When - and how.

[Amanda M]

I have spent a long time thinking about this.

When I was four, my sister was getting married, and of course for such an occasion, one had to be formally attired. Living in Scotland, for the males, that meant you had you wear the kilt. No problem (pace "Braveheart")- however, Mum decided on what I must wear underneath. All I can describe them as were mini directoire knickers, with elastic round the bottom bit of the leg. She said you can have Saxe Blue or Bottle Green.

Now even at four - and don't ask me why - I recognized these as feminine apparel, but despite my protests (honest!!!!) she had her way.

I will never, ever be sure that this was the start of a journey. On the outside, I don't appear to be feminine. I have been a soldier (Combat Medical Technician), in law enforcement (not the police, but another branch) and after a career change in my very late forties, a psychologist.

So, I've been around the block, a time or two, but as to where it all cam from, apart from what I have said, I do not have a clue!

Mind you, I stll wear the kilt, but man style. Panties etc are for Amanda.

[Davita]

Does Amanda have a kilt? Since we got you on the kilt, does the clan plaid differ between men and women?

Did you ever ask mom why she had you wearing mini-directories and did she continue the practice? My mom never put panties on me but I remember always thinking panties were okay; I don't think I ever thought panties were "bad" and only girls should wear them.

[Amanda M]

First of all, the kilt. There's a whole lot of balderdash spoken about this, mixed up with a lot of Victorian romantica.

Basically, weavers in distinct areas of Scotland came up with their own local designs, and of course, if you lived in a particular area, you would wear the tartan woven in that area. Now, because of the Highland system of land rents, most of the people in any given area would wear the locally available weave, so if you lived in an area mostly populated by the Clan Campbell, for example, you would wear that pattern, because it would probably be the cheapest available to you. So, in the course of time. particular patterns became linked to particular family names.

There is NO prescription about who may wear what pattern. I wear Munro (It's my family name) but I also wear Clan Campbell, because I do have relations with the Campbells) but I also wear the MacDonald - simply because I love the colours.

As to what the ladies may wear, it is normally accepted that they will wear the tartan chosen by their husband - but that is by no means written in stone. Next Saturday, we are going to a bit of a do with a Scottish theme. I will wear the dress MacDonald, and Carole will wear a long skirt in the Lindsay tartan.

Now to perhaps simplify a couple of things. You will hear tartan weaves described as Dress xyz or Hunting xyz - simply because the "Dress" patterns are usually bright and vivid, and the "Hunting "weaves are generally in muted shades of greens, heather and browns - so that when you are out on the hill trying to kill a stag, it would be harder for him to see than the brighter "Dress" weaves.

So, the only rules are - please yourself!

Amanda does NOT have a kilt - she has a kilted skirt which is a different animal.

And as for poor old Mum, she never ever insisted that I wear girls' underwear, except when I was wearing the kilt.

One final point, if I may. A lot of our Transatlantic and English cousins refer to a tartan pattern as 'plaid'. It is no such thing.

A plaid is a garment woven from tartan fabric.

This is quite a good link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_kilt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hugs, Amanda.

By the way, it might interest you that homosexuality was for many years illegal in the UK - a law passed during Queen Victoria's reign. Being a lesbian never has been illegal - simply because good Queen Vickie could not imagine what they might do together!

[Davita]

Amanda,
Thank you much for the information. I did kind of wonder how everyone could belong to one clan or other. Now I know they don't. As for "plaid", I know I'm going to goof that up just from sheer habit.

You did good; again, thanks.