Kilt Me!

A denim kilt made from old jeans?

So, I have two pairs of old jeans I was about to donate when it occurred to me there might be a kilt hidden in there.  They're the sort of jeans that are so worn and soft I could sleep in them.  I pulled them out of the donations bag last night, spread them out on my dining room table. and started cutting them up and measuring.  I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but I'm excited to see what I can do.

Keep checking for more "in progress" photos!

Update: I haven't gotten too far, but I've basically made the front apron. Here's the latest shot:

Kilts and x-mas sweater

Last night we had a small office x-mas party down at the Blind Tiger Ale house.  I received a lovely sweater, shirt, and tie which I wore into work today.  With a kilt, of course.  I'm wearing my old UK workman's which now only has four working snaps on it.  It's still one of my favorite kilts though, and when I dress it up with a tie I feel like I can get away with it.

Here's a shot from this morning:

Stillwater Solid Black Kilt

And finally, here are two photos of me in my new solid black Stillwater wool kilt.  As a brief review, I'll say that it's very comfortable, has a great weight, and fits well.  I like the look overall, especially the "shadow tartan" which is essentially the texture of the weave.  The two noticeable downsides are the shallow pleats and the front apron, which is a bit narrow and not quite shaped right.  Those are both very minor issues though and I'm very happy with it.  I think I'll get a lot of use out of it.

 

Kilted at a wedding

Last Saturday I was at a wedding of a good friend of mine.  I've known her for about fifteen years, and she is actually the person who gave me the sewing machine I've made my kilts on.  Her wedding was fantastic, the weather was wonderful, and I couldn't be happier for them. 

Here are a few shots from the lovely day all taken by my father John C. Goodwin and contain his copyright. 

Facebook Blog Feed

So, theoretically I can add a blog feed to facebook now.  This means my blog will be posted on my facebook page, which is good. Apparently.  Anyway, let's try it.

Here's a link to my wedding album!

Ben and LB's wedding, Oct 6, 2007

Kilts in Texas!

Last week LB and I went down to Texas for Thanksgiving as well as a second wedding reception.  Saturday night we gathered at Larry's French Market which is a Cajun place in Groves Texas on the gulf coast.  The food was fantastic, the band was excellent, and we all had a good time.  My Dad and my brother came down for the festivities, along with the extended Brown clan. 

Before the reception I had to run into a mall to find a guest book.  I was all dressed up in my Wallace kilt with the full formal jacket and hose.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I had almost the same reaction as what I get up here.  A lot of smiles, and three or four people approaching me and saying how much they liked the outfit.  I was told at one point that it takes a real man to wear a kilt in Texas.

I'll have photos soon, but for now, here's  a shot of the napkin holder at Larry's.

Change in the weather

So, it's that time of year in NY when it's starting to get chilly out, the wind is blowing harder, and my body isn't quite ready for it.  It's been too chilly in my apartment most mornings to put a kilt on and go outside, even though I normally wear a kilt all winter long.  Maybe I need to sit outside in nothing but a t-shirt for a while until my body adjusts.  Or maybe I need to just put the f'*ker on and go out with it.  Tomorrow I'll give it a shot.  In the meantime, here are some snow monkey photos that alway makes me feel warm.

Just ordered my Wedding Kilt

So, yesterday (Tuesday the 3rd of April), I went down to Grand Central Station and got measured by the folks at Geoffrey (Tailor) for my wedding. I ordered the Argyll Outfit which consists of a kilt, a vest, a jacket (in my case lined with red silk) a sporan, a belt, kilt hose and shoes, and of course garter flashes. You can see the outfit at Geoffrey (Tailor)'s website.

Their work was incredibly nice, and while the salesmen I met with yesterday was a bit surley it was a good experience. At one point Diane (who came with me from our office) pointed out that the kilt jacket I was buying would look great with jeans. The salesman snapped at us, "It's a kilt jacket. You can't wear it with jeans". Diane commented that it was a bit odd considering we were standing in front of a photo of a guy with a giant green mohawk sporting a kilt and a tee shirt.

Personally I'll wear the kilt with a tee shirt, the jacket with jeans, the vest with kahkis, and the shoes... well, I'll only wear the shoes with the kilt. I'm happy to be wearing a traditional outfit for the wedding and I think it will look great, but I'm absolutely not going to get stuck with some concept of what I can and can't do with it all after the wedding.

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