skirtcafe.org

Waiting for a bus yesterday, I found myself surrounded by cameras at surprisingly short distance. No "by your leave" nor pretending to check mail, just blatant snapping. I held out my cupped hand as if expecting payment, but got nothing, and if I had not tried to initiate conversation, none of them (middle-aged men and women) would have said a word. It turned out they were a group of Romanian tourists, not a word of Spanish among them, but one knew a little English and had even heard of Glasgow. Meanwhile they were all clicking away, as one after another came to stand beside me. That has not happened to me in a very long while.

Later, on my way home again, a bus overtook me, when I was not expecting it and I was still 500m or so from the stop. My feet were aching, and i was furious, but it was too far to run, and I just muttered curses under my breath.
But to my surprise, the bus waited at lights after they turned green, then waited again to let other traffic through, and I did have time to reach the bus stop. It was clear that the driver had recognized me and lingered to give me time to catch up. Sometimes it pays to be noticed -- thank you, kilt!

The advantages of kilt/skirt wearing are obvious, whereas the cons really don't matter.

Martin

Martin,

Nothing like that ever happened to me - so kudos to you in getting noticed, especially by the bus driver.

Your first incident reminds me of a similar thing that happened to our son. When he graduated in his first degree at Oxford, he had to wear a subfusc (short academic gown) as well as formal clothing. A crowd of young (very attractive) German ladies accosted him and snapped quite a few pictures with him at the centre!

I had my formal kilt on at the time and was quite ignored! Until that is, we returned to his college when a woman who was the official photographer, spotted the kilt, ran up to us and insisted on taking pictures (which we later purchased) of the occasion.

Ross

Never happened to me either, but I don't wear the "kilt".
My son, however, has worn it in many parts of Europe. The most amazing reactions were in the East and it gained him many friends. From what he's told me it also got him fairly preferential treatment in some quarters.
For photos, that was in Paris with a group of Japanese tourists. He was part of a Scout group and they were asked first.
All very positive.
Steve.

A small group of tourists (?) made some effort to walk out on a bridge to take pictures of me fishing in Eldorado canyon near Boulder, CO. Was it the picturesque setting with fly fisherman or the eccentric in the camo kilt fishing in the middle of the creek? I dunno. Boulder is such an anything goes town that I'm pretty sure they were not local.

This happens to me as well, about once every six months. A passer-by asks if they can take my picture, and I ask them what they're going to do with it, and they say it's just for themselves, and so I stroke a pose and let them go ahead.

I never learn what they actually do with the photo, of course, but so far nothing has come of it. And I put my own photos on Facebook anyway.

I too have had several "photo ops". A girl from a local college asked for a pic for her photography class, a gent in a parked car asked for one to show his son who wants to get a kilt, 2 girls at an outdoor rock concert wanted to pose with me while their friend took pics. And my favorite, while hiking in a denim mini I passed a couple as he was taking shoots of his girlfriend. I glanced back to find his camera trained on me!

This hasn't happened to me, but if you would like to send them away, turn and begin lifting the back of your kilt! That would send them packing!

Just don't go shopping at Wal*Mart - you know the "People of Wal*Mart" !
Then again you would be dressed far more conservatively than their mainstream customers !

JRMILLER wrote:This hasn't happened to me, but if you would like to send them away, turn and begin lifting the back of your kilt! That would send them packing!

Or attract their curiosity even more.

Or the cops.

Makes me think of the comment sometimes used by women toward men who flagrantly or absent-mindedly stare too long at attractive hips or bust: "Take a picture; it will last longer!"