Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

General discussion of skirt and kilt-based fashion for men, and stuff that goes with skirts and kilts.
trdrl92
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Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by trdrl92 »

I’m sure this has been asked hundreds of times, but I’m a new user on a platform where I can be open about this interest I’ve had my whole life that until recently has been kept a secret. Please note that the opinions discussed in this post are 100% my own personal opinion. If I am wrong about anything, or if you disagree with anything I said then please feel free to start a discussion about it, I would love to get other personal opinions and feedback on this topic.

A “kilt” is defined as a knee-length, non-bifurcated skirt. So therefore, a kilt is a skirt by definition. Some questions for all of you kilt-wearers: What do you call your garment of choice? Is it strictly a kilt and not a skirt? Do you just not care and call it what it really is, a skirt? Are they interchangeable to you? Do you only own kilts? Or do you have a mix of men’s kilts and women’s skirts in your closet?

Me personally, I don’t own a single thing that would be known as a kilt, what only the manliest of men wear in Scotland. I’d love to visit one day to buy and wear a true kilt for men. I only wear what is known generally known as a skirt. A “women’s garment”, the lower part of a dress or gown. All the skirts I own and wear were designed to be worn by women and only by women. I know my size in women’s clothes, I remember the first one I ever bought on eBay: a blue and gold knife-pleated cheerleader skirt. I was only sure about purchasing it because the seller included a size chart that converted women’s to men’s sizes. Since then, every skirt I’ve purchased has been purely in women’s size, not designed for men whatsoever because they are more feminine than a kilt, and according to these designers, skirts are not for men.

My ideal, typical garment would definitely be a skirt, not a kilt. Something with more of a feminine look to it, that in today’s society would not be considered to be worn by a man. An average men’s kilt is knee-length or longer, which is too long for my personal taste. (Maybe we could see a men’s mini kilt one day?) The garments I enjoy wearing are at most 2 or 3 inches above the knee. Non-bright colors, no crazy patterns, preferably flared or pleated. If it sounds feminine, that’s because putting it bluntly, it is. I have yet to see a store that sells clothes put these kinds of skirts (or ANY kind of skirt) in the men’s department. For me, just a simple, non-skin tight mini skirt is what I wear the most. I have a denim mini skirt also, but they’re the only personal exception because those feel great to wear too. They still feel like jeans (from the thigh up), and they have a fly to unzip so you don’t have to make awkward maneuvers and lifting up the skirt to use a urinal. It’s almost like these skirts were designed “just in case” a man finds himself wearing one and needs a quick way to urinate because anatomically speaking, I see absolutely no reason for a woman wearing a denim skirt to have a zipper in the front.

There are crossdressing stores and fetish websites that sell all sorts of “women’s clothes” that are actually designed for, and sized appropriately for men, skirts and dresses included. But at what point do we put the textbook definition aside and say “This is a kilt, and this is a skirt.”? Does a woman’s skirt become a man’s kilt when he puts it on? If a kilt is for a man and a skirt is for a woman, why aren’t the two more interchangeable? A women’s kilt can be a plaid, red schoolgirl skirt. But I’m sure a woman would look great in a kilt designed for men! Would she be considered a crossdresser for putting on a man’s kilt? My bottom line here is this: What is the REAL difference between a kilt and a skirt?
Last edited by trdrl92 on Tue Jul 09, 2019 2:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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beachlion
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by beachlion »

If you dig a little deeper into the various subjects, you will find a lot of hot reactions to similar messages. I suggest you read those messages first to avoid new rumblings. ;)

Welcome to the forum anyway. Enjoy the scenery.
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Ray
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by Ray »

I’d echo the words above. Try Wikipedia and go from there. A kilt is a skirted garment - but a skirt is not a kilt! Or something like that :-)
partlyscot
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by partlyscot »

Really, it doesn't matter. Having said that, I find people will call my skirt a kilt, even if it has no relation to what a Scot would call a kilt.

A Scottish co-worker is fond of saying, "if there's anything worn under it, it's not a kilt, it's a skirt!" Which is fine by me, we have to climb ladders here!
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by tnwheels »

What I find funny is other peoples perceptions of what each is. When I am wearing a kilt, especially a non tartan, there is a good chance it will be called a skirt by someone which doesn't bother me at all. I wore a Utilikilt to my dentist's office recently (my dentist is a women) and the first thing she said was "I love your skirt!". On the other side of that I recently was wearing an A-Line denim skirt in a furniture store and a Lady there said she liked my kilt. I agree that all kilts are skirts but not all skirts are kilts and there are also kilted skirts which resemble kilts in appearance. Like I stated earlier I don't get bent out of shape with labels.
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by Mike »

I have kilts and skirts and enjoy them all.
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Sinned
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by Sinned »

A kilt is a particular form of a skirt - a wraparound, pleated skirt with a front apron and typically, but not necessarily, with a tartan pattern. Everything else is a skirt. I have one tartan kilt and loads and loads of skirts. Enough said.
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by new2skirts »

Just to muddy the waters, there are traditional women's kilts which wrap the other way from men's, generally are much longer in length (calf length), or the more common mini kilts which women wear. There are derivatives of the kilt such as the Utilikilt (cargo kilt) with pockets and a narrow apron, generally khaki or camo, worn by men. Plus many knock-offs and imitations of this...

There are loads here with preferences of skirt, some prefer kilts, some prefer skirts (some are pleated all the way round and mistakenly called a kilt, and even when I've been wearing a denim pencil skirt with slit at the back and a side zip, with
tights and heels, some have said "I love your kilt" perhaps as they cannot get their head around a man wearing an obvious skirt :roll: )

More traditional kilts are found on Kilt Forums like X-Marks the Scot or on Instagram or Pinterest searches... some may subsitute 'kilt' for 'skirt', but although a kilt is a skirt, not all skirts are kilts! :roll:
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by Stu »

Let's call things what they are. A kilt is a type of skirt just as a penguin is a type of bird.
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by Gusto10 »

The major difference is that a kilt is a wrap around, and you got to step into a skirt. Further, most times a skirt has a zipper or buttons, which a kilt hasn't.
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by Mike »

Penguins are birds?
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by beachlion »

Mike wrote:Penguins are birds?
They are not only ice hockey players from Pittsburgh, PA. ;)
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by new2skirts »

Stu wrote:Let's call things what they are. A kilt is a type of skirt just as a penguin is a type of bird.
Birds have wings, but not all birds fly, which is true of the penguin :mrgreen:
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by crfriend »

new2skirts wrote:Birds have wings, but not all birds fly, which is true of the penguin :mrgreen:
Not entirely true -- they "fly" alright, it's just in a liquid medium. Watch them in action sometime; they're fascinating creatures.
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Re: Real difference between a kilt and a skirt?

Post by STEVIE »

Ha ha ha etc, I won't add to this can of worms but I love the analogy.
Eider it is or isn't take your pick the kilt and the penguin don't actually care what name you give it.
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