So it has been a while since I have posted on here and there is a good reason I am in the process of launching a Kilt Online Shop called Just Kilt Me! the perfect wording .. at the start we will be carrying about 41 different tartans which is more than anyone else! We will also be carrying Long sleeve shirts and eventually Trews too which are Tartan Trousers, those are the traditional trousers that you have probably seen photos of your grandfather or great grandfather in when the waist for men came to the lower part of the belly button, the same spot where one wears kilts. Not sure when the waist for me dropped to the hip bone, women still typically measure their waist at the mid sections. TREWS are a fabulous alternative to a kilt if you don’t feel like wearing a kilt all the time, especially in chilly weather, although one can wear long wooly socks and the kilts we carry are durable for all types of weather but why not give Trews a try once we have them.
The kilt right above is Blue Ramsay and it has the Strathclyde Welsh tie in from the borders. Strathclyde Welsh/Brythonic connection stretches from Edinburgh to the Northern of England around Northumberland and Cumbria, into of course Wales and down to parts of Cornwall, sharing a common language, culture and DNA connection. All thanks to Cunedda ap Edern or Cunedda Wledig who was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the royal dynasty of Gwynedd. Who was my 49th Great Grandfather, and many many other people one way or another, due to his numerous offspring and 2-3 marriages.
The Strathclyde Kingdom originally Cumbric: Ystrad Clud or Alclud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Britons in what the Welsh call Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. It’s legacy lives on in the lines of numerous people and the connections of kilts and symbols that unites even in line that aren’t directly descendant due to numerous marriages of distant cousins. Which is one thing you will encounter once you look into your trees, the Balfours/Bethunes, Stewarts, Bruces. MacIntosh, Campbells and numerous others were notorious for marrying into pretty much all the clans one way or another.
Back to Kilts really quick because I can go this tangent forever as it is a deep passion of mine. My new shop JustKiltMe.com will carry one of the LARGEST Strathclyde Clan Tartans available out there, over time we will add more and more. So don’t be discouraged if you don’t see the tartan you think you should wear, the statistics and history are the to say you can pretty much wear any tartan you want. Although everyone has their favourites at first but even one you are not familiar with you will find a connection wth. Kilts are just not clothing but a tangible connection to the past and to a brother/sisterhood that goes back generations.
To explain about how you can really wear any kilt … Anyone with at least ONE European ancestor is round about way everyone is descendant from Charlemange, William the Conqueror and into the clans. It’s based on the Identical Ancestor Theory… which geneticist and genealogist agree on. As your family tree gets larger the same people appear in numerous lines. It’s not inbreeding that is brother and sister, for the most of history people married their 2-5th cousins. There is 6 degrees of separation to consider too even if most people stayed in their small village there is always someone who went further, genetic connections are all over the European continent. Younger legitimate and illegitimate married into lesser nobles and landed gentry down the social network. There have always been people who travelled far and wide .. take all into consideration you only have to go back 1000 yrs to reach the identical ancestor point 80% of everyone living 1000 years ago you are related to from a King to farmer to stable boy. It is well explained in this amazing video. Overall you are bound to find a connection to a clan.. so why not embrace the Kilt!
A little more on the Kilts .. they are made by an amazing kilt maker who has been doing this for nearly 30 years in Pakistan.. yes Pakistan they make some of the best tailoring that rivals here and in Scotland.. He trained under a kilt maker in Scotland… Each kilt is made by hand NOT mass produced like other companies.. the stitching is durable and well done it will hold up for a very long time.. again unlike some other kilts I have encountered over the years. The Tartan material is poly wool blend so you can machine wash it if you need to but I do recommend using dry cleaner. The kilts take about a fortnight (2 weeks) to get to you once you have ordered due to the individual attention given to each project then factor in a 5 day shipping period to me then I send the kilt out.
We will also be carrying Kilt Pins and Belt Buckles and Sporrans but I am still in the process of arranging that…. so stay tuned!
After that ramble I will bow out.. I am just passionate about kilts, history and genealogy .. Follow me on Twitter and on Instarm too!
https://www.instagram.com/underthekiltcampaign/?hl=en
Under the Kilt .. a look into kilts 