Do folks notice or not?

[Tassierob]

I can confirm that some people certainly noticed last week.

The boss dragged me out of the office to go to the solicitors to sort out some issues at work. Almost as soon as we walked in the door a very profesional older lady gave me a huge smile and a "love the kilt" comment. then after the meeting as we were walking out another young lass opened the door for us, looked me square in the eye and said "she wished more men would wear kilts"

The poor boss could only shake his head, me I could not wipe the smile off my face

[Charlie]

I was invited to attend the local health centre for an aeortic anurysm scan as part of a screening service (all clear, BTW). I was wearing a black Union kilt and neither of the two nurses mentioned it whie I was lying on the table.
While walking back along the corridor afterwards, a female doctor came out of another room. "I like your kilt" she said. I don't know whether she'd noticed in that split second of meeting me, or had noticed it in the waiting room earlier. Nice reaction though.

Charlie

[BobM]

Very nice reactions. I have an outpatient surgery scheduled for first thing tomorrow morning, and the interview nurse advised me to wear "something loose and comfortable". When I mentioned that --with a wink-- to my lovely Scottish wife she said--can you imagine?--don't you dare! I suppose it might have something to do with at the time I was wearing one on my favorite denim double circle skirts instead of a kilt. Nevertheless, ....

Gentlemen, I have worn skirts by preference since I was a child, which is several score years ago. As I have mentioned before, kilts are great but they are most definitely not the most comfortable skirts around. I am about two and a half standard deviations to the right of the general population (as I suspect several here are), yet I honestly do not ken the resistance of some people, especially those who should know better, to a simple desire for comfort and freedom of fashion choices.

[the_scott_meister]

One time last summer while hiking with my wife and kids in the Arizona high-country, we had stopped to rest along the trail and a woman passing by with another party said "Nice kilt." I assume that she was being sincere. It was a typically colorful highland-style tartan kilt, with the buckle fasteners and everything. I don't usually wear it much because it's a bit too thick and warm for normal desert wear.

A few weeks ago my family and I were camping up in the aforementioned high-country as one last gasp of life before the whole school and work thing started back up. We were camping up on a rim above a ravene-style lake and I wore a few various skirts the entire time. I started out with a beige colored flower-leaf-and-vine print skirt with cargo pockets from Mossimo. Nobody at the supermarket seemed to notice anything as we filled up our last few supplies for the trip and got gas.

Then we made it up to the woods in our 4x4 jam packed with stuff inside and out. We found a nice spot right above the lake and got all set up. In the same skirt all day, great fun, none of our neighbors seemed to notice, or care if they did.

The next morning we had a hike down to the lake where my son and I did a few activities in order for him to get a few Cub Scout belt loops. I was in a khaki denim skirt the whole time, there and back. Nobody we met up with or simply passed had any type of reaction to my skirt at all, that I could tell anyway. In the early afternoon a very bad storm blew through and soaked everything, so we had to pack up all of our loot and head home. On the way back we stopped at a fast-food place in a small town and had dinner. The town is a crossroads for people going up and down the state so it's usually pretty busy with traffic and tourists, as was the restaurant. I don't see how nobody would have noticed my skirt, but I didn't notice any reactions here either.

And, just last week we went hiking in the early morning heat on a mountain right above our desert city. Several other die-hards out there doing the same and not a single reaction to my skirt that time either.

I've been out and about in a few various skirts before and I don't think that anybody has ever had any negative reaction to it, at least not to my face anyway.

[BobM]

You know t_s_m, that is pretty much how it always is. People are often way concerned about things that just don't elicit much reaction from other people. One of my least favorite people of all time did get it right when he said, "the only thing to fear is fear itself". Most people are too busy getting on with their lives to be concerned.

[the_scott_meister]

You know t_s_m, that is pretty much how it always is. People are often way concerned about things that just don't elicit much reaction from other people. One of my least favorite people of all time did get it right when he said, "the only thing to fear is fear itself". Most people are too busy getting on with their lives to be concerned.

BobM, that is true. And if they are concerned for some reason, well, it's no real concern of theirs, is it, to be perfectly honest.

So my conclusion is thus: some will notice, few will care. And of those who do both, it doesn't matter because they have no influence over your life anyway.

[skirtyscot]

A follow-up to my "Nobody in London noticed" post. Last week I went out for a meal with some ex-colleagues. I changed into a skirt - my straight knee-length denim one - before leaving the office. I was second to arrive at the restaurant. The woman who was already there was in a wee dream and didn't spot what I was wearing. Nobody else noticed as they arrived, because I was sitting at the table. But after we had finished eating, I turned my chair outwards slightly to face towards the others (I was at the end of one side of the table), exposing my skirt somewhat to the people on my side. No reaction. Nobody remarked on it after I had got up to go to the toilet either, or when I stood up to leave. I thought this was just the usual Scottish dumbfoundedness, but word eventually got back to me that none of my friends had noticed the skirt at all.

[Big and Bashful]

Having worn both a kilt and a knee length skirt to and around London a couple of weeks ago, I had to fly down, get to Surbiton, spend the night around there and then drive back up homewards today. Jus to see how noticeable denim is I wore my ankle length denim cargo skirt for the whole journey, including in my village. No noticeable looks anywhere, with one noticeable exception. In a wonderful pub called the Lamb in Surbiton, One guy asked "What's with the skirt?", we had a brief and very good natured conversation about why I was wearing it. That was that.
Another good trip, completely skirted.

[skirtingtheissue]

I got my FIRST comment from the general public, that is, from someone I've never met.

It was in Boston's South Station near the info counter. A male Amtrak employee smiled at me, I smiled back, and he said "Excuse me, I was wondering, what do you call those[sic]? Me: "It's a hiking skirt made by a company called Mountain Hardwear." Him: "I've been thinking about getting one of those." Me: "It's about the most comfortable thing you can wear." Him: "Great, thanks very much!" It was a khaki ("dune") La Rambla skirt.

I usually don't think too much about whether I'm noticed, but I hope people ask me something or comment because then I can "get the word out" that skirts can be worn by guys. One funny thing is, when in a skirt I've had a couple of compliments or comments about the T-shirt I was wearing!

[Charlie]

A couple of weeks ago I was at the Sidmouth Folk Festival wearing a black Union kilt. Twice I was asked if it was one of those "Utility kilts" Seems Utilikilts are making an impression in the UK as well
I had to explain that it was made this side of the pond and consequently was a lot cheaper (I bought a UK some years ago and almost a third of the cost went in shipping )

Today, while walking up Wells High Street wearing the Union kilt, a woman stopped me.
Her: "Are you Scottish?"
Me: "No, I'm English"
Her: " I wondered because you're wearing a skirt"
Me: "I'm wearing it because I don't like trousers"
She apologised for asking

Charlie

[skirtyscot]

She apologised for asking

How very British!

We're far too ready to apologise in this country. Never want to cause any bother, not assertive enough. If you're standing in someone's way, as likely as not they will say sorry for asking to get past. It bugs me quite a lot!

[crfriend]

How very British!

I don't know about that, I'd be more tempted to call it, "How civilised."

The real arbiter, of course, was how the "apology" was delivered and what the response to that was. A, "Sorry for troubling you, I was just curious." is honest enough, but one can come back with a decent and just-as-honest a rejoinder and say, "Don't worry about it at all! Have a good one!" and completely disarm the situation. If a conversation then ensues one can only call that a plus.

We're far too ready to apologise in this country. Never want to cause any bother, not assertive enough.

I know quite a few Brits that are more than happy to be "in your face" about things, usually when you'd rather they not be, so I cherish a bit of gentility. Yanks, on the other hand, can be a most surly lot unless actively challenged, and then it's a toss-up as to whether one will get a civilised one or a barbarian who'll pop you in the face for said challenge.

[skirtingtheissue]

Nice brief exchange in a hotel:
Scot in formal kilt, coming from wedding reception, gesturing at me: "Hey, looky there!"
Me, in Dress Barn brown below-the-knee skirt: "Nice kilt!"
Scot, rushing past: "It's who we are!"

[GerdG]

Which could indicate that some men in kilts like wearing skirts, too.

[couyalair]

This is quite an old thread, and I think I have already written "yes, of course people notice, but they prefer to pretend they have not."

When people stop being embarrassed at the sight of a man in a skirt and begin feeling comfortable enough to mention it, then we shall know that skirts have left the designers' showcases and become part of the landscape.

In the last few weeks, I have met a lot of new people, doctors & nurses (medical treatment), colleagues (new volunteers in the charity shop) for example, that saw and spoke to me more than once, got to know my face and name. In that time, not one mentioned my skirts/kilts. The only people that have made any comments are chance encounters, people that I'll probably never see again.

Of course, I may be quite wrong here, since, to tell the truth, I can't remember many people mentioning my shorts or trousers in the old days! Men's clothes are not a subject of conversation n a way that women's are.

Martin