a very public outing

[corsair]

If you’ve looked at my “flying in boots” posts, you know that I’ve been traveling a lot lately. Large airports are sort of like the mall at Christmas in that there are a lot of people, but very few who will notice you one way or the other. I’ve been taking advantage of that to wear heels while flying for the last few months. On my trips, I take my work boots, which get worn only at work, and my running shoes, which get worn only when running (they don’t get relegated to sneaker duty until after they are too worn for running). That leaves me with one or two pairs of boots to wear while traveling, going out to dinner, etc. On my last trip, that meant that my only walking-around shoes were my Walking Cradles boots with a 2.5 inch heel. Pretty cool. I’ve worn them enough that I will zip them on under jeans without much of a second thought. But I would really rather be in a skirt and boots, so I decided to give that a try. I can’t seem to go anywhere without running into people I know, and I need to keep my job, so I needed to maintain some measure of plausible deniability (as the politicians would say). Therefore, I purchased a couple of kilts from Stillwater kilts. I bought a solid black one that is one of their middle-of-the-line kilts, and one of their economy kilts in a tartan pattern. I wanted to look good, so I thought I would go with the black kilt, black tights, and one of my pairs of black riding boots with a buckle detail. I debated whether the buckles on the black kilt would set off the metal detector at the airport, and decided that it probably wouldn’t. I was wrong. In front of I don’t know how many people in Atlanta, there I was down to my kilt and shirt, getting a very thorough wanding, one that went on long enough that I missed my flight. So not only did I get shaken down, but I was now going to be walking to another concourse to rebook. Bottom line: a lot of visibility today. If anyone had any negative comments, I didn’t hear any or notice any bad looks. I was noticed, no question there, but I think mostly just people checking out my attire and then moving on. Delta has people on the concourses trying to sign you up for their Skymiles program, and they are more annoying than the Hare Krishnas used to be. As I went by them, one of the women starts calling out, “You. Hey, guy in the skirt. Guy in the skirt”. Yeah, like I’m even going to dignify you with a response. At the end of my flight, I was standing in the back of the plane with one stewardess I had been talking to, when she finally looks at me and says, “That is a kilt, right?” I replied in the affirmative and she cocked an eyebrow. I said that it was just something different to do, to which she said that was cool. Then as I’m loading my bag in the back of the rental car, one of the older men from the rental company stops and asked if I was Irish or Scottish. I told him that somewhere in my ancestry I was, but this was just something fun to wear. He gave me a big smile and told me that I looked great and chatted with me a few more minutes. Bottom line: no negative comments, lots of non-reactions, and two positive comments. And while it is a kilt (i.e. a skirt approved for men), I did get to spend the day wearing a skirt, tights, and women’s boots. It was very liberating to do so. I got dressed at home, loaded my bags while kilted and drove to the airport that way. I parked in the park-ride lot with the shuttle bus right there waiting for me to get out of my car. At that point, I was very committed to traveling as I was dressed. So I was a bit nervous getting out of the car and getting going, but once I did, I just acted like I do it every day. Wearing the knee-high boots probably looked a bit more feminine than men’s shoes and knee socks with a kilt, but if I wanted to wear wingtips, I wouldn’t be on this forum. My preference would be for a denim a-line skirt, just to avoid some of the bulk of the pleats under my tush while sitting, but this is a good start. For my return trip, I’ll wear jeans to get through the TSA and then change back to the kilt for the rest of the trip. Next week, I’ll wear the economy kilt, as it fastens with Velcro instead of buckles. Thanks to all the other guys who tell about their outings and share photos and help to blaze a fashion trail.

[Guest]

love the boots & kilt/skirt, corsair!!!

[spiker]

Thanks for the post(s) Corsair. To be honest, from the pictures, that looks more like a skirt than a kilt to me (not that I'm claiming to be any kind of expert). Bottom line, if you want to go out wearing a skirt, I'd say you've already done it - congratulations! Spiker.

[blender]

cool look, a sporran would of looked good with that as well as it would of given it a more authentic kilt look. i would love a kilt but i know to many scotts people and they would linch me for wearing it lol. never the less a very cool look

[Dawn HH]

A very good and very cool look for you in that outfit. Cudos. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[corsair]

Thanks for the comments. A couple of answers: 1. I had a sporan, but wasn't wearing it in the photos. I had had to change to go into work, and changed back to take some pictures. 2. Yes, it does look rather skirty in the pictures (not that I mind much). Being solid black, it is difficult to see the pleats in back, the buckles on the side, or the overlap in the front. Next week will be one with a tartan pattern. As I said, it was a very liberating experience. Am I going to be able to do it around home? Probably not, but I will enjoy it for traveling.

[Dawn HH]

Corsair:-) Let us see some pics of you traveling in your tartan plaid so we can see if it works for you. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[corsair]

Next week, count on it. I went to see Alice in Wonderland last night, and wore my kilt and boots. Not exactly a big crowd on a Wed night, but still no looks or comments, and it made for a comfortable evening.

[corsair]

I flew kilted again this week. I got a second search from the TSA again, but it was a quick millmeter-wave scan instead of the full harassment. When I got to the initial ID and boarding pass checkpoint, the TSA woman stepped out from behind her podium, gave me a long look, and then started in about "what they say about the real men who wear those". I allowed as how I was wearing something underneath, had a laugh and kept moving. After the scan checkpoint, I put my gear and boots back on. There was a woman sitting on one of the benches waiting for I don't know what. She kept facing straight ahead, but as I walked away her eyes tracked my feet, either guessing or confirming to herself that those were womens boots. After that, I had time in the terminal. I think one young lady took my photo, but I'm not too sure about that. If anyone had anything to say, they didn't say it or even look it. I could tell that there were people checking out my attire, but no scowls or anything. Usually they just looked, confirmed what they were seeing, and then went on with their business. However, several different women (attractive ones at that) made eye contact and smiled at me. :-) After landing, I wound up on the airport train with the flight crew and continued cutting up with one of the stewardesses. One of the other women looked at me and asked if my outfit was cultural or how I dressed every day. I said that it was just something different to do and that it was actually more comfortable for flying. (that got me raised eyebrows from the stewardess in a pants-suit). I stopped at the airport McDonalds for a snack. While I was standing there about 20 feet from the counter deciding, the muslim girl behind the counter had a disapproving look on her face, but she then caught herself and was professional when I walked up. So, for the most part, reactions were either positive or non-existent. I'm guessing that there would have been even less reaction if I had been wearing footwear that was more obviously mens shoes. My other observation is that you can tell some people are really wanting to ask me about my kilt, but don't, and I'm not going to call them on it. I'm thinking that, for the most part, people either truly don't care, or they don't want to look like an unsophisticated rube by showing any reaction. I've attached photos of this week's kilt in the hotel room, and one shot from the seat in the airplane. The "kilted6" photo is my new black watch kilt and the boots that I want to wear with it. Let me know what you think. Some of the guys on this board like to see how much reaction they get in public. I prefer being more low-key and try not to draw any more attention than I do by wearing the kilt and boots. So, on the one hand, this isn't something for the thin-skinned or bashful, but on the other hand, there has been much, much less reaction than I could have imagined. 99.5% of the people have been blase. Again, thanks to the others who have posted their public outings. It helped me decide to do so myself.

[Guest]

love your outfit corsair! it all comes together for you!

[Ray_Aber]

I'm a kilt wearer, and that looks really smart. I'll have to try out the look! Well done.

[Bootking]

Well done Corsair! I love the kilt/knee boots look as it is so much nicer than the usual men's shoes thing; keep kilting!!