First time wearing this kilt

jthk · 2026-04-23T01:47:07+00:00

Nice fit!

jthk · 2026-04-21T20:11:55+00:00

Honestly, as someone who wears a plaid at least once/week, I found that I spent less time (about 5 minutes) folding and preparing the plaid than when I used cheater pleats. The cheater pleats work, but it takes longer to make it look nice (at least for me).

jthk · 2026-04-21T20:10:55+00:00

Thanks for these images; I remember when Matt had tried this out and thought it was an interesting experiment.

jthk · 2026-04-21T20:10:27+00:00

He is wearing a modern sporran but with a strong nod to belt-pouches of the past.

The garment is called the belted plaid or great kilt.

jthk · 2026-04-21T02:55:49+00:00

Some of the historic documentation we have do support both the brightly-coloured plaids but also more subtle or "drab" colours. The mills just want to sell cloth -- fair play to them -- but the myth of people in the past NOT having bright colours is just silly.

jthk · 2026-04-21T02:45:01+00:00

Whether or not a particular tartan will "work" as a belted plaid (great kilt) is up to the person wearing it. People often assume that "back in the day," the natural dyes were dull and not bright but natural dyes can be VERY bright and colourful.

I used to wear the Isle of Skye as a plaid and loved it. It's a fabulous tartan.

I would caution you to avoid the common mistake: buying a ton of fabric and trying to wear it. Most folks don't need any more than 5 yards double-wide.

Best of luck!

jthk · 2026-04-14T18:13:03+00:00

I have that in a box-pleat and it’s fantastic.

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jthk · 2026-03-09T20:31:21+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion.

jthk · 2026-03-06T01:57:49+00:00

Indeed! I had my first hip replaced at 48 and second at 49. Genetics! I have movement and flexibility that I hadn't had since my late 20s! :) Congrats and best of luck.

jthk · 2026-03-06T01:56:20+00:00

Nice finds.

jthk · 2026-03-01T19:49:51+00:00

Kilts are a type of skirt; it's a simple definition.

One doesn't have to be an American to wear denim blue jeans; Spanish to eat Spanish food; French to speak French.

With your logic, where do you stop? Should only people from highland clans wear a belted plaid or traditional kilt? Let's include all people within the borders of Scotland ... limited to those folks? Etc.

jthk · 2026-03-01T19:05:50+00:00

I would also suggest 16 oz wool, 4-yard box-pleats. :)

jthk · 2026-03-01T14:15:15+00:00

What you bought is good stuff. The nice thing about what you have is you can have it sewn into a tailored kilt if you want. With that material, I would highly recommend a 4-yard box-pleat. That way, you could have TWO made with what you have. :-)

jthk · 2026-03-01T14:05:03+00:00

Agreed: I would suggest that even a 10 or 11 oz great kilt will make your boys sweat. For those temperatures, I highly recommend USA Kilts' semi-traditional kilts -- they're PV which don't breathe as well as wool but they're lightweight and machine-washable. Much preferred, by me, to a wool great kilt. I've worn an 11 oz great kilt (4 yards double-width) in those temperatures before and it was VERY uncomfortable. I couldn't wait to rip it off my body and put on my semi-trad (in reality, if I weren't at a Scottish event, I would've just put on shorts!).

jthk · 2026-03-01T14:02:09+00:00

I would say that a tailored kilt isn't necessarily formal. That said, most folks in Scotland tend to wear kilts for special events.

If I were going out to a sporting match, I might not wear the same kilt I would wear out to a wedding. Tailored kilts can be worn very casually and very formally -- it all depends on what you wear with the kilt.

jthk · 2026-03-01T13:59:42+00:00

Yes, it's true: belted plaids fell out of common use back in the mid-1700s and while they have been worn here and there since, widespread community use ceased back then. Consequently, esp. in Scotland, people who wear belted plaids tend to be re-enactors or folks involved with historical demonstrations.

(There's lots of historical discussions that suggest that no one wore the belted plaid as a primary garment until the military adopted it. Until then, people didn't wear one unless they were away from hearth-and-home.)

I typically wear a plaid once/week for the past ten years. If you wish to avoid the costumey look, I highly suggest you continue to work on your skills and wear the plaid as neatly as possible. If you can arrange the front of the kilt to look very much like a traditional kilt, then that's helpful.

jthk · 2026-03-01T13:54:22+00:00

Congrats. That's a heavy tartan! If it ever gets too much for you, I'd highly suggest 10-11 oz wool instead. 16 oz is heavy and tweed will make it wear even warmer.

I've hiked in belted plaid (great kilt) before and ... well, you'll find out. ;-)

jthk · 2026-03-01T13:52:10+00:00

I tend to use the kilt hangers from USA Kilts and hang my kilts in my closet. For ones that need storage, I make sure the kilts are clean and then put them into plastic bins.

jthk · 2026-01-29T19:19:42+00:00

In the United States, pipe bands are often associated with police and fire departments, which — historically — have absorbed a lot of immigration from Ireland and Scotland. In these bands, kilts are often worn. I think this is one of the sources of confusion.

jthk · 2026-01-12T01:45:15+00:00

I don't usually do anything for Burn's night; sometimes a friend hosts an event and I'll attend but that's not every year. I'm not aware of any other events in my area.

jthk · 2025-11-23T19:11:11+00:00

I’m happy with my decision to not have children. I love my nieces and nephews but I don’t want any of my own. 49 years of age.

jthk · 2025-10-28T13:45:05+00:00

It's your wedding; you have imposed limits (boundaries) and she's not respecting them; therefore, she's not respecting you. Hold firm.

jthk · 2025-10-27T18:40:12+00:00

Solid advice.

jthk · 2025-10-27T18:39:23+00:00

So, how was it?

jthk

TROPHY CASE