Let¡¯s talk about wearing kilts. I come from Scotland and the two most common questions I get asked are: do you play the bagpipes and do you wear a kilt. Well, I don¡¯t play the bagpipes but I do have a kilt. A kilt ¡¦ is a ¡¦ is really a skirt for men and it¡¯s worn by Scotti ¡¦ by Scottish men. Er some people think that we would wear it every days so even if we go out to buy a pint of milk we would wear a kilt. I haven¡¯t seen anybody do that. I would wear a kilt if I went to a wedding or a very formal party or a ball.

Erm ¡¦each kilt has a different¡¦er¡¦tartan which is really just a design and that¡¯s based on the family that you come from ¡¦ erm so¡¦er¡¦ I¡¦ my family name is Young but unfortunately that that tartan looks really horrible — it¡¯s orange and yellow, so I use the Graham tartan, which is my first name, and it¡¯s dark green and blue. Erm, I got the kilt made about ten years ago and it cost 200 pounds, which is about 3,000 Renminbi but I think now it would be about 5,000 Renminbi. It¡¯s er hand-made and about three metres long.

The¡¦the very common question I get asked is ¡®do you wear underwear under your kilt¡¯. Well, the first time I ever wore a kilt, I did wear underwear and I had to perform on stage and I was about 12 years old and I didn¡¯t realise that when you wear a skirt, you meant to close your legs, so all of the audience saw my purple underwear and they told me later what colour it was.

Well, I wore a kilt when I got married in Hong Kong. It was extremely hot, I think it was about 32 degrees and I really sweated because it¡¯s made of thick wool. I also sometimes teach students Scottish dancing and I let one of the boys wear it and although they would never want to wear a skirt, they¡¦they generally love it and they always get lots of photos and actually they are very popular with the girls.

 

Glossary

kilt (n.) - a type of skirt which is made from tartan cloth and traditionally worn by Scottish boys and men

bagpipes (plural n.) - a type of musical instrument. Sound is produced by blowing air into a leather bag and forcing it out through pipes. Also called the ¡®pipes¡¯, this musical instrument is played particularly in Scotland and Ireland.

tartan (n.) - a pattern of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical multi-coloured straight lines

extremely (adv.) - very

 

Discussion

What do you think about the wearing of kilts? Have you ever worn one or seen anybody in it?

Have you got a national dress or costume for your own country?

If you have to design an outfit that best represents yourself, what will it be?
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