# Utilikilts in Ireland **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717 "2018-06-08T20:22:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/41 "2018-06-14T07:47:47Z")
Lived in Ireland for 8 years. I think people would find it a bit strange, yes. IMO, if this is what you usually wear and you’re comfortable that way, then feck other people’s opinions. OTOH, if you want to do this because it somehow fits with your idea of Ireland (and yes, people will presume you think that’s your motivation) then don’t as I’ve never seen anyone wear a kilt in Ireland if they weren’t in a pipe band. Not at weddings either - I think that’s a Scottish thing. No one would have the slightest clue what clan goes with what tartan, nor would they care in Ireland, but I suppose black does make it a bit more modern and more like you were an eccentric dresser rather than a pseudo-Celt. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/42 "2018-06-14T08:16:15Z")
I have friends who wear utilikilts in England, including wearing one to an office job in London, who’ve reported nothing more than the odd funny look. One _did_ grow up in Scotland, but he’s the one trying to persuade all the other guys to get one, and he doesn’t sound Scottish at all. I know Ireland =/= England, but there’s a few people claiming it’s a total no-no here. It’s not really. Bit eccentric, but not likely to cause people to faint or draw crowds of children asking where the show is. On a side note, I met, in Australia, a Scots guy who had brought a kilt with him; he wore it hitchhiking, because he said it was great for getting lifts. Anyone with any Scottish ancestry would feel compelled to stop and tell him where their great-grandma or whatever was from, which he didn’t care about at all, but they’d normally give him a lift as well, and frequently buy him a beer. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/43 "2018-06-14T09:07:31Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I have friends who wear utilikilts in England, including wearing one to an office job in London I’m going to stick my neck out here and say Camden? Hoxton? Shoreditch? One of my recent previous jobs meant me exiting the tube at Old St. and I swear the reason Moorfields Eye hospital is situated close by is because of the massive injuries sustained by innocent passers-by when confronted with adult hipster arseholes and the severe eye-rolling that results. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/44 "2018-06-14T09:09:18Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > It is well known here, that if you are in Scotland and see a person wearing a kilt, it’s another Australian. > > But maybe that’s just a story we tell ourselves. I wouldn’t have the Aussies down as kilt-wearers but your point stands in general, I’d have them down as more likely a tourist than an ordinary local. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/45 "2018-06-14T09:16:38Z")
By the way, I’d stick to the black. And not, say, [any](https://skilt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSC00817.jpg) [one](https://skilt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSC00024.jpg) [of](https://skilt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/dsc02188.jpg) these. [This one](https://skilt.co.uk/product/south-african-flag-kilt/) should be OK, though… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/46 "2018-06-14T09:56:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Let me ask the nay-sayers this: would you say the same about a utilikilt in the USA? In other words, do you think it is silly for a man to wear one ? Yes. Next question? ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/47 "2018-06-14T10:01:09Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I’m going to stick my neck out here and say Camden? Hoxton? Shoreditch? > > One of my recent previous jobs meant me exiting the tube at Old St. and I swear the reason Moorfields Eye hospital is situated close by is because of the massive injuries sustained by innocent passers-by when confronted with adult hipster arseholes and the severe eye-rolling that results. No idea. London is an amorphous blob of horror that includes most of the South East so far as I’m concerned. Just saw pictures of his work outfit, it was plain black, paired it with a nice shirt. Looked pretty good in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/48 "2018-06-14T15:47:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Let me ask the nay-sayers this: would you say the same about a utilikilt in the USA? In other words, do you think it is silly for a man to wear one ? I own a kilt, sort of like a utilikilt, and I never wear it except for a couple of places where costumes are welcome. It’s a little heavy but very comfortable, almost air-conditioned, and the pouches hold a lot more stuff than jean pockets. And I have the legs for it, in my humble opinion, and some heavy boots and I’m beginning to wonder what kind of person would even look, much less make a comment in public. Only children, surely, which would embarrass their parents and maybe cause them to grimace. There’s only one way to be sure though. I’ve got to be bold. If my wife says I can wear my kilt outside, I’ll report back. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/49 "2018-06-14T18:11:06Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > A fanny pack will do. Please don’t call it that in Ireland. 😊 It’s a bum bag. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Let me ask the nay-sayers this: would you say the same about a utilikilt in the USA? In other words, do you think it is silly for a man to wear one ? I love to see a man in a kilt. I’d be very happy to see them become normal daily wear. But the OP asked if they ARE considered normal, and that’s a big 'ol “Nope!” > [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > Lived in Ireland for 8 years. I think people would find it a bit strange > . . .if you want to do this because it somehow fits with your idea of Ireland (and yes, people will presume you think that’s your motivation) > . . . This is the jist of the problem. Folks will assume you are doing it because you think it will fit in. All of which will put you in the category of idiot American who doesn’t know the difference between Ireland and Scotland, and further thinks that Scotland is still living in the 1700’s Brigadoon-style. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/50 "2018-06-14T20:16:28Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > The OP wants to know what the reaction will be in Ireland, not a different country entirely. > > And the answer is that people will laugh at him, not with him, and definitely pass him off as eye roll worthy. Becuase what I want to know is- would Utilikilts be bad in _Ireland_, or does the poster just think Utilikilts are silly and should not be worn _anywhere._ ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717/51 "2018-06-14T20:56:58Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I wouldn’t have the Aussies down as kilt-wearers but your point stands in general, I’d have them down as more likely a tourist than an ordinary local. In Scotland there’s a few groups of “ordinary local” kilt wearers - proper plaid kilts, mind: - Formal wedding dress, the full flummery - Scotland supporters at a match- football and to a lesser extent rugby - kilt, heavy boots, Scotland top - Local _eccentrics_, probably have a red nose and strong opinions - A relatively new one is young lads with longish hair, beards and piercings, otherwise dressed like someone at a late-80s Ministry gig. I’ve no idea what subculture that actually is these days, but it’s a strong look - and finally, it’s not unknown for someone hiking to wear a kilt along with the usual outdoors gear. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utilikilts-in-ireland/815717.md?page=2)