Thursday, December 24, 2009

Kilt Pants – I don’t think so

This goes in the “kilt don’t” column. See this article from the "thestar online". Someone suggested guys should layer the bottom half of their wardrobe by wearing a kilt over pants. This is just the ticket for guys that want to wear a kilt but don’t have the balls to actually do so. I am not sure if this design results from the fear some guys with have with wearing anything that looks like a skirt. Maybe they think the pants cancel out the skirt so it is ok. Or maybe this is from the latest sin that a guy can not show any leg and heaven forbid if they wear anything tight above the knee.

If you want variety in what you wear then get a real kilt and wear it with pride. If you are a wimp then stick with just pants. This kilt-pants thing should only be worn by guys that have a sign on their forehead that confirms they are a wimp.

If you disagree feel free to post a comment. Comments are moderated but I do approve opposing opinions.

Kilt on!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Christmas Dinner Kilt

This year I had a couple of Christmas dinners to attend. Now that I have the dark green Stillwater heavyweight kilt I thought I would put together a Christmas look and that would be what I would wear to the dinners. It has worked out well. Of course I would be the only one in a kilt. I had a red shirt and a Christmas tie. For one dinner I wore red kilt socks and dark green for the other. I added some red tree ornaments that say "Ho Ho Ho" to the front of the sporran. They kind of drove me nuts as they make noise when you walk but for a couple of dinners I can put up with them. One lady, that I know, said she could see my balls and I had three of them. At first I was a little concerned but then realized she was speaking of the decorations.


At the first dinner of about 200 in attendance I was in the door about 30 seconds when an older lady asked what was under the kilt. Ok, now that we have that question out of they way the evening can proceed. One of the club officials said he liked the kilt but would not have had the guts to wear it himself. One of the members wanted to make sure I stopped by his table. I had never met his wife so he wanted to make sure she saw the kilt before I left. The kilt added some fun to the event.

The second dinner was much smaller with 25 in attendance. The club president wanted to make sure he got a picture. One of the wives asked if there was an event going on where I had to wearing a kilt. Well maybe the club Christmas dinner?? Did not know I needed a special event to be in town before I could wear a kilt. Overall a great dinner and we had a good time. Will do it again next year.

WCARA Christmas Dinner 2009

Father Sons and Friends Fan Appreciation Concert

I finally got around to downloading this picture from the camera.  I attended the Father Sons and Friends fan appreciation concert the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The show was in Tipp City, Ohio. This was their eight appreciation concert and unfortunately the last one. They may do another in a few years but for now this is it. I guess the only way to see them now is at Celtic fests and such. They put on a good show and it is a lot of fun.

This year I wore my dark green Stillwater Heavyweight kilt. At least it was warmer than last year. I don't think they heat that building. Last year I wore a light weight PV kilt and man was it cold. I think it was in the 20's (F) that night. There were a few others in kilts that night.



Father Sons and Friends

Friday, December 11, 2009

Growing Popularity of Kilts

I found this link about the growing popularity of kilts. While this article is from the UK it also follows on this side of the pond. I have noticed an increase in kilts in the US. Maybe not so much everyday but they have grown at Celtic fests, renaissance fairs and such. There is also a growing membership on kilt related web discussion sites. The kilts are out there and we just need to get men to realize they can wear them anywhere and not just at the Celtic fests.


http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/54b54ab2-e515-11de-9a25-00144feab49a.html

Friday, November 27, 2009

State Tartans

I was snooping around the Scottish Tartan Authority web site last night. There are a growing number of USA state tartans. I am not sure how easy it is to get them but they are registered. Here is the current list:


Arizona, Arkansas, States of Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaiian, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa (has two), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota (has two), Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont (has two), Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.

So you guys living or from those states get your kilts and get out in the world.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Making a Kilt Hanger

There are a number of ways to hang a kilt. I first tried to use the same hangers I use to hang p@nt$. Did not work too well as the grips did not have enough surface area or strength to hold a heavy kilt. I tried double hangers which worked but a little awkward. I had wooden hangers with a wide grip that could hold but it felt I was forcing the clamp on the thickness of the kilt. I liked the 4 grip hangers that were like my 2-grip hangers. Rather than buy them that way I found I could make them. I will now show you the process.


Go to Walmart and get their two pack suit hangers. They sell two types. One is the wide hanger (top to bottom) as shown in Figure 1. They also have a narrow hanger but I found it harder to work with and broke a few of them. Follow the steps below to complete the 4-grip kilt hanger.


Kilt Hanger
Figure 1 – Walmart 2-pack Suit Hanger


Kilt Hanger
Figure 2. Grasp the hanger and pull the rod out of the slot. Be careful not to bend and break the plastic or bend the rod too much. You will have to bend it a little. One side may be easier than the other. Once you get one end free don’t pull the rod out of the other side for the first hanger. Now do the same with the second hanger.


Kilt Hanger
Figure 3. Pull both clamps off of the rod of the second hanger. These are spring loaded and when you pull them off they can come apart. Try to keep both sides of the clamp aligned to make it easier to put on the other rod. Thread the clamp on the rod of the first hanger but first look at Figure 4.


Kilt Hanger
Figure 4. I apparently did not set the focus correctly as these macro shots are out of focus but you can see what is going on. When you thread the clamp back on make sure the rod goes through the clamp spring as shown.


Kilt Hanger
Figure 5. With the four clamps in position carefully put the free end of the rod back into the plastic hanger. Be careful not to bend the rod too much or break the plastic. The second hanger is now surplus but don’t toss it out. Put the rod back into the slot and save it. I broke one of mine. The plastic is not that strong. The failure on mine was where the hook connects to the plastic. My hook pulled out. I have about ten of these now and one failure is not too bad.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Kilt Night

A small group of us get together in Columbus, OH every month or two for what we call kilt night. We meet somewhere for dinner then hang out for a few hours. There is an earlier post from a kilt night at The Pub Polaris. We tend to stay with the Irish or British establishments. Last night we started at an Irish pub for dinner then ended up at a non-Celtic bar as we wanted some live music. Well as you can imagine walking into a non-Celtic pub in kilts caught some attention. On the way in one of our members passed two young ladies maybe 25 years old. One of them made some wise crack about the "hot" kilt. It was obviously not a compliment. He ignored the comment and joined me at the front door.


We go inside and see the party had been going on for some time. The Ohio State - Michigan game was that day and some patrons had been there all afternoon. One rather intoxicated lady saw the kilts. She became quite curious about them. One member of our group answered her question with "Good girls don't ask, bad girls find out for themselves". Well that was an invitation if there was one so she proceeded to kilt check the four of us. Now she did ask permission first but normally when I have gotten kilt checked they are done from the side or back. Nope, not this time; up the front. She was not disappointed with what she found. She bought us all a beer.

So this was the ice breaker for some of the other ladies sitting to the left and right of us. One lady was surprised she did this. She had never heard of a kilt check and she was not aware of what is traditionally worn under the kilt. She asked why we would wear the kilt in the first place. She liked my answer: "If we were in jeans this conversation would not be occurring so kilts are a great conversation starter". She then compared us to some of the ladies that come into a bar in provocative dress and discover the attention they get is from men that are undesirable to them. She noted this was an interesting reversal implying that we were "provocatively dressed" in this case. She noted that while we were getting attention it was not from women that would have been our first choice. Interesting observation.

I would have like to have stayed longer that night but it is a 90 minute drive home for me when I go to Columbus. I pulled out around 11:30pm to head for home. Another very successful kilt night in Columbus.

I would like to find a core group in Dayton for kilt nights but have not been able to find the interest or ideal location.

Kilt on!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

The Question

No, not "that" question. I have been asked several times if there is a convention in town. Someone sees a kilt and assumes there is an Irish or Celtic festival in town. Today the lady that asked me that question did so for a different reason. I was the second person she saw in a kilt within the hour. I was in a craft store at the time. She had just come from a cell phone store down the street. Someone was wearing a kilt. That is about the third time someone has commented about seeing others in a kilt around this town. The lady liked my kilt. She made the comment that it looked to be very "freeing". Now we all know what she meant by that!
In a previous post I made a comment about hearing giggles in response to my kilt. I was in a contemporary kilt at the time. Today I was in my Irish National from Stillwater Kilts. As I walked into an isle of the craft store a lady turned around and with a surprised look on her face when she saw the kilt. I left the isle and came up the other side. Two other ladies joined the first. They were making some wise crack about the kilt. They apparently did not know I was on the other side of the isle. I was tempted to swing back around into their isle just to see what new expression I could catch on their face.

Speaking of that prior post, I did not go back to the movie theater as planned. I decided to wait until the next round of movies were released yesterday. I plan on going back on Tuesday as they have a discount that night.

Kilt on!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Anohter Kilt Blog

I found another kilt blog named "Henry's blog about kilts". 

http://blankets-and-kilts.blogspot.com/

Thursday, November 12, 2009

New Solid Green Kilt

I ordered a heavyweight solid green kilt from Stillwater Kilts. The kilt arrived today. This is actually my first heavy wool kilt. The color is a dark green. Now I have to figure out what to wear with it. I am not very good at picking colors that go together. I am the geek nerd you see wearing black pants with a navy blue sport jacket. Ok, so you see where I am coming from. One of the kilt boards I frequent have had many discussions of the color of kilt hose to wear with what. A lot of you can't wear that color because that is for pipe bands, or some other such reason as to why a particular color can not be worn. The problem is when I look for kilt hose I find very limited colors available. The last time I went for kilt hose I ended up getting solid color soccer socks from the local sporting store. They had more color options but unfortunately not the nice thick wool socks which are nice in the winter.


As for shirts I know different shades of the same color can be a problem. A very light shade of green may go with this dark green kilt. Other shirt color combinations that I think will work are off white or beige with kilt hose of the same color (or as close as I can get). For Christmas functions a red shirt and red kilt hose maybe? Of course the shade of red will never match between the shirt and hose. Maybe I am more concerned about this than I should be.

As for kilt jackets it appears you have black and that is about it. USAkilts have some argyle jackets in different colors. Those jackets are expensive so some have taken to modifying regular blazers and sport coats. I am game for that. The local Goodwill is an option for finding something to experiment with. I also found this website for blazers: http://www.blazersmen.com/pages/mens_blazer/madison.html . They have a lower cost jacket also. My thinking is to go with one of the red or burgundy colors for this green kilt?? I am taking a risk I may screw it up if this is my first jacket modification but such is a good education. There are articles on making such modification on the web and on the kilt forum I visit.

I have a second wool kilt on order from the BOTK group. It is a special order in a tartan they registered. It will have blue in the tartan so will need a jacket for it also. I want to wear that one for more dressed up occasions.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Last night I attended TSO for my third year. Of course went in a kilt as I have done in previous years. The first year I wore a denim kilt from Union Kilts. That was a very cold night with wind and temperatures in the low 20's. That kit has a lot of material so it was warm. The second year I wore my USA Kilts American Tradition. This year I wore my Irish National tartan from Stillwater Kilts. We had very warm weather this year for November. Temperature was 60F and maybe lower 50's when the show was over.


I got a lot of good comments this year. More than last year. The kilt was a good conversation starter with the rather attractive lady sitting next to me. This was her first TSO show. TSO knows how to put on a good show so I am sure she is now hooked and will be back next year.

Only got one "nice skirt" comment from some guy that appeared to have too many beers even before the show started.

On the way out, walking through the parking lot, I passed a very attractive blonde. She was on her cell phone and as she turned around I was about five feet from her when she spotted the kilt. With a big smile she said "Nice!". I thanked her and continued on my way.

I thought I might see a few Utilikits this year at the show but did not.

I plan on going back for next year's show.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Giggles

Went to the movie Amelia last night. I have always had an interest in her story. This movie was on her life and not just centered around the tragic 1937 flight. I liked the movie but again I have an interest in her story. Ok, what does this have to do with a kilt. Well nothing really other than I wore my tan Alphakilt. I attended the late show so not many people in the theater. I did get a number of giggles from ladies of various ages. I have had that happen before but this time a little more than normal. I wonder if I would have gotten the same reaction in a more traditional tartan kilt. Maybe time for an experiment. Go back to the same theater next week, same time, wearing a traditional tartan kilt and see what happens. If I don't get busy with something else I will consider doing this next week. On Tuesday nights this theater has reduced ticket prices so it is a good night to go.

For others out there reading this blog what have been your experience with reactions to contemporary kilts vs the more traditional tartan?

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Kilt Night Columbus Ohio

 We occasionally get together for what is called Kilt Night.  This is were a group of us in our kilts have dinner, go for drinks, or go for some other form of entertainment.  Last night took me to Columbus, Ohio for Kilt Night.  I have gone over there several times and we always have a good evening.  Normally there are three or of us.  Last night one guy came down from Cleveland and another new person from the Columbus area joined us.  We go to the The Pub Polaris on the north side of Columbus several times.  I don't know what it is about that place but we get more attention there then anywhere else.  During the evening we had several conversations with other patrons abut the kilt.  At this Pub the waiters all wear kilts so we are not unique from a kilt standpoint.  We are still somewhat unique in that not too may of the customers are in kilts.  We run into a few but on this night we were the only ones.

We were all standing around the bar and I noticed two ladies in a booth behind us.  One of the ladies got Jeff's attention and we must have spent an hour at their table.  They did not quite know what to think of the kilt. Must have had some impact for them to spend an hour with us. 

We found standing around the bar allows us to interact with others more than would be possible at a table.  This place was packed on a Friday night and many migrate to the bar area waiting for a table.

From an earlier visit to this establishment I had a photo similar to this one.  I made a 11" x 17" poster out of it with a Celtic Knot and some text about wearing a kilt.  I took copies to give to the guys that were in the original picture.  That poster was a hit.  It got passed around the staff.  Some of the girls in the photo were still working there.  I think that poster allowed us to making another picture. 

Without the kilt none of this would have taken place. 

Photobucket

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Geocaching

Saturday I attended a Geocache Meet-n-Greet event north of town. This is where a group of Geocachers meet for lunch/dinner and conversation. I always attend these wearing a kilt. I was the only one in a kilt at this event but I am not the only kilted Geocacher in the area. There are a couple of others but they were not in attendance at this event. The event was well attended as they normally are around this area. I always learn a few things when I attend one of these meeting. After lunch many of us went around Tipp City, OH looking for caches. I traveled with three other cachers. It was great spending the entire day kilted and doing something fun. Normally I would have been in one of my contemporary kilts when Geocaching but this time I went dressed a little better in my USAKilt American Tradition. I added about 12 new caches to my list of finds. Today I went after a more local cache and ran into two cachers from the Meet-n-Greet yesterday. They did not remember my Geocache name but they remember the kilt.  

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Your a long way from home

Had some errands to run on Monday. Stopped for lunch and while standing in line a lady came up to me with an obvious Scottish accent. "Your a long way from home" she said. No, I am from the area but like the kilt and Celtic heritage. I think she was a little disappointed I was not actually from Scotland. She was from Edinburgh if I recall. We had a short conversation about Scotland.


Later another man asked if I was Irish. I have been asked that several times before. In one of my contemporary kilts of a solid color I can see how that may happen. I am not clear how prevalent kilts were with the Irish. I have heard that the Irish kilts were likely to be a solid color but I don't know the facts on that subject. I suspect kilts were mostly limited to the Irish that migrated from Scotland. Anyone attending Irish festivals in the area will see plenty of kilts. I think some people see that and assume kilts were more prevalent in Ireland then they actually were.

Another fine day in kilt.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Consignment Shop

Last month a coworker need assistance in picking up a grandfather clock he purchased from a consignment shop. Since I have a van he asked it I could haul it home for him. I was glad to do so. Scott knows I wear kilts but has never seen me in one. It was on the weekend and I wear my kilt almost 100% of the time on the weekend. I was not about to change back into p@nt$. When I got to the shop Scott got out of his car and was not surprised to see me in the kilt. "I knew you were going to wear that". In the store he was looking around to gauge the reaction of customers in the store. He said he did not note any strange looks. We got the clock to his house. As we pulled the thing out of the van into his garage I told him all the neighbors were going to ask him why a cross dresser was delivering a coffin. This clock was a more modern style. A nice looking clock. Laying on its side in the van it looked like a thin coffin.


Today I went back to the consignment shop. I have an entrance way with nothing in it. There use to be a small curio cabinet with a mirror on the wall. My ex took that and I never replaced it. I thought about that shop so went to see if they had anything like it. They did but it was priced too high. At the end of the month the price will drop by half so I will go back and see if they still have it.

I wore my American Tradition kilt. As I walked in a young couple was near the door. The husband looked at me with that "what the hell" look on his face. His wife also looked at me but with no real expression one way or the other. As I was walking around the store (this is big place) she would comment on something I was standing next to. He would question why she commented on that particular piece of furniture as I would assume it was not something they were looking for. Was she doing that because I was standing there? I could hardly keep a straight face trying not to notice. I would like to know what their conversation was like going home. It made me think of a comment Shawn added to one of my posts last month. He commented that he wanted to get a T-shirt that said: "Go ahead and stare, your girlfriend is." That sure fit the situation today.

Kilts are so much fun.

Response To Comments

Somehow I turned on the moderation requirement for comments.  I did not notice I had two comments to approve.   To answer a couple of questions in the comment under grocery shopping.  Larry A. asked about my location and the kilt that is in the thumbnail on this blog.  My location is Dayton, Ohio.  The kilt in the picture is from Celtic Corners in Cincinnati, Ohio  (http://www.celticcornerstore.com/).  This is one of their "Day Kilts" Explorer version. It is a light weight kilt which is nice in the summer.  I sent them the photo and they included it in their 2009 catalog.  This is the link to the 2009 catalog: http://www.celticcornerstore.com/files/Catalog%202009.pdf
They also make traditional wool kilts. 

I added http://www.your-kilt.com/ to my list of blogs because there is a lot of information on this site. 

Thank you for the comments.

Kilt Blogs

I have started to collect a list of blogs about kilts. I found a few and I am sure there are many more. Here is the list I have so far. If anyone has any others add them to the comments.


http://mcmurdosadventures.blogspot.com/

http://kiltme.typepad.com/

http://kiltblog.com/

http://mysticmead.livejournal.com/

http://www.fotoflingscotland.com/  
 (nice photos of kilts in action in Scotland)

http://www.your-kilt.com/

Monday, September 21, 2009

Grocery Shopping

I go to Cub Foods a for groceries most of the time. I don't like to shop during the day as it is too crowded. I like to go in the evening when there are a lot less people around. It is just faster then having to wait in line at check out. Cubs is open 24 hours so it is not unusual for me to be there after 10pm on the weekends. At that time they only have one cashier. Most of the time I have on the kilt. The cashier on duty at that hour is Irish. She likes my kilts. So much so that it is the one place where I feel I MUST wear the kilt. I think she is disappointed if I don't have it on.


I was in one night before she went on duty. The cashier on the earlier shift commented that the week before she noticed someone in a kilt. It was not me. I wonder who that was? One of the other merchants in this same general area had commented about seeing kilts. Maybe my kilts are catching on.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Ohio Renaissance Festival (Harveysburg, Ohio)

I was not able to attend yesterday so I ran over today.  Attendance was light at least around noon.  It was Sunday so that could have been a factor.  I normally attend on Saturday so I think everyone gets an earlier start as compared to Sunday.  Of course I am in a kilt.  There were a lot of kilts which I was glad to see.  It was a good turn out of kilts even though the official "Highland" weekend won't be until one weekend in October.  Father, Sons, and Friends were playing so that was a factor in being there this weekend.  Unfortunately the Limeybirds were not back this year.  One of their members came back doing a solo act.  Not bad, but not a funny as the three.  Their web site indicates one of the members has a health issue and they cancelled the 2009 tour schedule.  I wish her the best with her recovery.
 
I took my camera but ended up not taking any pictures. 
 
After one of the shows I spoke to a young man in a kilt.  He said he obtained his kilt here last year.  He was taking more of in interest in kilts.  I pointed him to two web sites that are kilt discussion boards.  He can go to these sites and get all of his kilt questions answered.  One is XmarksTheScot.com (http://www.xmarksthescot.com.)  and the other is Brotherhood of the kilt (http://www.kiltsrock.com/).  A good group of people on both of these sites.  Please read the rules of both groups if you are going to join as there are some differences in the two sites.
 
When I left I stopped at a place called the Corwin Peddler as it was on my way home.  This is little restaurant along a bike way in Corwin, Ohio.  They also rent bikes.  I have been there a couple of times when I ride that particular bike way.  Most of the crowd on weekends are bikers stopping for a bite to eat or something to drink while on the trail.  That being the case my kilt sure stood out.  The owner is English so he took an interest in the kilt.  I had a nice conversation with him. One lady on a bike commented on the kilt.  Apparently her son just moved to Scotland. If I understood her correctly he is doing a sabbatical in language while in Scotland. 
 
If I had not been in a kilt none of these conversations would have taken place. 
 
Kilt up lads!!
 
 

Sunday, September 6, 2009

You Play the Bag Pipes?

Maybe I should take lessons so I can answer that question in the affirmative.  Went to dinner at a local cafeteria.  The average age of the customers is about 95.  One of you young ladies that work there asked if I played the pipes.  I get that question a lot.  When I told her no she asked if I don't play then why was I wearing a kilt.  Maybe because I like them??  I need a t-shirt that reads something like "No I don't play the bagpipes but I do wear a kilt". 
 
After dinner I picked up a few things at one of the big box stores.  Got a few smiles from the ladies in the store.   Guys that don't wear the kilt are missing something. 
 
Kilt up lads!
 
 

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Piqua Heritage Festival

Had a great time at the Piqua Heritage Festival.  More Great Kilts here than you will find at Celtic festivals.  Father, Sons and friends and Albannach bands played.  My kilt was not "of period" as the theme of the event was in the 1800's.   Just my USAkilt American Heritage worn in a casual way, i.e. boots with kilt hose pushed down.  Worn with a t-shirt.

I think this festival is mostly for American heritage, i.e. early settlers and Indians, but some Highland gets into the mix. 




Piqua Heritage Festival 2009
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Father, Sons and Friends (not all band members shown)

 


 

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Loan Raven Band

My city has a free concert on Sunday nights at the city's outdoor amphitheater.  I never pay much attention to those.  Today a friend of mine called to let me know there was a Celtic band called "Loan Raven" playing tonight ( http://www.loneraven.com/loneraven.htm ).  Never heard of them but I had nothing special to do tonight so I attended the concert.  Wow!  They were fantastic.  Based out of Columbus, Ohio they have played at various placed in the area but I have just never ran into them.  I sure hope the city invites them back next year.  I will have to keep my eye open for them playing at any Celtic Festivals I attend going forward. 
 
Of course I wore my kilt.  It was the USAKilt semi-tradition in the American Tradition tartan.   Of course I was the only one in a kilt.  I was also one of the younger members of the audience.  I think the average age attending was somewhere around 95.  Someone asked it I was associated with the band.  Another asked if I was playing the bagpipes that night.  After the show I had to stop at the grocery.  The cashier commented on Scottish neighbors that lived next door to here years ago. 
 
Over all it was a great evening.  I should take more notice of the city's concert series next year.  This was the last show of the season. 
 
 

Sunday, August 23, 2009

What is under the Kilt

I have on occasion been asked what is under the kilt. Now what would happen if I asked a lady that question about her skirt? We can never tell you what is really under there. But if a lady should ask here are a few possible answers:

How badly do you want to know?
How warm are you hands?
Good girls don't ask, bad girls find out
A little later lipstick I hope
Play your cards right and you can find out.
Tell me madam, would you go jogging without a bra? If so, where do you jog and when?
Sorry, I'm a bit shy and not much good with words. Give me your hand...
Talcum powder
Bagpipes, wanna give 'em a blow?
It's the smallest airport in the world... 2 hangers and a night fighter
What is there won first prize.
Shoes and socks
A rope....I had to tie it up so it didn't hang below the kilt
What God graced me with
Nothing is worn, everything is in perfect working order

Now should a man ask:

Same as you only bigger
Your wife's/sister's/girlfriend's/mother's lipstick

Out and about today

Had to run a few errands this afternoon.  While waiting for paint to be mixed I noticed a little boy looking at me.  I was in my Alphakilt and that got his attention.  Not sure if he questioned his dad about what I had on.  I don't think he did at least while I was standing there.  We were both waiting for paint.  I am sure the boy had a question or two about the kilt.  I never know if I should initiate a conversation in this case or just keep my mouth shut. 
 
A while back I was in line at an auto parts store.  In front of me was a little boy with his dad.  The boy was looking at the kilt.  His dad spoke up and asked the boy if he knew what I was wearing.  He told his son that was a kilt.  I don't remember which kilt I had on that day.  Then the dad looked at me and said "I could tell my son was about to ask me why that man was wearing a skirt.  I thought I had better speak up first." 
 
I was picking up a package at UPS.  I had to sign something for it.  It was early summer and they had some young high school or maybe early college kids working there.   While I was signing for the box one of the young guys walked up to the counter.  There was no business reason for that young man to be there.  He had a look on his face that he wanted to ask me something about the kilt.  I had on my American Tradition kilt from USAkilts.  I should have said something in that case. 

Saturday, August 22, 2009

My Current Kilts

Kilts I currently own:
  1. Denim kilt from Union Kilts in the UK
  2. Irish National tartan acrylic standard kilt from Stillwater Kilts (Richfield, MN)
  3. Day kilt (tan solid color) from Celtic Corners (Cincinnati, OH)
  4. Semi-traditional American Tradition tartan from USAkilts (PA)
  5. Glasgow contemporary box pleat kilt from AlphaKilts (Indianapolis, IN)
  6. Compass contemporary knife pleat kilt from AlphaKilts (Indianapolis, IN)
  7. Utilikilt original contemporary kilt in black
  8. Heavy Duck Cotton kilt in olive green I got off of an Ebay vendor. 
  9. Clasic Forest Green contemporary kilt from Amerikilt
As for my favorite in the above list?  I like the day kilt from Celtic Corners in the summer.  It is light weight.   For the more traditional look I go for the American Tradition kilt.  I wear this in a casual mode, i.e. socks pushed down and wearing boots.   I also wear this more traditional for dinner outings with the kilt socks up and regular shoes.   The Utilikilt is a general knock around kilt around the house.  I wear the Amerikilt and the Utilikilt for Geocaching.  When it gets a little cooler outside I will start to wear the Alphakilts for general errands and outings.   The AlphaKilts are by far the best contemporary kilts I own. 
 
Kilts I want:
  1. A leather kilt.  I will probabaly get the one from Union Kilts out of the UK
  2. A 16-oz 8-yard wool kilt.  I actualy have one on order via the Brotherhood of the Kilt.  They had a special order made in that group's tartan.  It should be here soon.
  3. A mini-kilt.....with a young lady in it.
 
 
 
 
 

Kilted in a Pants World

First post in a new blog. Where do we start? Obviously from the title kilts will enter in the discussion at some point. Well ok, just about all of the posts will have something to do with kilts.

I like kilts. I like the Celtic culture. Ok I like Celtic culture but why wear the kilt? Why not just get some kilt pictures and hang them on the wall. Why not wear them? They are a MAN's garment. It is just western society has tired to lock in a "skirt" type anything to be woman's dress only. Sorry I don't buy it. If women wore only skirts well maybe I could accept that. While the kilt is technically a skirt it is historically recognized as a man's garment and designed for a man's body.

Well, then, only a Scott can wear it. If so, they I say only someone with ancestors from the western USA can wear jeans. By the way it was the Highland Scotts that originally wore the kilt. Not the lowland Scotts. Today the kilt is associated with all of the Celtic lands. I think this occured following the repeal of the Highland Act in the late 1700's. In addition when England unified all the areas that make up the UK today they adopted much of the traditions of those areas. The British flag for example has an "X" in it. Why? That comes from the Scottish flag. The kilt was also adopted in British culture. If you feel more comfortable knowing you have some ancestry connection to the kilt it would appear to me that Scottish, or any of the Celtic lands would be fair game. This also includes those of English ancestry. Personally don't worry about it. As we have said before, the kilt is a man's garment. That is all that is necessary.

Just to be mean I will toss this in. If I wanted to dress as a girl I would wear blue jeans.

Another reason for the kilt. Maybe men just need an alternative to wearing just pants. Maybe I don't like pants.

This blog will cover my experiences in wearing a kilt as everyday wear and not as a costume you might just see in a parade.

I have been wearing the kilt for at least two years. While I would never claim to be someone that would wear the kilt 100% of the time I could see myself wearing one maybe 50 to 75% of the time. Unfortunately work gets in the way since dress code spells out trousers for men. That is the limiting factor today.

Since I just started this blog I may talk about some situations that occurred in the past.

Just remember: Real Men Wear Kilts!!!