Interesting........

General discussion of skirt and kilt-based fashion for men, and stuff that goes with skirts and kilts.
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Fred in Skirts
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Interesting........

Post by Fred in Skirts »

Imagine living in a far-off kingdom in which, by royal decree, all men are forbidden to wear trousers in public. Instead, all males are compelled to wear a knee-length dress, with a sash at the waist, and long stockings. If you are caught wearing anything else, you face a stiff fine, equal to about three-days' pay.

Believe it or not, such a kingdom actually exists in the world today. It is the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. In order to preserve its unique national culture (and to assimilate ethnic minorities), the royal government in 1985 decreed that all Bhutanese must always wear the traditional national costume of northern Bhutan. For men and boys, this is the gho - a knee-length robe with a sash at the waist. The long stockings underneath are often of a plaid design. The women have their own distinctive costume, a full-length dress called the kira. Although foreign visitors can don native dress if they desire, they are not required to do so.
gho2.jpg
gho.jpg
This ban on trousers has caused some resentment in southern Bhutan, which is inhabited by ethnic Nepalese who view the national dress code as a form of tyranny, and even a human rights violation. So, while we men in the West confront the "tyranny of trousers," men in Bhutan are complaining ofHakama a "tyranny of dresses." I suppose this would be analogous to the Scottish parliament passing a law requiring all men in Scotland to wear Highland dress, resulting in great resentment among the Lowlanders.

Before anyone starts thinking of Bhutan as a Shangra-La for men in skirts, be warned that tourism is tightly restricted and very expensive.
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dillon
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Re: Interesting........

Post by dillon »

I was not aware of that. Thanks!
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crfriend
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Re: Interesting........

Post by crfriend »

Bhutan is a bit of an interesting place, and one of the very few countries in the world where national happiness is officially measured by government decree with a goal to increase it. Compare that to most of the West. Sure, some things go wrong, but sometimes the boundaries of countries are wrong and are holdovers from the colonial days. I wish them well in their quest to make things better -- happier -- for their citizens.

See the notion of Gross National Happiness for details. It'd be nice to see something like that in these here parts where things look entirely dire.
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Happy-N-Skirts
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Re: Interesting........

Post by Happy-N-Skirts »

Our Constitution guarantees the "inalienable rights of Life Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." I have often wondered what would happen if someone sued for being deprived of his "pursuit of happiness."
weeladdie18
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Re: Interesting........

Post by weeladdie18 »

I consider the analogy to Scotland and the wearing of the traditional male Scottish Kilt as a decree under law as somewhat different.

The wearing of The Kilt was prohibited by the English after The Scottish Jacobite Pretender to the Throne of Scotland lost the Battle of Cullodden
in1746.....The Prohibition was enforced to break the power of the power of the Highland Clans who supported the Jacobite Cause in the British Civil War.

I will leave the current residents of Scotland to pass comment as they see fit.......
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Re: Interesting........

Post by weeladdie18 »

The wearing of the Figian Sulu by the Male on Sunday was another recent News Report.........
The report did not mention that the Sulu was designed and introduced by the Imperialist Rulers of Figi many years ago.......

Every Man in Skirts Nation has a different History to Its Men in Skirts Fashion....................
STEVIE
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Re: Interesting........

Post by STEVIE »

Fred in Skirts wrote:This ban on trousers has caused some resentment in southern Bhutan, which is inhabited by ethnic Nepalese who view the national dress code as a form of tyranny, and even a human rights violation. So, while we men in the West confront the "tyranny of trousers," men in Bhutan are complaining ofHakama a "tyranny of dresses." I suppose this would be analogous to the Scottish parliament passing a law requiring all men in Scotland to wear Highland dress, resulting in great resentment among the Lowlanders.
Hi Fred,
You are a master of understatement Sir. The Scottish Parliament which dared such a statute would face a firestorm of biblical proportion from the whole of modern Scotland. The responsible politicians would be well advised to seek asylum elsewhere. Bhutan would not be far enough me thinks.
However, that is a highly provocative and intriguing thought, thanks.
Steve.
weeladdie18
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Re: Interesting........

Post by weeladdie18 »

To return to a modern American Designed Man- Skirt from Seattle......the Utilikilt was designed as a Man-Skirt....
The original garment was not claimed to be designed to the function or construction of the Traditional Scottish Kilt .

The original Utilikilt was designed as a Man-Skirt to be worn for Do It Yourself Jobs ............. Ref... Men In Skirts... by Andrew Bolton

We must remember that the History of Men in Skirts is a continuously evolving subject and is Interesting.
weeladdie18
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Re: Interesting........

Post by weeladdie18 »

The " Firestorm of Biblical Proportions " ....was recently described by archeologists as being a meteor attack which burnt the surface of the Earth in the
Biblical Region......
If such an event was predicted in Scotland ,the residents would be well advised to flee from the country of their birth..........L.O.L.
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Jim
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Re: Interesting........

Post by Jim »

Happy-N-Skirts wrote:Our Constitution guarantees the "inalienable rights of Life Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." I have often wondered what would happen if someone sued for being deprived of his "pursuit of happiness."
That's the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution. It has no legal standing one could use to sue.
Ray
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Re: Interesting........

Post by Ray »

My wife has been to Bhutan on holiday. She loved it.

I’d not be surprised if people didn’t know about the gho; I would be surprised if people hadn’t heard of Bhutan.
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r.m.anderson
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Re: Interesting........

Post by r.m.anderson »

Ray wrote:My wife has been to Bhutan on holiday. She loved it.

I’d not be surprised if people didn’t know about the gho; I would be surprised if people hadn’t heard of Bhutan.

When I see Bhutan - I think of a bad spelling for a butane (flammable) lighter !
"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 !
rivegauche
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Re: Interesting........

Post by rivegauche »

There is a strange attitude to the kilt in Scotland. Most men are happy to wear one to a wedding and in a more casual way many wear them to football or rugby matches. Anything beyond this tends to be the province of men working in the tourist trade (which is fully accepted) or old guys with beards who are the type of Scottish Nationalists that were given a body swerve by the real Nationalists a few decades ago. The type that puts most Scots off is the rich guy from the central belt (usually Edinburgh) with a ridiculous 'refined' Scottish accent, who is probably called Farquhar, is a member of a posh golf club, and puts us all off whatever he is wearing - but we associate kilts with guys like this. There is yet one more stereotype we avoid and that is the Kenneth Mackellar look. He was a Scottish baritone and did the whole thing with the lace jabot and he and others who dressed like this had a show called The White Heather Club that is now held in ridicule by those who love modern Scottish music. It is not the garment itself but the associations that we avoid.
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Re: Interesting........

Post by weeladdie18 »

Have you ever seen a Scottish School Boy come into a Kilt Makers Shop In the Highlands and try on a Hire Kilt without taking off his trousers ?.....L.O.L.
dillon
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Re: Interesting........

Post by dillon »

weeladdie18 wrote:Have you ever seen a Scottish School Boy come into a Kilt Makers Shop In the Highlands and try on a Hire Kilt without taking off his trousers ?.....L.O.L.
Never. :lol:
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