome," says his dad. "How does it feel?"

"Awesome!" exclaims the boy. "No wedgies! Can I get this one? I can't wait for the other guys to see, and the camp out is only 2 weeks away! It'll be great for going on hikes and stuff."

So they make the purchase and go home. The boy proudly wears his Utilikilt around the neighborhood and to school, receiving much admiration.

One of his friends remarks, "My dad has one of those. There're really cool. I've been begging him to get me one. I'm tired of wearing blue jeans all the time like my sister." "are you wearing it to the camp out like the pack leaders do every year?"

"YOU BET I AM!"

Doesn't this story sound a lot healthier and more natural than the alternatives?