Thursday, December 30, 2010

Humorous Presentation on Wearing the Kilt

Robert Pel is the owner of RKilts in Ontario Canada. He tells a humorous way about wearing of the kilt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB9Qn1sKevQ

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Kilt Night at the new Tilted Kilt - Columbus, Ohio

Kilt night at the new Tilted Kilt in Columbus, Ohio. We had a good turnout and a good time. This was the first Tilted Kilt I have been to. I was surprised, and pleased, to see the male staff in kilts. They do that at The Pub but I was not aware of the standard for this chain. At The Pub (a chain British style establishment in Ohio, Kentucky, and Florida). It is interesting to note that at The Pub the young guys wear a standard length kilt a jean waist which puts it below the knee. I don't like the look of a kilt below the knee. We tease the manager about this every time we go. At the Tilted Kilt the guy's kilts are provided by the company. They appear to be custom for the Tilted Kilt in a contemporary style, solid color, knife pleat. They are made for jean waist since that is where guys of that generation will wear them. They are also a few inches shorter than what most of us would wear them. Generally 2 or 3 inches above the knee. The girls had on short wrap style skirts but not pleated. You can see them in the pictures. Looking forward to the next time we get together.

Tilted Kilt Columbus Ohio Nov 23, 2010


Tilted Kilt Columbus Ohio Nov 23, 2010



(edit from original photos. Not sure what happened to the original links)

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Kilt Power

Those of us that wear kilts on a regular basis refer to something called "the power of the kilt". This results from increased interaction with people around us. Most of this is positive but on rare occasions it can be negative. The positive interactions is what I remember the most. Some spouses find this intimidating and that leads to "I like kilts, but not on my man". Spouse negativity toward the kilt has been discussed on other kilt blogs and I am not going there on this post. Someday I get around to doing a post on this subject as I have some experience with the subject. This post is about the fun I have been having with "the power of the kilt" this summer.

I have not posted much this summer. Something always gets in the way and now we are the down hill drag into winter. Yes, today's high where I am will be 80F but the way time flies I had better figure out where my snow shovel is hiding.

I eat out a lot being single again. One of the places I frequent is a chain restaurant common in Ohio. I have gone there for years and about two years ago started to wear the kilt. The waitress staff are mostly college age young ladies that come an go fairly frequently. There are a few that are a few years older and have been around for while. I am older than all of them and for the most part I am probably the same age as their father. Because of the age difference I would never consider trying to get to know any of them any better. This is an advantage as I don't have to consider playing the dating game which I was never very good at anyway. I can go in, have some fun, and then get back to regular scheduled living.

There is on particular lady that caught my attention back before the kilt days. She was always busy, knew what she was doing, and made you feel good that you came in that day. She is older than the college age group. I would put her age at 30. When I started to wear the kilt she took a particular interest in them. Her and one other. This place has a hostess that takes you to the table. I noticed this one hostess would always take me to one of the two. I don't know if this was my imagination or if they said something to her. That hostess is now gone I ended up back to the luck of the draw. I thought what the heck I am going to ask for one of the two if I see them on the floor when I walk in the door.

Went in one day and the one I like commented that she was going to get some grief from one of the other waitresses. Turns out one of the girls likes a band where the guys wear kilts. She is looking to get one for her boyfriend. I think she is a new employee so that now makes three waitresses that like the kilt. The new one noticed I get the other waitress most of the time. She made a comment about the other waitress getting the "kilt guy" the last time. Another waitress commented that they were fighting over me in the back. So now, to keep the peace, I ask for those two and alternate between them each week. The third lady is now gone or else she leaves before I get there. I am not coming in as early as I use to. I go there once a week now. I think they are looking for me now as I come in on the same day of the week. I tried another day of the week and neither of them was working that night. I have no idea what there schedule is I have not asked.

Eventually one or both of these ladies will move on to other jobs so I am enjoying this while it lasts. Sure, the girls know how to work me for a better tip which they get. Some of this could be that but I think they enjoy my visit. Something different for them.

The bottom line is without the kilt none of this would have happened. So guys, get out the kilts and get out in the world.

KILT ON.

Mike

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Celtic Activities in Full Swing

Last weekend was the Dayton Celtic Fest. It ran Friday night through Sunday. This is a free event to the public and very well attended. They had three stages setup and music playing all the time. Gaelic Storm was there along with local bands such as "Father, Sons and Friends" and "Dulahan". A new group, first time in Ohio, to attend was "The Rovers" out of Maryland. I missed last year so I made sure I attended this year. I was there all three days. I had a very good time. I think there were more kilts there this year then when I attended year before last. Most were contemporary kilts such as the Utilikilt. Utilikilt had a booth as did Got Kilt. What I like about having Utilikilt there is I get a chance to examine the various kilts they sell in person. I am not in the market for one at the moment but I made some mental notes for when I am ready for another Utilikilt. I will make sure I keep the calendar free for next year's show.

This weekend is the Dublin Irish Fest in Dublin, Ohio (Columbus). I did not make this year's show. This show is larger than Dayton. It is also well worth attending.

If you have a Celtic fest in your area try to attend and listen to the bands. You will have a good time. Don't forget to wear the kilt!

Today was also the British Car Show in Eastwood Lake Park in Dayton. I attended the show today. There were around 400 cars on display. This is one of the best British car shows in the area but you never hear anything about it on the news. I found out about it by accident last year looking through the park directory for summer activities. Saw a listing for the car show. Surprised me as I had never heard of it. I attended last year and was surprised at the number of cars entered. Being a British show you have the normal MG, Jag, Morris, etc on display. I enjoy the display of the original Mini's. I was the only one in a kilt that I could see. Last year there were a couple of us in kilts.

On the way home I stopped at the grocery store. I heard a lady behind me say "I wanted to go to Scotland and now Scotland comes to me". I turned around and had a nice chat with a lady that wants to tour Scotland. I had on my "good girls don't ask" t-shirt. That t-shirt is a good ice breaker too.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Concert and Reunion

On Friday I attended the Weird Al Yankovic concert in Kettering (Dayton) at the Fraze. I wore my box pleat AlphaKilt and expected I would be the only one in a kilt. Got a "nice kilt" comment from a lady as I got near the gate. So far normal reactions. Once I got in the gate I spotted a Cameo kilt. Wow! this was the second kilt sighting in the wild this year. Dayton is coming up in the world. I walked over and introduced myself. Matt was wearing a kilt his wife made. Nice to know there are other "kilties" in Dayton. We could not chat long as it was time to get to our seats. My seat was next to a boy about 14 years old. He gave me a "what the #@^$ is that" look as I sat down. The concert was good. It was the first time for me to hear Weird Al on stage. I left via the side exit so I did not see Matt on my way out.

Now it is Saturday and I time for my 35th high school reunion. This was a casual event so I wore my American Heritage tartan USAKilt with a red shirt. I was sure this would surprise some of my former classmates but I figured it would be a good ice breaker. My class size was over 500 and this crowd was not the group I hung around with. We had about 175 at the event. Again, I expected to be the only one in a kilt. Wrong again. So now we have kilt number three in the wild. One of my classmates, that I did not remember, was wearing a contemporary kilt. I am not sure who it was made by. I wanted to talk to him to find out who he was. Was not sure if he was a classmate or a spouse of a classmate. He was on the other side of the floor and by the time I got over there he was gone. Someone else told me who he was and that he was unable to stay for the event. He was a classmate but I don't remember him. I sent him an email via Facebook so I will see if he responds.

The kilt was a great ice breaker at the reunion. As the evening went on and the ladies were influenced by a little alcohol it got even better! Gosh, in high school if someone told them that 35 years in the future they would be asking Mike what he had under the kilt they would have up-chucked at the thought.

Tomorrow is my local community parade, car show, and craft show. Will be kilted for that of course.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Kilts on a regular basis has its advantages

I frequent a local restaurant a couple of times a week. At least once a week I wear my kilt. That is normally on Friday evening. The staff on Friday appear to be the same ones every week for the most part. There are two that take a particular interest in the kilt. I got one of them tonight as my waitress. The other stopped by and and thanked me for wearing the kilt as she liked it. It appears she likes the USAKilt American Heritage tartan the best which is what I had on tonight. Wore it with a red shirt, black kilt hose, and red flashes. Tonight the kilt got more comments and looks from patrons than in the past. I did get a couple of "where is the bag pipe" questions. I guess that is better than the "other" question.

As I was finishing both of the young ladies walked up to me. I knew I was about to be asked something so for a few seconds I had to wait in suspense until they asked. You get that "oh crap they are going to ask me some thing" feeling. Turned out to be a simple question. They asked about tartan associations. Ok, simple enough, and I hope I answered them to their satisfaction and correctly.

When you wear a kilt on a regular basis the staff starts to know you and they feel more comfortable asking questions and making comments.

Tonight's experience was a good start to the weekend. I think this will be a good one.

Kilt ON!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Kilt + Convention

Over the weekend I attended an annual convention I have been going to for a number of years. In the past I always wore pants and never considered mixing a kilt into the convention until this year. Some of this group know I wear kilts but many have never seen me in one. This year that all changed. I wore a kilt, either a traditional or a contemporary, for the entire weekend. The result? I think it was positive. Only one vendor booth I passed generated a few laughs from the guys staffing the booth. They were speaking with an accent that I could not identify. Got some smiles from the ladies. In one case the lady was a piper. I had on a USAKilts semi-traditional at the time. She was looking for a lighter weight kilt for summer as all of hers were 16 oz wool. I pointed her to USAKilts for a PV semi-traditional. She did not know they made kilts out of PV (poly-viscose). For the contemporary kilts a few asked if I had on a Utilikilt. No, mine are are from Alphakilt. Two guys that asked if I had a Utilikilt were considering getting one or someone in their family was looking at them. Got a couple of "under the kilt" questions or comments.

As for others in a kilt, not this year. In the past there was someone from Florida that wore a kilt to the convention. Have not seen him for a couple of years.

I think I will make the kilt a standard form of dress at this convention going forward. Maybe some of the others that talked about the Utilikilt will bring theirs next year. If I can do it so can they.

Kilt On!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Saw Another Kilt!

I was driving home from a friends place this morning. Much to my surprise a young man walking down the sidewalk was wearing a black Utilikilt. He was walking with a young woman in my direction. It had been raining this morning so he was carrying a long umbrella. Unfortunately, I was in the wrong lane to pull into a parking lot. I would have liked to talk to him to see how often he wear the kilt and if he belongs to any of the kilt discussion groups. It is nice to see someone else in a kilt. Normally around here you see plenty of kilts at Celtic fests, St. Patty's day, etc. These guys just don't have the guts to wear one when they can't attach some excuse to doing so.

Changing topics. Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of Geocaching. The local Geocaching group is having a picnic. Unfortunately it is going to be raining so I hope the shelter is large enough to keep us dry. As usual I will be wearing one of my contemporary kilts. Not sure which one but I will have one of them. I even have a new t-shirt. It reads "Real men cache in kilts". Shows a cartoon drawing of a man in kilt next to a Geocach ammo can.

KILT ON!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Positive Comments

Two evenings about a week apart I went to dinner at a local cafeteria. I have gone there often for several years but mostly wearing pants. I have increased my attendance in kilts over the last six months. I believe I have talked about comments from this place before. This cafeteria is attended by an older crowd. For years I noticed an older man, by himself, eating dinner and reading a book. This guy looks familiar as I believe he was a member of a computer users group I belonged to many years ago. I never knew his name. I walked into the place wearing my USAKilts semi-traditional kilt in the Holyrood tartan. I sat on the other side of the room from where he was seated. I had to walk past his table to get to the other side. He did not appear to pay any attention to me. As I was eating dinner I noticed he stopped one of the waitress and pointed in my direction. I was not sure if he was actually commenting on the kilt or if that was just my imagination. I finished my dinner and was walking out. He got up ahead of me and went to the door. He waited at the door for me to walk through. At that point he made a comment about the kilt. He said he could identify about 30 tartans but not the one I had on. I told him it was a more modern tartan so that explained why he did not recognize it. He asked if I was attending any function. No, I just decided I wanted to wear my kilt. He was a little surprised by my answer. Not that he had any problem with it. He just never thought to wear kilt except for some function. He told me he had a Royal Stewart and use to belong to a few Scottish organizations. We chatted for about 15 minutes. As for the conversation with the waitress, he told me he asked if I got a discount for wearing my kilt. If so, he said he would wear his. I am sure we will have more conversations about his interest in kilts and Scottish culture in the future as I see him in the place a lot. I still don't know that man's name. I am bad with names anyway.

As I was chatting with the older man a lady came up and asked what tartan I was wearing. I told her and gave her a little history about it. So that night I had two very good experiences that would not have occurred if it was not for the kilt.

The next time I went to the cafeteria I had on my USAKilts semi-traditional kilt in the American Heritage tartan, blue shirt, and blue kilt hose. I sat down and was almost finished with dinner when a lady that had been sitting with her husband about 20 feet away walked over to me. I saw her walking in my direction and knew she going to say something. She asked about the tartan and said their family had Gordon and Williams in the family tree. She complemented me on the look.

Two great evenings out for dinner in the kilt!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

No Kilt, No Service

The month of February was rather cold in this part of the country. I got tired of the cold and did not go out much at least in the kilt. Warmer weather is now upon us so I have been enjoying more "kilt" time. I eat out a lot and one of the regular places I frequent I am in a kilt maybe 50% of the time. It is obvious they recognize me as the kilt guy. Last Friday I walked in with my USAKilt in the Holyrood tartan. I got some attention from the staff; more so then in the past. As I was seated the waitress brought out my ice tea without being asked. That is what I always order. That is the first time that has happened. Last night I went back there but in (heaven forbid) pants. This time no ice tea on being seated. I guess no kilt, no service.

To make up for the lack of kilt wearing during February I spent all of Saturday and Sunday running errands in my AlphaKilt. We will be even warmer this weekend but I have work duties that may limit my activities.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Of all things to find on eHow

Ran across an article on eHow titled How to Bike in a Kilt. That is about the last topic I would expect to find on this site. Looking over eHow there are articles on wearing the kilt in general but specific to riding a bike surprised me. The article is written by a lady. I don't know if she intended this for ladies in kilts or men. When I see the word "kilt" to me that is a man's garment so I read this from a man's garment perspective. The reason I ask is she comments on the length of kilt from long to short. She also did not say if she had experience herself riding a bike in a skirt. She does not state the type of bike but I would have to say she assumed a standard road bike. On a road bike you are basically in a vertical position if you have the seat high. Wearing a standard length kilt the center bar would get in the way unless you have ladies bike. For men in kilts I would assume most would have a standard bike with the bar. This bar may actually help to keep the kilt in place as you ride. Getting on and off the bike presents possible exposure situations as she states. Wearing something under the kilt is a must for two reasons. First is exposure which you don't want and the second is problems with chafing.

As a bike rider myself I have tried to ride one in a kilt. My bike is a recumbent which has the rider in a more horizontal position. I have made two attempts at riding with a kilt. The kilt happened to be a standard Utilikilt. The standard kilt does not have the modesty strap as you will find on the Workman so that was not an option to try. I wore something under it for reasons stated above. With my legs out in a horizontal position the wind would push the kilt back. At no time did the wind attempt to flip the kilt up it just pushed it back. I had no idea what was showing under the kilt for those approaching me but there was a lot of leg showing if nothing else. I found myself fighting the kilt material trying to push it back. I quickly determined that this was making for a rather uncomfortable ride. Even with something worn under the kilt I suspect those approaching me would not appreciate the view even if there was nothing illegal about it. I made both rides on a side street so I could test the concept without any riders or walkers present. On a regular road bike I think I could have gotten away with wearing a kilt but not on the recumbent. If the kilt was modified to add a snap or something to connect the back with the front between the legs it may work. This is probably not worth the hassle. So it looks like my bike riding this season will be back in shorts.

Kilt on!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Burns Night Dinner

Last night I attended a Burns night dinner in Columbus, Ohio. This was held at Barley's Smokehouse on Dublin Road. This was the first year to attend at this location. Apparently Barley's has hosted the dinner for the last eleven years. One of the members of our kilt night group happened to stumble upon this event in time to get reservations. I was not sure what to expect at this dinner. Last year we had Burns dinner at another location in Columbus that was just dinner without the other calibration that normally accompanies Burns Night, such as, piping in the Haggis, reading of Burns poetry, etc.

I was not sure how to dress for this event. Some Burns Night dinners are quite the fancy dress while others are casual. I decided to wear what I did last year. I failed to get a proper jacket this past year so I was back to my sweater vest, white shirt, and tie. Turns out this was more of a "come as you feel like" event. Some had on blue jeans and others had a coat and tie. Some of us had kilts that ranged from casual to semi-formal with a PC (Prince Charles) jacket. Personally, I prefer to go to this type of event dressed better than the typical kilt night. I still need to get a PC jacket so it is still on my list to acquire this year.

There were about 60 or so in attendance. I did not count them so my estimated count may be off by +/- 10 or so. Many of those in attendance had attended in prior years so this was annual party of familiar faces to them. From the comments and show of hands there were more first timers at this year and included the four in the group I associate with.

We started the evening assembling in the lobby and bar. Sometime after 7pm we heard the bag pipes and they accompanied the chief with the Haggis. We fell in line and followed them into a large meeting room that was setup for our dinner. Now this was in Barley's Smokehouse that was serving regular customers on a Saturday night. They had a full house and I am sure they were not aware of the Burns Night dinner going on that evening. Everyone seated at the tables stopped and watched the parade of "piping in the Haggis" as we all followed to the other side of the building. I am sure the waitress staff had a lot of explaining to do as to what was going on.

Once in the room the owner said a few words and read Burns poetry. Everyone was in a talking mood so he had some problem getting their attention which was a little disappointment to me. I am not a Burns expert nor am I familiar with all the ceremony around the Burns Night dinner so I wanted to learn and pay attention to what the master of ceremonies was doing. We were then served Haggis which was followed by the remainder of the four course dinner. They had some local brewed beer in a keg so that was tapped and served to the guests. This was in addition to the three samples of Scotch served during the dinner. They use a different Scotch for every Burns dinner. The placemat had a list of Scotch served during prior years.

Those that had stories to tell about Scotland were allowed to do so. For some it was obvious this event was like a home coming.

As the evening progressed the alcohol started to take effect and everyone was having a very good time. I don't think the master of ceremonies finished all the poetry reading he had planned as he had to give up on holding everyone's attention. Some of Burns works published after his death is somewhat suggestive and many were having great fun reading and letting their imagination run with it. A good example was the poem "Johnie Lad, Cock Up Your Beaver". If you imagine the slang usage of "beaver" you can understand the comedy about it. For the record beaver a hat that I have to assume was made from Beaver pelts. Cock being a term for positioning it on the head. It was obvious that everyone was having a good time. We left Barley's around 11pm to go to a local Irish pub that had a band playing. The pub was populated mostly by the college age crowd so us "old guys" were somewhat out of place. I could not stay long as I had a long drive back to Dayton. I got home about 1:30am.

I hope Barley's continues this event next year. Everyone in our group wants to go back.

Johnie Lad, Cock Up Your Beaver

When first my brave Johnie lad came to this town,
He had a blue bonnet that wanted the crown;
But now he has gotten a hat and a feather,
Hey, brave Johnie lad, cock up your beaver!

Cock up your beaver, and cock it fu' sprush,
We'll over the border, and gie them a brush;
There's somebody there we'll teach better behaviour,
Hey, brave Johnie lad, cock up your beaver!

-Robert Burns (1791)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Another Good Kilt Blog

I like to collect URLs for kilt blogs. I found this one the other day:
http://kiltmaker.blogspot.com

This one belongs to Matt Newsome. He is the director of the Scottish Tartans Museum in Franklin, NC (USA). Their website: http://www.scottishtartans.org/

I have known about the museum for a long time but did not know Matt had a blog. One of these days I want to visit the museum but I digress. He has a lot of good information on his blog. I like topics related to the history of the kilt. I have been trying to get my head around this for a while. Anyone that wears a kilt for more than just a Celtic or rens fest will get plenty of questions on the kilt. The questions end up leading to kilt history. There is a lot of miss-information out there. I know I have absorbed a lot of miss-information and I try to purge the BS from my brain with true information when I can find it. The trouble is trying to determine what is real and what is not. Here is a good place to start. Read the section with the label of mythbusting. Matt covers many of the common errors I find concerning kilt history. I enjoyed reading his blog about the Irish and kilts. This one hits home as I have been asked if I was Irish more then Scottish when I have the kilt.

Check out this blog. There is a lot of good information on Tartans and other kilt related topics.

I found this quote on his site that I think is very appropriate:

Advice for every kilt wearer
"The Highland dress is essentially a 'free' dress -- that is to say, a man's taste and circumstances must alone be permitted to decide when and where and how he should wear it... I presume to dictate to no man what he shall eat or drink or wherewithal he shall be clothed." -- The Hon. Stuart Ruaidri Erskine, The Kilt & How to Wear It, 1901.

If you have any favorite kilt blogs pass them my way.

Kilt Article from the Examiner.com

Real Men Wear Kilts

Click here for article

This one is about contemporary kilts. Nice to see an article with good press.

Kilt on!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

It is COLD around here

I have not been out in a kilt much since Christmas. It has been very cold in this part of the country. Temperature running in the teens (F) with varying amount of wind. As for warm kilts I have two. My denim kilt from Union Kilts is warm. I don't wear it in the summer as it is too hot. I also have a 16oz wool Stillwater Heavyweight. The 16oz wool make a difference. All my other tartan kilts are lighter weight PV material. The contemporaries are cotton or cotton/poly in various weights. I have worn the two warmer kilts in weather into single digits. With good wool kilt socks they are not too bad. It helps if there is no wind.