Kilts: Function, Fetish, Fashion, or Fluff?
So Just What's Behind Them (and Under Them) Anyway?
Oct 29, 2009
Though probably brought to the British Isles by the Vikings, it’s the Scottish interpretation of the garment that has best folded itself into the collective imagination.
A Kilty History
Made of rugged wool to protect against the cold, the kilt was the Braveheart’s bedding as well as his armor, with pleats designed to tuck away up to 9 yards of heavy, element-battling wool (hence the expression “the whole 9 yards”) and to allow for free movement sans flashing.
Though a plaid tartan may seem to scream in a modern metropolis, it actually served as camouflage when hiding out in the heather.
But though the kilt may have generated a bit of interest amongst a few romantic Anglo youngsters hot to revive their Highland ancestry, the garment was simply too cumbersome, expensive, impractical, and plaid to cross out of nostalgia and into the streets.
A Fresh Look
Things have changed thanks to lighter, more fetching recent styles. Howie R. Nicholsby wraps more than a touch of the of the traditional into the personalized pleats of his Edinburgh-based 21st Century Kilts, yet the designer’s creations have just enough of the modern to attract stars like Robbie Williams and Vin Diesel into their folds.
Lighter and more casual, Seattle-based Utilikilts are taking masculine dresses off the catwalk and into the mainstream. “I used the word ‘kilt’ in the name because it was an operating word in English for ‘manskirt,’ but I didn’t borrow any design from the traditional Scottish kilt,” says Utilikilts’ founder Steven Villegas of his patented, unbifurcated design.
“I wanted something comfortable with pockets that wasn’t plaid and wasn’t wool. I wanted the air conditioning. You gotta provide the family jewels with a little space. I needed a garment that was at once modest, easy to maintain, and practical. The traditional Scottish kilt has up to 9 yards of fabric in its pleats. We get the job done in about 3.”
Fans of the Kilt
Among the men who wear kilts, of whatever style or influence, there exists an emerging and ever-evolving identity. “There’s a whole different sense of self in a kilt,” says one fan of the garment.
“More people talk to you when you’re wearing one. At first I was a bit nervous about wearing it out in public, but I’ve gotten really positive responses. Women love it. They always end up trying to get their husbands into them.”
For some, the kilt is fashion, for some it is fetish, while others merely appreciate the comfort and ease it affords. And a kilt does make one more accessible after all.
Which leads to the inevitable question: “What exactly is underneath?”
“Now tell me honestly,” quips Donald MacLeod of GayKilts in Edinburgh. “What do you wear under your trousers and why? Whatever your answer, the same could be said of the kilt—warmth, convenience, comfort, hygiene... What is worn under the kilt is entirely the wearer's choice.”
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