Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.
Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
The history of the modern style of kilt is arguably one long LARP, although after 400 years I think we might respectfully consider it a ‘legitimate’ cultural symbol since, even as a LARP, it is older than the US.
What’s more interesting is that a substantial part of the rest of modern Scottish identity stems from the 1995 movie Braveheart, and the more distantly from Victorian English romanticization of the highlands.
Mel Gibson was on such a fuckin' tear before he got into the Jews.
More options
Context Copy link
The actual Scotland-resident Scots in my social circle have about as much time for Braveheart as the English do - it is a piece of ahistorical American silliness. I can't comment on how formative it is of Scottish-American identity, but it has nothing to do with the land between the Tweed and John O'Groats.
As @Crowstep points out, the modern kilt worn as formalwear by Lowlanders as well as Highlanders is indeed modern by European standards - it dates back to the early Victorian era. So it isn't older than the US, but it is older than black tie or lounge suits. I can confirm that a Scotsman wearing a formal kilt is as unselfconscious and unironic as an Englishman wearing a dinner suit, and probably less so than an American given the falling sartorial standards bemoaned by @dieworkwear.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link