How do women really feel about men in Kilts?

[JAK]

I think if you go regimental in a kilt you are supposed to wear an extra long shirt, like almost to the knee. Not sure, but that's what I would do, so when you take the Kilt off at night to use it as a blanket for sleeping under you are basically wearing a night shirt. The best material for such a shirt becomes an issue. I would say wool again, but light in weight and in colour. I think in ancient times these were dyed saffron. I would think they would be made of linen, from flax of course. I would think that linen would suffer similar consequences to cotton when wet. Not sure. Moot point if unavailable.

My choice for a shirt when hiking with a kilt would be a shirt made of a blend of cashmere and silk, dyed saffron and cut long to just above the knee. Might not be easy to find such material.

[cavscout]

Now the question for the XX number of guys who "wouldn't be caught dead in a kilt", why? Because girls wear skirts? Pretty illogical statement if that's the reason. I see more girls in pants than skirts.

If you respond that kilts aren't functional/practical in the outdoors, How do you know? Have you worn one?

There's no good reason not to wear a kilt unless you feel that following the firmly trod path that society has told you to is the only way to go. I'm not saying theirs anything wrong with choosing to wear pants (if you want to be uncomfortable go ahead) but for someone to say that choosing to wear a kilt is wrong is simply foolish.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../Celeb/Sports/

http://www.kiltmen.com/photogallery4.htm

[cavscout]

A point that should be clarified is that the kilt has evolved over the years. Today, when a person says they are wearing a kilt, it does not necessarily mean they are wearing a 16 oz., worsted wool, high waisted, knife pleated kilt with 2 buckle son one side and 1 buckle on the other.

There are several kilt makers who are working in a Poly Viscus material that looks and feels like worsted wool but is a synthetic fabric with a Teflon coating and velcro waist closure. They are making them in 4 yard knife pleats or box pleats depending on the look you want. The P/V material dries quickly and stays cool in hot weather and because the pleats add layers for trapping heat, they are warmer than many think a kilt would be.

I wear a polyester t-shirt in hot weather with my P/V kilt and am very comfortable in the hot southern summers.

[woodsy]

No kilts for me, but I like a loincloth on summer hikes, breathes alot better

[jesse]

... for someone to say that choosing to wear a kilt is wrong is simply foolish.

Nobody said it was wrong. The question was, "wouldn't be caught dead in one"
Women use to have to wear dresses/skirts, to work, school, etc. Now they have a choice, they wear pants a lot more than skirts. I rarely see women wearing skirts on the trail. If skirts are superior to pants, why don't more women wear them hiking.
Kilts are more about fashion, than function. They're not for me.

[Jim Adams]

Nobody said it was wrong. The question was, "wouldn't be caught dead in one"
Women use to have to wear dresses/skirts, to work, school, etc. Now they have a choice, they wear pants a lot more than skirts. I rarely see women wearing skirts on the trail. If skirts are superior to pants, why don't more women wear them hiking.
Kilts are more about fashion, than function. They're not for me.

Kilts are TOTALLY about function...fashion has very little to do with it. I sometimes wear pants, sometimes wear shorts but if there is any chance of being chaifed, I wear my kilts everytime. Probably the most comfortable and functional piece of hiking clothing that I own. If you don't like the comfort of a kilt...you probably haven't tried one.

geek

[cavscout]

Women use to have to wear dresses/skirts, to work, school, etc. Now they have a choice, they wear pants a lot more than skirts. I rarely see women wearing skirts on the trail. If skirts are superior to pants, why don't more women wear them hiking.
Kilts are more about fashion, than function. They're not for me.

Perhaps a lady could give the reason more women don't wear skirts on the trail. But I imagine it's not because the skirt is uncomfortable. Daily office fashion is not a good measure of a practical garment. Womens office wear is more directed by appearance than function (form fitted, thin so it requires panty hose,...)

One reason could be though that many womens skirts do not have the pleats that a kilt does (which is one characteristic that makes it a kilt by the way) to provide the added flexibility, ventilation and unrestricted space. The skirts I've seen on the trail are usually non-pleated, calve length straight or bell shaped skirts.

Another reason women may not is they don't realize the benefits that men do because of the anatomical differences. If women had to deal with "extra baggage", they would likely value the benefits of skirts. Then again they might and they just choose to keep it to themselves and let guys continue to suffer through pants.

With the contemporary innovations to kilts, prices have come down so that instead of the $600 to $800 (or more) that used to have to be paid for a heavy weight 8 yard wool kilt, you can now buy a perfect hiking kilt for a little over $100 dollars or even less if you are willing to go with acrylic fabric.

[Wilson]

Nobody said it was wrong. The question was, "wouldn't be caught dead in one"
Women use to have to wear dresses/skirts, to work, school, etc. Now they have a choice, they wear pants a lot more than skirts. I rarely see women wearing skirts on the trail. If skirts are superior to pants, why don't more women wear them hiking.
Kilts are more about fashion, than function. They're not for me.

Thats what I was wondering about from the first post...never seen a woman hiking in anything but shorts or pants.

You would think that a woman would know whats best to use, since they actually grow up wearing both.

[Marta]

Reasons not to wear a skirt while hiking:

1) Inner thigh chafing

2) More difficult to sit on the ground without exposure

3) Exposure problem while scrambling, climbing steps, etc.

The biggie for me is #1. Maybe I will someday reach a state of emaciation where thigh chafing will not be a problem, but until then, I'll be wearing shorts or tights.

PS--My vote is that I don't care what other hikers wear.

[Erin]

I am a woman, saw kilts on the trail and thought, great idea. All the guys I saw wearing them were obviously comfortable in their own skin...uh, kilt. I now have a khaki skirt to wear. It is very cool, flexible and ventilated. Mine is a Columbia skirt I got for 14 dollars on clearance at Bass Pro. I am short so it is modest. I have worn it on trips to tropical areas for normal dress also. But it took awhile to find one that fit comfortably and frankly the idea never crossed my mind until I saw it on the trail.
My mother, who grew up in the no AC home and business, always told me a skirt was cooler than pants or shorts and she was right. It took me 45 years to realize that.

[Marta]

...My mother, who grew up in the no AC home and business, always told me a skirt was cooler than pants or shorts...

Maybe. When I was living in Russia, I wore slightly below-the-knee wool skirts because they trapped in the warmth. They were warmer than slacks. OTOH, when I'm in a hot place, a loose searsucker sundress is about the coolest possible thing to wear.

But when I'm hiking, wicking shorts keep me less sweaty than a skirt.

I think you hit the nail on the head, though--you have to find the right combination of fit and fabric for your body.

[TOW]

i don't see guys wearing kilts on the trail. i see skirts. big difference

Yep! They may as well be dressed in full drag.........

[cavscout]

Thank you ladies for your comments.

So what I'm hearing is that thigh chaffing and modesty are the main reasons more experienced skirt wearers don't wear them on the trail, otherwise they probably would wear them more often.

Thigh chaffing is easily resolved by using a lite coat of Body Glide.

Modesty is maintained by wearing a kilt of the proper length. Kilts aren't worn like a mini-skirt. The hem is typically worn just above the top of the knee cap. There should be enough fabric in the front aprons to allow the kilt to drape down between the legs when sitting and still you would want to give the front a quick "chop" with your hand when squatting to maintain the mystery. The "chop" becomes instinctual very quickly.

True you don't have to do a "chop" in shorts, but in a kilt you don't have to pull it up in back after or have a crotch seam cut you in half after squatting. Yo also won't have a sweaty pair of short legs clinging to your thighs and restricting your legs where you have to give them a quick tug up before squatting.

A few recommended options for hiking kilts at good prices and easy to order:

http://www.sportkilt.com/departments....cfm?afid=1003

http://www.usakilts.com/offtherack.php

and these are a great price but being made from acrylic are a bit warmer than the PV and microfiber.

http://www.stillwaterkilts.com/kilts.html

[Gumbi]

I am not Scottish or Irish, hence, no kilt for me.

[minnesotasmith]

Now the question for the XX number of guys who "wouldn't be caught dead in a kilt", why? Because girls wear skirts? Pretty illogical statement if that's the reason. I see more girls in pants than skirts.

If you respond that kilts aren't functional/practical in the outdoors, How do you know? Have you worn one?

There's no good reason not to wear a kilt unless you feel that following the firmly trod path that society has told you to is the only way to go. I'm not saying theirs anything wrong with choosing to wear pants (if you want to be uncomfortable go ahead) but for someone to say that choosing to wear a kilt is wrong is simply foolish.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../Celeb/Sports/


http://www.kiltmen.com/photogallery4.htm

I think that a man wearing a "manskirt" out in public fits into our culture
about as well as would bright red manlipstick, man fishnet stockings, man stilletto-heeled pumps, etc. Getting those soon, too?

[mudhead]

Now I want two of those manskirts.

She better hide the other stuff.

[Marta]

Thigh chaffing is easily resolved by using a lite coat of Body Glide...

...There should be enough fabric in the front aprons to allow the kilt to drape down between the legs when sitting and still you would want to give the front a quick "chop" with your hand when squatting to maintain the mystery. The "chop" becomes instinctual very quickly.

Body Glide works well, but I prefer to use cloth. I usually choose shell clothing and head nets over bug spray, and long sleeves, long pants, and a broad-brimmed hat over sunscreen, too. There's a pattern there.

As far as body movements becoming instinctual...remember the scene in Tom Sawyer where the truth comes out that a boy is pretending to be a girl? Someone throws something towards the boy's lap and he clamps his legs together to catch it. A girl would have used her skirt to make a basket.

I agree with many of the previous posters about kilt and skirt wearing men needing some lessons in how to move while wearing them.

[Wilson]

Just heard on the radio that the latest style coming out of France is skirts for men.
So that trend will show up in your U.S. metropolitan cities in the next year or so.

[mudhead]

Now I don't want one.

[Jason of the Woods]

I think that a man wearing a "manskirt" out in public fits into our culture
about as well as would bright red manlipstick, man fishnet stockings, man stilletto-heeled pumps, etc. Getting those soon, too?

And the huge square frame glasses that you seem to wear in the pics that I've seen are so much a part of our culture.?