Question: What do you get when No Pants Day (traditionally observed on the first Friday in May) falls on May the Fourth (International Start Wars Day)?
Answer: You get the Kilted Stormtrooper Brigade!
Other than falling on the same day this year, both holidays are unofficial and were started and popularized by college students. No Pants Day was originally conceived as a good stunt for the end of the semester and more typically involves simply not wearing pants. However, those who are sympathetic but who cannot simply wear their underwear around, or who are simply looking for an excuse to wear their kilt, do have the option of going kilted. May the Fourth originates from the famous Star Wars line “May the Force be With You” a Jedi phrase which has been said by many of the main characters in the series.
So Why Kilted Stormtroopers?
The best answer for this is: Because they can! Cosplay is a major hobby and even industry in America and other countries throughout the world. As kids we all loved dressing up, and adult fans of a many sci-fi and anime series enjoy recreating the costumes of their favorite characters. In fact, there are national and even worldwide organizations dedicated to these hobbies including the 501st Legion (Stormtroopers), the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club (imagine Boba Fett and Jango Fett), Ghost Corps (Ghostbusters), and many, many more.
Some cosplayers strive for the perfect movie-accurate costume making it a challenge to make their costumes as complete as possibly oftentimes spending the extra cash to convert the same objects used by the movie prop departments. Others, like to add a little or even a lot of personal flair to their costumes, like a Pittsburgh Steelers themed Stormtrooper, or even modify it to combine two genres, like an Elsa from Frozen in Mandalorian (Boba Fett) armor. This is where the Kilted Stormtrooper Brigade comes in, because, why not?
If you like wearing a kilt and have gone through all the trouble and expense to make or buy Stormtrooper armor, then I see no reason you shouldn’t enjoy them both together. So May the Fourth Be With You, and enjoy No Pants Day!