0%
How to Wear a Kilt without Giving a F*ck What Others Think

How to wear a kilt? Stop caring.

When Kanye West wore a leather kilt on tour back in 2011, it created such an outrage that he eventually asked Getty Images to remove the photos. You can still find his notorious kilt on Google images today, but it also opened up a bigger discussion around the way we conceive men’s fashion.  

So, what’s the big deal with men wearing kilts anyways?

Ancient Egyptian men of all hierarchies used to wear the shendyt, an adaptation of the early hunting skirt. The Balkans created the fustanella, which is a white pleated skirt worn for ceremonial purposes. Men in Fiji, Bhutan or Senegal still wear knee-length sarongs and dress robes as part of their regular dress. 

It’s obviously not the cultural norm for men to wear skirts in the U.S., but it’s slowly becoming normalized across couture and red-carpet events. Like any new fashion trend, you’re probably worried what your friends and colleagues are going to think of your kilt. It’s completely normal to want to fit, but at some point you just have to tell that little voice of doubt to shut the f*ck up. 

If you’re fed up with feeling judged in your kilt, here are some tips on how to wear a kilt without giving a single f*ck what others think.

 Accept that you can’t please every f*cking person.

The first step on how to wear a kilt without giving a f*ck is accepting that you can’t please everyone. It’s an impossible goal and putting more energy into it will only drive you f*cking crazy.

According to research by the National Science Foundation, people have anywhere from 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. To put this in perspective, you’re literally just one among thousands of fleeting thoughts passing through a person’s brain.

Whether we like it or not, there will always be people that love and hate kilts. It’s just easier to ignore what other people think when you remind yourself that they’re going forget what you wore in a matter of seconds because they have at least 12,000 other things to worry about.

 Wear whatever the f*ck you want with it.

Did you know you could actually be happier by wearing whatever the f*ck makes you feel good? Dopamine dressing is the idea that you can dress yourself to a better mood by simply wearing clothes that make you happy. In other words, if you love wearing kilts, then use it as your own form of Zoloft.

Carolyn Mair, founder of the Psychology of Fashion, told The Guardian, “When people believe in the symbolic meaning of their clothes, it can affect their cognitive processes, and part of those are your emotions.” 

More importantly, don’t worry so much about the fashion rules on how to wear a kilt. If you feel sexy wearing high-top sneakers or distressed t-shirts with your kilt, then go for it. In reality, we’re our own worst fashion critics, which is what’s really f*cking us over from wearing kilts more often.

 Surround yourself with IDGAF positivity.

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with – at least according to motivational speaker, Jim Rohn. This idea is based off of the “law of averages” that a particular outcome will likely happen due to its probability.

In other words, in order to learn how to wear a kilt without giving a f*ck, you should surround yourself with like-minded people that’ll support your beliefs. By hanging out with more people that also don’t give a f*ck about wearing kilts, you’re only increasing your chances of wearing kilts more often because you both share the same goals.

So, where can you meet more like-minded kilt wearers? You can join an online kilt community, like Reddit or X Marks the Scot. Try to keep an eye out for local kilt events, like annual kilt fests, kilt bar crawls or kilt runs. On your down time, you can read  enlightening IDGAF material like Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck

Most importantly, go get yourself some more f*cking kilts for men because you f*cking can.