Tartan school skirts

General discussion of skirt and kilt-based fashion for men, and stuff that goes with skirts and kilts.
skirted84
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Tartan school skirts

Post by skirted84 »

I think its been discussed before but can't find any of it now. Any experiences of wearing tartan skirts or kilts originally made for school uniform (girls, even in Scotland no boys routinely wear kilts for school)? Either a kilt wrap style or simply a skirt. I'm talking knee length in all cases, not the cosplay type that make my stomach turn.

They have some advantages girls are less hourglass shaped although to get one that fits you're looking at older of that group. Also schoolwear genrally is less overly feminine. Drawbacks are the obvious perceptions of imitating schoolgirls. Further complicated that some use school specific tartans, others use established like Lindsay/Gordon/Stewart etc. Common sense says not to wear it in the area of the school or with other uniform items, though it could be recognised anywhere if specific to a school. Then again black skirts are even more common in school and they aren't labelled schoolgirly.
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Kirbstone
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by Kirbstone »

The vast majority of Irish state schools specify tartan skirts for girl students. In secondary schools the length of these is now invariably midi, that is with the hemline well below the knee.

In Naas, the town where I work, (Pop. Ca 36000), there are at least six different recognizable tartans abroad on the streets daily during term time.

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Last edited by Kirbstone on Fri Nov 05, 2021 12:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Stu
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by Stu »

I don't think all Scottish schools have completely abandoned kilts for boys:

https://www.qvs.school/information/uniform/
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by pelmut »

skirted84 wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 6:38 pm ...Any experiences of wearing tartan skirts or kilts originally made for school uniform
Yes, sort of.  I bought a piece of tartan material at a street market and made myself a kilt, which I wore to dances for several years.  At one dance a woman came up to me and said "Do you know what that tartan is?"  I replied "It's a Somerset tartan, the McSpreader" (a joke because Somerset is a very agricultural area and doesn't have a tartan or any Scottish connections).

To my amazement she replied "You're half right, it is a Somerset tartan".  I asked what she meant and was told it was the tartan of Bruton Girls' School in Somerset -- she was an Old Girl of the school and had recognised it.  Obviously the street market seller was disposing of off-cuts of material from a batch that had come from a school uniform manufacturer.  I thanked her and said I would make sure I never wore it in Bruton.
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Sinned
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by Sinned »

My local secondary school has a tartan skirt associated with it. A grey/silver background and one I quite fancy. But I have been advised that it would not be a good idea to wear one so I don't.
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by Layne »

I had a green/black/white one that I wore in my late 20’s, when I could fit in girl’s sizes. Typically wore it with a button down Oxford shirt and black Docs or a sweater in cooler weather. Was probably my favorite skirt ever.
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denimini
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by denimini »

I have looked at them at charity shops and there were some my size (a combination of I am a bit skinny and some school girls were raised in a good paddock). A nice light summer skirt but I would not wear one in public.
I bought a hat at a charity shop that I wear a lot of the time and so many people, including a local Member of Parliament, said with beaming face "Oh, you went to that school too?" Perish the thought of the possible exchanges if I was wearing a school skirt.
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skirtyscot
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by skirtyscot »

Terrible idea, no matter how much you like the style.
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howardfh
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by howardfh »

skirtyscot wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 11:08 pm Terrible idea, no matter how much you like the style.
I have three of different tartans. Makes you wonder if we "can't wear them" what we are doing in trousers that boys/girls wear to school!
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denimini
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by denimini »

howardfh wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 11:48 am I have three of different tartans. Makes you wonder if we "can't wear them" what we are doing in trousers that boys/girls wear to school!
I wouldn't have picked those as school wear. I think they are fine to wear ........... unless recognisable locally.
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STEVIE
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by STEVIE »

denimini wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 12:15 pm unless recognisable locally.
Some time back I reported a sighting in the wild of a 20 something male in a kilted skirt that I reckoned was from one of our local posh schools, specifically Dress Gordon tartan and very recognisable locally.
At the time I said that he could be running the risk of getting grief to a greater or lesser degree.
I agree with SkirtyScot, not a good idea.
Besides there are loads of kilted skirts on the market in tartans galore.
None of them have a distinct shape so why risk it?
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r.m.anderson
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by r.m.anderson »

Imagine wearing a tartan skirt closely matching a local university college school color
AND being approached by a school official commenting on the regulation wearing of same

On another note wearing a tartan school skirt near an elementary school and possibly
being mistaken for a pervert of some sorts

Even so wearing a skirt any skirt or tartan in the vicinity of such institutions some
degree of caution least one be labeled as something else by the authorities

A few times a year is a license to push the boundaries accepted - one just passed
Halloween - Mardi Gras - Gay Pride - Sadie Hawkins day - or an entertaining show

Of course being a SkirtCafe member one would know all this and the pitfalls
of not dressing in an adverse fashion contrary to norm expected

Oh what the hell - damn the dress code just wear the (tartan) skirt but take care !
"YES SKIRTING MATTERS"!
"Kilt-On" -or- as the case may be "Skirt-On" !
WHY ?
Isn't wearing a kilt enough?
Well a skirt will do in a pinch!
Make mine short and don't you dare think of pinching there !
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by Bodycon »

I am new here and my first cup isn't even half drunk yet, however the duplicity of the advice on the site is rather odd.

On one hand, damn the torpedo's and wear what you like where you like because you should be able to and on the other don't dress anything like a schoolgirl in case you are mistaken for a perv....

I understand the fear of being thought a perv, however surely the first sentiment holds true; unless the societal connection and perceived fear of a guy in a skirt is broken, then the wearing of plaid / tartan (or if you live round here black or grey minis with black tights) will always be a taboo. The only way to break that is to be out there.

If we are talking about reasonable people being open and upfront about wearing a skirt, and not "dressing up" in a full school uniform, then fair enough, just do it. Be mindful, be aware, but be yourself.

Has anyone on here ever been challenged / accosted for wearing a tartan skirt or kilt on the basis of it being similar to a school uniform?
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crfriend
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by crfriend »

Bodycon wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 9:54 pmHas anyone on here ever been challenged / accosted for wearing a tartan skirt or kilt on the basis of it being similar to a school uniform?
I never have been, but then again don't necessarily deploy the "schoolgirl" look, especially with plaids. I will occasionally during warm weather deploy knee-length socks with short skirts, but the skirts are usually plain colours and the socks textured or tight open-work. which are not associated with "schoolgirls" here (which are in short supply as trousers have become the norm for both sexes).
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skirted84
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Re: Tartan school skirts

Post by skirted84 »

STEVIE wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 6:38 pm
denimini wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 12:15 pm unless recognisable locally.
Some time back I reported a sighting in the wild of a 20 something male in a kilted skirt that I reckoned was from one of our local posh schools, specifically Dress Gordon tartan and very recognisable locally.
At the time I said that he could be running the risk of getting grief to a greater or lesser degree.
I agree with SkirtyScot, not a good idea.
Besides there are loads of kilted skirts on the market in tartans galore.
None of them have a distinct shape so why risk it?
Steve.
It did cross my mind while in Aberdeen if that skirt would be feasible as its a tartan widely used and that school happen to use it, albeit the Gordon clan sound heavily involved in several institutions up there. Decided it was too risky as locally recognisable, the area seems a key factor. In Glasgow or Edinburgh it may be different.

The one I wore to meet you and B&B is one of my faves and has no connection to any establishment, in fact some would believe its a kilt even though its non wrap and no pleats at all.
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