EDINBURGH, Scotland — My wife has teased me for years, “I’d love to see you in a kilt.” It’s likely just her and my mother who would suggest such a thing.
Well, I decided to find out if she was sincere. Kilts, the real deal, can cost up to a $1,000, and that’s just for the 8 yards of the fabric, which wraps around your midsection at the belly button and runs down to the top of the knee. I thought it’d be fruitless to search for a rental in Scotland, but to my surprise, kilt rentals are a thriving business.
Related: Scotland: Incredible beauty, wonderful people, thick with history and … a future home?
I reached out to McCalls Highlandwear in Edinburgh, where assistant manager Owen Cairns told me it was as simple as sending McCalls my measurements and my choice of tartan (I went with Black Watch) and accessories. The complete formal outfit, which includes the kilt, hose (socks), ghillie shoes (which lace up above and around the ankle), a suit jacket, a vest, a white shirt and a sporran (a “pocket” for the kilt that ties around the waist and hangs in front) would be waiting.
I was doing this as a surprise for my wife, so I sneaked away to get professionally measured. Kathy Verbiak, one of my three amazing sisters — all incredible seamstresses and quilters — did the measurements and I sent them off to Edinburgh. Owen thought one of the measurements was slightly off, as my height and his experience told him, and he made the tiniest of adjustments to ensure the best look.
After arriving in Edinburgh, I got up early and went for a full Scottish breakfast before heading to McCalls. The full Scottish is pleasing to the palate, but horrifying to the heart: Fried egg, sausage, the Scottish version of bacon, haggis, black pudding, tattie scones, beans, and grilled mushrooms and tomatoes. When in Scotland …
My kilt was ready at McCalls, where sales adviser Calvin Shek brought everything out for me to try on. Calvin explained how to wrap and buckle the kilt, and once I was dressed, he inspected my new look, made sure I was happy with the fit and gave me the thumbs-up. I got back into my street clothes, Calvin bagged up the whole shebang and off I went. The entire experience with McCalls — from an overseas phone call to the kilt return after the four-day rental — couldn’t have gone better.
Before arriving in Scotland I had been concerned whether an American wearing a kilt would irritate locals. I reached out to Jacqueline Bain, our Airbnb host the previous year in Glasgow, who assured me that I would be welcomed. Jacs also told me that kilt wearing was encouraged. However, she warned me, don’t make a spectacle of yourself and be respectable. Owen and Calvin backed this up. (Jacs and her husband, Iain, have been invaluable over the past year and a half, patiently answering questions regarding a possible relocation and offering travel tips. They are amazing hosts and their flat in the heart of Glasgow is magnificent.)
We had dinner reservations that night at Little Capo and I popped into a spare room at the Airbnb and got ready.
“What’s taking you so long?” my wife asked through the door. I’m usually ready before her. When I was finally ready, I exited to oohs and ahhs. Vindication.
I wore the kilt to dinner and then again two days later at a street market in the Stockbridge neighborhood of Edinburgh. No one stared. No one cared. I received one comment, from a Scotsman. He stopped me at the market and said, “I appreciate a man who takes the time to look good.” Vindicated again.