Skirts, the wearing of.

General discussion of skirt and kilt-based fashion for men, and stuff that goes with skirts and kilts.
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mishawakaskirt
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by mishawakaskirt »

My wife calls my kilts legal skirts.
(She knew about my skirts before I got kilts)
The kilt was an attempt to bridge the kilt skirt gap. It did not make any difference with her. I'm still wrong for wearing a skirt or a kilt in her eyes.

Just wear it. part of the population will call your kilt a skirt and part will call your skirt a kilt.
If you tell someone that you are wearing a skirt and they insist it's a kilt like above mentioned. You did your part and was truthful.
And they correct you a second time
Just go with what they say. No need for a argument

You could agree with them, and say "yeah there's not much of a difference anyways"
Shrug It off. " kilt, skirt, I call it comfortable."


This area kinda fits into the confidence area.
Just own it.

If we get all rattled or flustered by a skirt , kilt misnamed.
We won't be seen as being as confident.


***Before the kiltys break out the tar and feathers on my " not much difference" comment. *****
We all there are differences between kilts and skirts.
The unwashed public doesn't know the differences.
They get stuck on the absence of the inseam.

It wasn't until I started to seek out my first kilt that I learned that they had aprons or straps and buckles.
Till my revelation, I thought what made a kilt a kilt was it was that it was half pleated tartan skirt. The half pleatedness made it a kilt.

Unless you are closely around kilt wearing men or wear kilts, yourself, you don't know the details.
I think this is what alot of people think when they see a kilt. is special half pleated skirt for men.
Last edited by mishawakaskirt on Mon Oct 10, 2022 4:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Mishawakaskirt @2wayskirt on Twitter

Avoid the middle man, wear a kilt or skirt.
ScotL
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by ScotL »

Brilliantly said.

Sorry your wife doesn’t approve. Bummer
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phathack
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by phathack »

Most people when they see a Skirt in a Tartan pattern they just assume it's a Kilt since they don't know what a Kilt actually is.
One of the Kilt companies which I bought a couple of Kilts from sells Mini Skirts in a Tartan and they call them women's Kilts.
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by Coder »

phathack wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2022 8:37 pm Most people when they see a Skirt in a Tartan pattern they just assume it's a Kilt since they don't know what a Kilt actually is.
One of the Kilt companies which I bought a couple of Kilts from sells Mini Skirts in a Tartan and they call them women's Kilts.
I was with some coworkers and was wearing a green unpleated skirt. One coworker asked me if it was a kilt :lol:.
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TSH
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by TSH »

mishawakaskirt wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:35 pm My wife calls my kilts legal skirts.
(She knew about my skirts before I got kilts)
The kilt was an attempt to bridge the kilt skirt gap. It did not make any difference with her. I'm still wrong for wearing a skirt or a kilt in her eyes.
I'm not sure if I commented on this facet on your life already, but in a way, I envy you. I don't think I could stand being married to someone who doesn't tolerate, let alone respect my fashion choices. What's really wrong is damning people for wearing something you don't find pleasing. How do you reconcile this without starting a divorce case?
Fred in Skirts wrote: Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:56 pm The first time I saw one of my railfan buddies, that I hadn't seen in a long while, I was skirted. He did not know I had started to wear skirts and when I got out of the car I was wearing a denim knee length skirt, his reaction why the kilt? When I said it was a skirt not a kilt he just said kilt again. So I said OK a kilt if that is what blows up you skirt. Nothing else was said and we went to visit several of his friends and he was not bothered by my "kilt" skirt.
Some people can not get past the skirt is for woman only and so it must be a kilt....
I still can't get over this. People don't even understand that real kilts don't come in anything other than the tartan material? I guess it's best to let it go, but it still baffles me how anyone can be this obtuse about the matter. They're the same thing, but one of them has culture significance that can't possibly be confused with the other.
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by STEVIE »

OK quit now. That comment was not meant to start the kilt/skirt debate anew.
Sorry guys but I really cannot see how rehashing old news gets us anywhere.

Steve.
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by Brad »

I get annoyed with kilt wearers who feel offended if I tell them they're wearing a skirt. A kilt is a kind of skirt. But they don't want to admit it. And if I wore a kilt, and I'm not Scottish, would that be considered cultural appropriation?
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by rivegauche »

As a Scot and an owner of two kilts, everyone should relax about kilts. Anyone can wear one how they wish. You will notice on this site it is not the Scots who want to impose rules on kilt wearing. I never quite understand cultural appropriation. Surely this is a form of cultural flattery? If it is appropriating the traditional medicines of tribes for big pharma fair enough - that's plain theft of intellectual property, but kilts and sombreros - just go for it. I reserve the right to wear a Stetson even though I am not from Texas but I have sufficient taste to leave Stetsons to the Texans.
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by denimini »

Fred in Skirts wrote: Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:56 pm Some people can not get past the skirt is for woman only and so it must be a kilt....
Yes, I corrected a guy who referred to my denim mini skirt as a kilt, which I immediately regretted when he seemed at a loss for words.
perhaps I should have said "Yes, a non wrap, pleatless, denim mini kilt"
Anthony, a denim miniskirt wearer in Outback Australia
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Myopic Bookworm
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by Myopic Bookworm »

TSH wrote: Tue Oct 11, 2022 12:05 am People don't even understand that real kilts don't come in anything other than the tartan material?
Pedant alert! Plain coloured traditional kilts are a thing, especially in the Irish tradition. (I have a plain kilt in Irish tweed, bought in Edinburgh.)
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by ScotL »

denimini wrote: Tue Oct 11, 2022 8:32 am
Fred in Skirts wrote: Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:56 pm Some people can not get past the skirt is for woman only and so it must be a kilt....
Yes, I corrected a guy who referred to my denim mini skirt as a kilt, which I immediately regretted when he seemed at a loss for words.
perhaps I should have said "Yes, a non wrap, pleatless, denim mini kilt"
This is where I wonder, “who cares?” If I’m wearing pants and some calls them trousers or dungarees or slacks, I can’t see how I correct them. I dislike the name “slacks” from childhood because I associate that word with being stuffed into dress clothes that didn’t usually fit and we’re not of a quality where they were comfortable.

So someone calls your skirt a kilt. That doesn’t change what you are wearing.

In my opinion, I think your interaction is far better when the rejoinder to “nice kilt!” is “thank you!” and not the corrective “it’s not a kilt, it’s a skirt…”

The positive response could lead to more positive discussions. People don’t like being corrected. Can be inferred as snarky even if you didn’t intend it to. Since most people do not associate men with skirt wearing, the shock could stupefy the other and silence the follow up question we want to answer to educate; “why?”
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TSH
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by TSH »

STEVIE wrote: Tue Oct 11, 2022 1:36 am OK quit now. That comment was not meant to start the kilt/skirt debate anew.
Sorry guys but I really cannot see how rehashing old news gets us anywhere.

Steve.
But what's happening here isn't a debate. It's vented frustration because most people already know what a skirt AND a kilt is, or they at least have an understanding what both of them LOOK LIKE. It's the perception that: "man wearing any unbifurcated fabric is wearing a kilt", which bothers a lot of us, especially myself, because there's just no excuse for anyone to get this wrong.

It's frustrating advocating for acceptance of being able to dress to your own standard, and not to what society expects of you from your sex, and people still mistake what you're wearing because such a concept is foreign to their puny, empty craniums. They aren't actually commending you, as a male, for wearing what's traditionally seen as feminine at that point, so it comes off more as false praise, rather than a genuine compliment. It's much deeper than just the name of the garment you're wearing.

The reason why this "old news" gets brought up repeatedly because it's something that's been happening countless times, for many, many years. I'm not just gonna leave it be, and bottle up how I feel about it. When I feel strongly by anything, I need an outlet to articulate (as best I can) about this strong feeling that I have. There's nothing wrong about discussing topics that have already been touched upon, because we might uncover something new from someone that's never been talked about before because every person on here has a unique experience regarding this discussion.
ScotL wrote: Tue Oct 11, 2022 10:42 am This is where I wonder, “who cares?”
As I mentioned before in another topic, "easier said than done". Again, it's deeper than just the name of something. This forum was created to help bring awareness that skirts aren't inherently feminine, and men aren't incapable of wearing skirts. All these years, later, and skirts on men is still somehow unheard of to a lot people, it seems.
In my opinion, I think your interaction is far better when the rejoinder to “nice kilt!” is “thank you!” and not the corrective “it’s not a kilt, it’s a skirt…”

The positive response could lead to more positive discussions. People don’t like being corrected. Can be inferred as snarky even if you didn’t intend it to. Since most people do not associate men with skirt wearing, the shock could stupefy the other and silence the follow up question we want to answer to educate; “why?"
It'd be easy to make a sharp remark in relation to the quoted paragraph above, given my jaded outlook on humanity, but out of respect, I'm willing to contradict my earlier points I made responding to Stevie. You'd be correct that it'd easier to just accept such blandishment from someone, rather correcting said misinformed individual, because I don't care for the drama that'd likely ensue if I do. AND I don't want to be labeled as the "delusional" one.
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by rode_kater »

TSH wrote: Wed Oct 12, 2022 2:15 am But what's happening here isn't a debate. It's vented frustration because most people already know what a skirt AND a kilt is, or they at least have an understanding what both of them LOOK LIKE. It's the perception that: "man wearing any unbifurcated fabric is wearing a kilt", which bothers a lot of us, especially myself, because there's just no excuse for anyone to get this wrong.
Yes, it's frustration. The same frustration felt by:

* women who don't want children, being told they actually do and just need pop some babies and watch the motherly instinct kick in

* transpeople who are told that they're making it up to get attention

* gays who are told they should just get therapy to make it go away

* muslims being told that they are evil because of their religion

* coloured people being told that there is no such thing as racism, they're just not working hard enough

* the introvert being told that they really should go out to more parties otherwise they're just boring

The cry in the wilderness: why can't people accept me as I am?.

It's not something the average White Anglo-Saxon Male has to deal with very often. But here we are. If there was a magic bullet for this problem the world would be a much happier place.

That's not to say venting isn't useful. But we need to channel this frustration into action: be the change you want to see.
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by ScotL »

rode_kater wrote: Wed Oct 12, 2022 7:33 am
The cry in the wilderness: why can't people accept me as I am?.
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that my interest in wearing an article of clothing that’s not traditionally associated with my gender has made me a better person for gaining a better understanding of what I quoted from you above.

The mere fact that I want to do something that hurts no one and helps me feel comfortable but societal norms say “it ain’t normal” is frustrating. Granted it’s a small frustration compared to the other examples you chose and no where near as important.

Regarding the kilt versus skirt debate, @TSH I agree with wanting to avoid drama. Making a stink over specific definitions of an article of clothing we care a helluva lot more about than everyone won’t be received in the ‘trying to educate’ way we want it to.

We best educate by wearing unbifurcated bottoms and being friendly, confident and welcoming.
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Re: Skirts, the wearing of.

Post by Uncle Al »

To all the people who are doubting Thomas's, those who say....
"If I saw another man wearing a skirt, I'ld wear a skirt too".
"I do wish they would wear a skirt so I could start wearing a skirt".

STOP waiting for other men to start wearing skirts :!:

Rode_Kater said it, like most of us here have said.........
The only fear you have to conquer, is the fear in your head :!:
rode_kater wrote: Wed Oct 12, 2022 7:33 amThat's not to say venting isn't useful. But we need to channel this frustration
into action: be the change you want to see.
STOP complaining......STOP psychoanalysing what you fear "others" are thinking.
It doesn't matter :!: You are Yourself and they will be themselves.
That is the fear in your own head - not theirs :!:

Uncle Al
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Grand Musician of the Grand Lodge, I.O.O.F. of Texas 2008-2009, 2015-2016,
2018-202 ? (and the beat goes on ;) )
When asked 'Why the Kilt?'
I respond-The why is F.T.H.O.I. (For The H--- Of It)
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