Men who wear kilts

Philip, Charles, Andrew and Edward when cosplaying in Scotland.

How about the British Royal fucking Family, you twat?

Field hockey uniforms

Oh, I forgot.

Is there a reason for them to do so?

I would consider it cultural appropriation if any american celebrity were to do that, given that kilts are for scottish people.

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I play bagpipes, both solo and in a bagpipe band in the US. As many guys relate, wearing a kilt for the first time feels a little bit transgressive. Nowadays I don't think twice about it, but it's still something I only wear while performing with bagpipes publicly. They are comfy, though hot in summer. I wear them because with this instrument you're expected to have the accompanying costume. There's nothing wrong with wearing a kilt day-to-day, but here in the US I would see that as more an attention-seeking choice.

Coming up in the bagpipe world, you get a bit snobbish about kilts with a bias towards traditional wear. Wool kilts hang and "swing" a certain way. There's a dynamic aspect to them which is part of their attractiveness. A decent traditional (8-yard wool) kilt runs you ~$500, they're expensive. Casual wearers often opt for non-traditional fabrics or pleating and you can spot it a mile away, they just don't move or hang right. The worst offenders are the boxy "utilikilt" types which are stiff cotton and hang like cardboard off the wearer. At the end of the day, you do you and I appreciate not everyone has $500 to drop on a garment, but realize you're compromising on the silhouette and movement that are part of what defines the kilt.

Pleats go in the back, the flat "apron" is in the front. You see celebs with kilts on backwards all the time. The bottom of the kilt is supposed to fall mid kneecap. Long kilts look like dresses, short kilts like skirts. Yes, traditionally you don't wear underwear but in practice (especially with a kilt issued from the pipe band) most of us do wear underwear, especially if the groper risk is high.

A kilt adds a lot of bulk to your silhouette which makes your legs look twiggy unless you have really great calves. Guys don't realize this and just put on tennis shoes & traditional socks (or even sandals) and end up looking like they have puny chicken legs. Traditional highland wear has you in knee-length wool hose and dress shoes which balance the silhouette but are hot and itchy (the best part of any bagpipe performance is taking off the socks after). Casual wearers often adopt combat boots and big, chunky mid-calf socks bunched up.

Ask any bagpiper about interacting with the public while in a kilt, you will get stories. Drunken women (most often middle age) are the worst offenders in terms of reaching up kilts. We had a drunk woman run in front of our approaching band and lie face-up in the street, intending us to step over her (that file swerved, she's lucky she didn't get kicked in the head). A lot of folks think the kilt gives them license to come up and touch you or it without asking, either groping you or to heft / "inspect" the fabric. White trash folks spit "nice SKIRT" at you. Middle age to retiree men will approach you and break into a lilt (for surely the first time in their lives, often a bad irish accent) about their genealogy. Lots of "Braveheart" lines fist-pumped at you by bros. We've heard every under-the-kilt joke a million times, we will fake-chuckle with you. At the end of the day, it's just a garment that non-wearers have fetishized. As a gay man, the kilt fetish photos do as much for me as photos of some guy flashing his junk from an unzipped pair of pants: It's just clothing, I'd rather see them crumpled on the floor next to you.

I’m Scottish, and I lived in England for many years. I often wore the kilt at weddings and formal events. I have the built to carry it off and I look and feel great in it. However, English people seem to think it is a huge joke to try and expose you. Vulgar.

Various communities that have settled in Scotland have their own tartan, and they are proud to wear it. I think it’s fantastic.

/

Build

Must be cold and draughty in the winter. Perhaps pantyhose or long johns instead of the knee stockings?

During the first world war, the Scottish regiments wore their kilts going into battle, and that includes the Nova Scotian regiments, especially the Cape Breton Highlanders. (Nova Scotia is Latin for New Scotland.)

In the trenches, while preparing to charge the German lines, the Scottish regiments were piped over the top by their regimental piper. At first, the Germans scoffed, and proclaimed that ladies were now being sent over to fight them. They soon changed their tune when they saw what fierce fighters these men were, and began to refer to them as "the ladies from Hell."

Like R8 says, it’s often worn as formal attire. It must be sometimes annoying though, I’ve seen guys here in London going about their business being photographed by tourists on the street or on the Tube.

It's formal wear for presenting hole.

I agree, very formal.

Sean Connery.

Jordan Clarkson recently went to an NBA game wearing a kilt

Andy Stewart singing about the dilemmas of wearing a kilt...

Ewan McGregor wore a kilt when he received his OBE

Glaswegian actor Sean Biggerstaff has donned one to do Edinburgh Festival appearances a few times. Looked quite good.

It’s rare to see anyone wear them everyday with a natural comfy casualness, but I felt Hamish Clark really pulled it off when playing Duncan on the gentle 2000s drama MONARCH OF THE GLEN. He would pair his kilt with combats or very chunky 90s hiking boots, thick walking socks, some sort of simple on-trend sweater or long-sleeve Henley-type shirt, or a biker jacket. No frills, no fuss.

When I was in Edinburgh a couple of summers ago, I used to see men wearing them, usually around government buildings, courts, churches, so I figured it played the role of formal wear. My partner is Scottish and, while we were there he wanted to get a kilt (and its accoutrements: sporran, etc) with his clan's pattern and those things are *expensive*, since they are bespoke and use a ton of fairly expensive fabric.

I lived in Scotland for awhile and saw men wearing them fairly often.

I saw Sterling Hayden wearing a beautiful kilt. This was in the early 80s in Sausalito.

R17 my family used to sing that about my criminally-inclined uncle Donald, who is not a Scot and has never worn a kilt but is a massive drunkard and moonshiner. He used to stagger back to our farm at all hours some nights, smashing the windows with stones, kicking the dogs, pissing on everything, swearing obscenities and threatening family members etc.

Thankfully, I haven’t seen or heard from him in well over two decades, since I was a little kid. He’s likely in prison or dead by now.

R7 and R8, thank you for the background and details. Very informative.

Apparently it's changed over time. There used to be "professional Scotsmen" who'd always wear kilts in public, but now its become more acceptable and more guys do it

R10, kilts are made of about eight yards of densely woven wool, and can get incredibly hot on any exertion. The last time I wore my kilt was for a friend’s wedding, and there was a ceilidh. The sweat was running down my legs after a few dances.

On another note, Traditional Scottish dancing was taught at many schools in the winter when I was young, when it was too cold to play sports. Imagine a gym full of mortified adolescents having to make physical contact. I still remember all my steps, and it is socially very useful! I still think Sean Connery was the best example of the build that a man needs to carry it off. It is incredibly masculine if you have a broad chest and strong legs. The Scotland rugby team in their kilts are a sight to behold.

[Quote] Ewan McGregor wore a kilt when he received his OBE

How embarrassing. To wear your national dress to receive an honor from your nation's oppressors? Oh the shame.

Ewan McGregor wore his kilt when he was awarded OBE.

Some of the best kilt wearers have got to be those hairy beasts who participate in various Highland Games competitions. The caber tossers, some of whom are built like tanks, are a joy to watch. And so are the gentlemen who swing a hammer(or is it a ball on a chain?) IIRC? Yowza! Or whatever the Scottish equivalent is.

Have seen a few videos on how to do the pleating at home. I've got a 10yd piece of beautiful wool fabric that cries out to be pleated. Now if I only had a patch of grass to lay it out on.

I was visiting Edinburgh many years ago, it was November(🙄, I know, I know.....) and already brutally cold. While waiting for a train early one morning, noticed several men wearing kilts who were oblivious to the frigid temperatures. I guess you have to be made of sterner stuff when you live that far north.

Guy

Ewan

James

I’m Scottish and up here it is very much the default thing to wear for black tie events, weddings, formal parties etc. You’ll see tonnes of them at those sorts of events.

However kilts are very expensive, given they are custom made, so a lot of people don’t actually own their own, and often rent for events instead. Many men will buy a full outfit for their own wedding though (often for straights that might compete with the bride for cost, much to the consternation of some), and they are also popular family gifts for eg. 21st birthdays etc.

Other places you will see them worn a lot is at national rugby and football games, stag parties and New Year, where they get worn in a much more casual manner. And Scottish soldiers wear them as part of their formal uniforms. There are other occasions people will put them on for, but only some oddballs and American tourists wear them (badly) on a day to day basis.

Guys tend to look the best in them if they have good legs and a nice meaty butt. Skinny guys can disappear inside it. They work particularly well for a well toned rugby-type build.

Whenever wearing them, people (especially women) trying it on to see what is under the kilt is an occupational hazard. Growing up with it, I’m now pretty used to it, so it doesn’t massively annoy me provided people don’t get too aggressive with it. Some of the times I’ve worn it in England have been the worst in that regard – I definitely would avoid being kilted on the tube if I can avoid it in future.

It certainly has it’s advantages though – I’ve definitely never got laid so much as when I’m in the kilt, and the occasional accidental reveal of what’s underneath from hot guys is always a delight. I was at a wedding recently and had a mental list of which guys kilts I would like to see under – rather a fun evening ticking most of them off.

A kilt is handy if you have a bad case of the farts

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I want one of those hairy purses Sean C has!

[R36] I think both WW1 and the Boer War. Sadly WW1 was the last time kilts were routinely worn by Scottish soldiers in combat. But thankfully they’ve been preserved in the formal uniform, which – as Commanding Major Thompson shows off – is very good look for soldiers indeed. (I was actually disappointed not to see more kilted soldiers in evidence for the Platinum Jubilee events).

[R37] A sporran! You’ll be giving insecure Scotsmen everywhere a heart attack calling it a purse. Very handy things – both for keeping your bits covered up and for storing the classic essentials of mobile phone, keys, whisky and some condoms.

R38---An' mah weeeeeeeed!

R39 And some poppers…

R36 Being a soldier at a formal event with Her Maj while kilted, wearing no underwear, and with the breeze blowing round your balls must be a rather unique sensation.

R40 I spotted Johnno at the Service of Thanksgiving, sitting right behind Megs in church. A definite bit of all right. Later he turned up at the Guildhall piss-up in his kilt. Life your kilt, dear, give us a look see, there's a lad.

Erratum R41 Lift, not life

A long time ago I was on a trip around Scotland and one Sunday morning when I was out for a walk in the countryside, I saw a man mowing his lawn in a kilt.

There’s a video on YouTube showing a regiment of Scottish soldiers—I think their group was being decommissioned?—at any rate, they were just back from Afghanistan and were marching through town, bagpipes and yes, all the soldiers were wearing kilts. It was pretty impressive.

R43 Nothing is more impressive than those brick shithouses tossing cabers in kilts during the Highland Games.

Damn, r7 really thought about this and must have been lurking on DL for decades, like an old gargoyle, waiting for this topic.

Cheers to you!

R41 I didn’t spot him at the Jubilee, but he is certainly a handsome chap. Definitely the type it would have been a delight to have seen caught out by a kilt-lifting gust of wind, let’s be honest

R43 Yes, I’ve had sight of a few marching regiments of kilted soldiers, and they are quite the sight. Something about the sound of the bagpipes and the swing of the kilt on some hunky squaddies – combined with knowing that most of them are going commando under it – properly gets the blood flowing.

R46 I'm sure you've seen this, but am posting it for those who may have not.

R47 It’s a fake, alas – he did have his legs apart and no underwear, but his bits were covered up by the kilt.

www.snopes.com/fact-check/crown-jewels/

Link working this time

Third time lucky ffs

R50 Online discussion has been on-going for years about that photo. Some joker photoshopped it or it simply got passed the censors . . . erm . . . editors.

R51 That particular photoshop is not particularly believable to be honest, alas.

This one on the other hand is completely real – and moreover quite the shapely butt to be showing off. Those military kilts are HEAVY, so it must have been quite the breeze that caught him out!

I love kilts like every other poster to this thread. My one complaint/issue... they are too long. Men with great legs should show off more - it's sounds silly I know, but I wish kilts ended above the knee by a couple of inches. The lower thigh where we can see how muscles come together above the knee cap. Just a bit more skin please gents!

Dan Levy to the Emmys and on his show

^ thread killer

[R54] Gross – nobody wants to see Dan Levy badly wearing a skirt.

[R53] There is a bit of annoying trend in people wearing their kilts lower and lower. Top of the kneecap is good, middle of the kneecap acceptable – below that is all wrong. But yes, guys with the legs for it shouldn’t be ashamed to show them off.

Sam Heughan often wears kilts for various occasions.

R57 His fans are very annoying, but he does wear a kilt well.

The plain, light, casual, modern and almost leisure-wear kilt worn by vocalist Fran Healy in the music video for Travis' 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?' is my favourite one I've seen. It looks comfy, relaxed and easy to wear, as well as youthful. Too bad this look never caught on outside of Scotland, or beyond the 1990s. You don't see them nowadays, really.

Amusingly, though the song is known and remembered as a melancholy, bittersweet and wry pop classic about enduring depression, it's actually inspired by a funny story about Fran getting annoyed after he went on a holiday to !srael get away from the grey drizzly Glasgow weather, only to have the rain follow him overseas and ruin his trip.

I love Dan Levy R56. He's handsome, talented, intellectually curious, funny and has a great attitude about himself. I'd certainly fuck him before I'd fuck you.

Uncut beef in a kilt.

I don't think that this has been mentioned yet, but the Basques wear kilts, according to my partner, whose grandfather was Basque. The Basque area lies between France and Spain, and apparently the Basques have a distinct language of their own.

I did see a man in full regalia waiting for the subway once. He was probably on his way to an event. He was so damn hot, and we checked each other out. I’m a bit regretful that I didn’t explore the possibilities. Somehow I think the kilt enhances a man’s masculinity.

Very hot.

R7, my pop played in the El Zaribah Pipe Band and you've captured the ethos perfectly.

Men often wear kilts at formal events in Scotland. Including weddings. And at sporting occasions especially rugby matches (rugby is like American football but more masculine since the players aren’t protected by suits of armour). It’s nothing unusual. On the right body - including decent legs) it looks terrific.

R40, kilts are made of quite heavy material. Unless you are standing on a grating like Monroe in the Seven Year Itch, both your balls and the gaze of the onlooker will be untroubled.

I spent several years with a guy who was built to wear a kilt. God, what great legs! He loved to go commando as well - in jeans, shorts, he slept in the nude. Anyway, we went to a Scottish festival one summer day and he wore his Carhartt kilt - Lord what a great sight! Now a job site with men wearing kilts and work boots - a place I'd happily spend the day (such a fantasy).