You see them when watching the warriors of Braveheart racing through the glen or perhaps swirling around men's waists in TV images from the annual Highland Games. They're bright with tartan, crowned with sporran and have a dirk hanging boldly to the side. They're kilts of course, and admittedly have a certain style. But do these garments have any place in the modern world? Ask any Scotsman, and you'll find the answer is a resounding 'aye'. So what role does this wrap around garment of tartan have in today's age of designer fashion?
Firstly in today's global village, more and more people find the need to connect with their roots and find their identity. Scotsmen are spread out across the globe both as emigrants and expatriates. And wherever they are, many feel the need to find their roots and reclaim their identity.
This sense of identity can involve far more than just being Scottish, for the tartan of the kilt is also associated with Scottish clans or families. In addition, tartans can also represent districts, counties, countries, corporations, States and Provinces, or schools and universities. So the wearing of a tartan can create this sense of belonging to a long and noble tradition..
From this tradition comes a sense of pride in being Scottish and the inheritor of an unique history and culture. In fact, the kilt played a key role in the development of the forging of the identity of Scotland as a nation. Originally the garb of the Highland minority, Highland wear became the symbol of Scottish independence after the Jacobite rebellions against the prohibition of the wearing of Highland garb in 1746. While formerly it was just the highland Scots who sported the kilt, the Lowland Scots showed their rebellion against the English by donning the kilt and sporran.
There's also the simple fact that kilts just look so good. If you need any proof, just take a look at Sir Sean Connery in full Highland attire to see how distinguished the kilt wearer is. It was, another knight, Sir Colin Campbell, Brigadier-General of the Queen's 93rd 'Sutherland' Highlanders, who summed up the style and status of the kilt so perfectly in the evocative phrase, "A man in a kilt is a man and a half."
So if you're ready to find your Scottish roots, take the plunge and don the kilt. You'll not only reconnect with your roots but you'll look quite distinguished in the process.
Lukasz Dunikowski founded and runs Heritage of Scotland, offering a wide variety of Scottish kilts.
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