Stuff We Love: Kilts!

I love kilts. I didn’t used to. I saw Braveheart and Made of Honor and thought huh, that seems…uncomfortably breezy.

But you know what? Pants are stupid. Also pinchy in places that shouldn’t get pinched.

So, after wearing shorts all Summer 2019, and rather enjoying not wearing pants (thanks COVID and my employer’s WFH policy and ban on work-related travel!), I decided to check out kilts.

I did a bit of shopping and landed at Damn Near Kilt ‘Em (DKNE) as my best first option. (L: Bonus – their name is a pun!) Their Sport Utility Kilt looked good – it had the pockets that I wanted, and cinching straps, and was made of cotton. I looked at their heavier-duty options (the Smithy, which is made of denim) and some of the simpler options, but decided that the Sport Utility was just right. 

Sizing is a bit tricky. To find the right size, you have to measure where you’re going to wear it, so around the waist or at belly button level. It won’t necessarily be the same as your pants size. My first attempt was L/XL size in grey – out of stock – so I went with blue. I got it, wore it on a hot week, and was happy sitting at my desk, lounging on the couch, or mowing the lawn. It was super comfy and cooler than shorts, and overall I was really really happy with it.

I found I needed a belt to help keep the kilt where I wanted to wear it. Kilt belts are a specific width – 2.25″, where the average pants belt width is 1.5″ or 1.75″ – so I didn’t already have one that would work. DNKE has belts, but they didn’t have any in stock in my size. Boo. So I kept shopping, and ordered a belt in the right size. I also got to pick out cool belt buckles, so that was fun.

I decided to order a second kilt, so I got the same style in olive – the lighter-colored stitching looks nice. I got a bigger size for this one – it’s a bit too big, but it can be adjusted to be the right size via the belt. 

Wow, these things are comfortable. A few people have asked me why I went with kilts, and I always talk about the comfort when I answer. I also love the huge number of pockets, and how easy it is to get dressed and undressed. Pants are clingy and, as previously mentioned, pinchy, and taking them off or putting them on is very different than “undo belt and let gravity go.”

Some people look at me oddly, and at least one person was hostile about the idea of a man wearing a “skirt.” After processing my initial feelings about that, I landed on it being kind of…funny, actually. The whole experience reminded me that people being weird, or hostile, about the choices I make that don’t affect them tells me more about them than it does about me.

Just like smoking, moshing, or being a Libertarian, wearing a kilt is one of those things that will cause random cool events to happen in your life. Kilts are one of those magical things that take a lot of soul to wear, and they’ve caused several people to walk up to us and say, “Hey, cool kilt! I wear kilts! I love them!” and then we can talk for a bit.

There are all types, makes, and qualities of kilt, and since it’s an important piece of clothing, I suggest not starting out with the cheapest kilt you can get. Spend the money to get one that’s made well. A good quality kilt will last a long time, just like a good pair of jeans, and it will be flexible enough to adjust for fit with a belt or adjustment straps.

I love this thing. Super comfy, the fabric is soft and strong, and it’s pretty easy to care for – machine wash cold, don’t dry it in the dryer or it’ll shrink, so I hang it up to dry.  Pleats are a core part of kilts, and I might have to learn how to iron or something or steam it, I don’t know. So far hanging it up makes the pleats mostly behave. 

There are two ways to wear a kilt – with underpants and “regimental” – and since I haven’t been wearing underpants for a while now, I didn’t see the need to change. It has been a bit of an adventure when wandering around in public places – I’ve had to learn how to adjust how I place the kilt when I sit down for example. (L – which is highly entertaining, and part of why I generally avoid skirts…) But it’s been fun to learn, and very much worth it because of how much I love wearing these things.

Overall, the experience has been great, and cool, and comfy. COVID is actually a good time to try things that perhaps you wouldn’t otherwise. Stay tuned for how it works in colder weather, and seeing how that treats me. Scotland isn’t a warm country, and they figure it out….maybe I need those tall socks, hmmm.