I've mentioned in passing a couple times that I was expecting a kilt. It arrived yesterday.
C acquired a black Utilikilt brand kilt. Now, this is not your traditional Scottish tartan type garment. Utilikilt positions itself as an alternative, modern, non-traditional, Americanized version of the traditional kilt. Perhaps the highest profile presence of a Utilikilt was on the body of the original Survivor, Richard Hatch, during his successful run at the million dollars (no word whether Hatch still wears his kilt in prison, thanks to his mishandling of that same million dollars).
When my kilt arrived, I found it to be made of a heavy denim-like material (some call it duck cloth, I believe). The waistband wraps around, and a double row of snaps, in a sort-of chevron pattern (think the front of a traditional sailor's pants), hold the kilt together. The belt then locks the waistband together, providing fit and security. One back pocket, and two cargo pockets on the side make for useful and ample stowage. No need for a sporran here, though one certainly could add a sporran, if one wanted...
To put it on for the first time, i found I just wrapped it around my waist, snapped the snaps, and ran my belt through the loops. There. Done. Dressed! The waist naturally rides right above the hip bones, just below the bellybutton. The hem of the kilt hits just above the knee. I paired it with a long-sleeved white nylon pullover meant for cold weather running - going casual. I stepped out into the living room, to show C and M, who were anxiously awaiting the first peek of Dad in a Kilt.
"That looks great!" and "Fantastic, Dad!" were the reactions that greated me.
And you know, it was quite comfortable, without seeming like I was exposed in any way. To put this in terms a man who's never worn a kilt might relate to, it's a lot like wearing a bathrobe, except that it fastens MUCH more securely than a bathrobe. It only took a couple minutes to realize I could trust the kilt to stay put much more than I could ever trust a bathrobe to keep me modest.
C's choice of a black duck cloth made the kilt extremely versatile. We found that it dresses UP well with a business-appropriate button-down oxford (with a tie, even!), and dressed DOWN nicely with athletic gear, a t-shirt, or a pullover sweatshirt for a casual look.
The moment of truth, naturally, was deciding to wear the kilt out into public. The Boy Scout troop meeting was starting in a bit... did I dare take my kilt - on its first wearing, mind you - out to a scout meeting with 20 some teenage boys? Sure, I decided. No time like the present to face the most challenging audience. Of course, I checked with R beforehand, to make sure he wouldn't be embarrassed. He took one look at the kilt on me, said, "that's cool!" and gave me the greenlight for the scout meeting. So, with the backing of all my family members, off we went to boy scouts.
The reaction at the scout meeting was almost non-existant (whew!). People noticed, but mostly said nothing. A couple of the older boys asked me about it, very casually. Invariably, each one of those boys was wearing nylon basketball shorts that reached to their knees. I just drew the parallel between what they were wearing and what I was wearing. They both had the ah-hah experience that we were really dressed very similarly and expressed their acceptance that the kilt was "pretty cool"
There you have it - buy-in from the 16 year old boy scouts. They're not going to be nice 'just because', they're going to tell it as they see it. Their buy-in is a true seal of approval.
This will be fun, I think, as we go through the Autumn. Besides around-the-house wear, I can already see how I'd want to take my kilt travelling, camping ... even use it for certain non-business dress-up events. Yep, This will be fun.
C acquired a black Utilikilt brand kilt. Now, this is not your traditional Scottish tartan type garment. Utilikilt positions itself as an alternative, modern, non-traditional, Americanized version of the traditional kilt. Perhaps the highest profile presence of a Utilikilt was on the body of the original Survivor, Richard Hatch, during his successful run at the million dollars (no word whether Hatch still wears his kilt in prison, thanks to his mishandling of that same million dollars).
When my kilt arrived, I found it to be made of a heavy denim-like material (some call it duck cloth, I believe). The waistband wraps around, and a double row of snaps, in a sort-of chevron pattern (think the front of a traditional sailor's pants), hold the kilt together. The belt then locks the waistband together, providing fit and security. One back pocket, and two cargo pockets on the side make for useful and ample stowage. No need for a sporran here, though one certainly could add a sporran, if one wanted...
To put it on for the first time, i found I just wrapped it around my waist, snapped the snaps, and ran my belt through the loops. There. Done. Dressed! The waist naturally rides right above the hip bones, just below the bellybutton. The hem of the kilt hits just above the knee. I paired it with a long-sleeved white nylon pullover meant for cold weather running - going casual. I stepped out into the living room, to show C and M, who were anxiously awaiting the first peek of Dad in a Kilt.
"That looks great!" and "Fantastic, Dad!" were the reactions that greated me.
And you know, it was quite comfortable, without seeming like I was exposed in any way. To put this in terms a man who's never worn a kilt might relate to, it's a lot like wearing a bathrobe, except that it fastens MUCH more securely than a bathrobe. It only took a couple minutes to realize I could trust the kilt to stay put much more than I could ever trust a bathrobe to keep me modest.
C's choice of a black duck cloth made the kilt extremely versatile. We found that it dresses UP well with a business-appropriate button-down oxford (with a tie, even!), and dressed DOWN nicely with athletic gear, a t-shirt, or a pullover sweatshirt for a casual look.
The moment of truth, naturally, was deciding to wear the kilt out into public. The Boy Scout troop meeting was starting in a bit... did I dare take my kilt - on its first wearing, mind you - out to a scout meeting with 20 some teenage boys? Sure, I decided. No time like the present to face the most challenging audience. Of course, I checked with R beforehand, to make sure he wouldn't be embarrassed. He took one look at the kilt on me, said, "that's cool!" and gave me the greenlight for the scout meeting. So, with the backing of all my family members, off we went to boy scouts.
The reaction at the scout meeting was almost non-existant (whew!). People noticed, but mostly said nothing. A couple of the older boys asked me about it, very casually. Invariably, each one of those boys was wearing nylon basketball shorts that reached to their knees. I just drew the parallel between what they were wearing and what I was wearing. They both had the ah-hah experience that we were really dressed very similarly and expressed their acceptance that the kilt was "pretty cool"
There you have it - buy-in from the 16 year old boy scouts. They're not going to be nice 'just because', they're going to tell it as they see it. Their buy-in is a true seal of approval.
This will be fun, I think, as we go through the Autumn. Besides around-the-house wear, I can already see how I'd want to take my kilt travelling, camping ... even use it for certain non-business dress-up events. Yep, This will be fun.
