07 Nov 2010, Posted by admin in Fashion, 0 Comments

my kilt years revisited

I spent my formative years at an all-girls school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I played Mr.Banks in the 4th grade production of Mary Poppins, was schooled in the doctrine that a single sex education is far superior, and oh yes, was forced to wear a school uniform. The uniform consisted of a green flannel skirt and a white or forest green collared shirt. During the colder months we were allowed to wear green or white sweaters.

Perhaps if the Gossip Girl era had happened sooner my schoolmates and I would have styled our uniforms with a little more panache, but it was the post-Nirvana era and we simply didn’t have that Upper East Side sensibility. Most days we wore Dr. Martens, North Face backpacks and boxers that rode just low enough that they were visible underneath our kilts, which we had carefully rolled to make them particularly short (why my pre-teen self thought this was a fashion statement I will never know).

When I left the all-girls school that I had attended from the ages of five to thirteen I vowed to myself to never wear forest green again, and to never wear a kilt. The forest green ban in my wardrobe lasted for a good five years until I was tempted by a fabulous pair of suede Manolo Blahniks. Still, I wasn’t ready to wear kilts until this year when I was seduced by the offerings on the Proenza Schouler and Rag & Bone runways. It even got me thinking, ‘Wow, I wish I had saved my school uniform, I could save some serious money.’ Alas this weekend I marched myself into the Rag & Bone Soho store and bought myself a kilt. I guess I can finally say that I have gotten over my middle school hang ups–it only took me a decade.

My actual school uniform, pulled from my former school’s website:

My Fall 2010 Kilt Picks:

Rag & Bone Penrose Kilt, $450, Barneys.com

Burberry Exposed Zip Wool Check Kilt, $550, Burberry.com

Pringle of Scotland Leather and Wool Pleated Kilt, $2,395, Net-a-porter.com

–Leah Bourne