Tell Me Lies Heartthrob Thomas Doherty Would Wear a Kilt ‘Every Day’ If He Could: 'It's in Our DNA' (Exclusive)

Thomas Doherty might be wearing a kilt the next time you see him.

The Tell me lies star, 29, proudly poses in a vintage ’90s black Raf Simmons pullover, black Helmut Lang boots and a bold blue tartan kilt for a photographer in a room on the eighth floor of the Bowery Hotel on Monday (December 9). ninety minutes before kicking off a holiday party at New York’s hottest new restaurant, the Corner Store, to celebrate the debut of the Glenlivet tartan.

“I’m different,” Doherty tells PEOPLE. “It’s almost like it’s in our DNA, in our genetics, being a Scotsman – or a woman. There’s a sense of pride in the kilt and then wearing the kilt. Yeah, it just does something to me.”

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“Every clan and every family in Scotland has a tartan. This is the Glenlivet that’s really cool and an honor to wear,” he says, pointing out details on the Locharron of Scotland kilt that represent the whiskey and Glenlivet’s “tartan colors.”

“I come from Scotland and I have such a love for my culture and for my country and for what we’ve created and what we’ve given to the world… It feels good.”

Thomas Doherty stops for a bite to eat at the Bowery Hotel ahead of the Glenlivet tartan holiday gathering at the Corner Store in New York.

Angela Pham

As the photographer continues to take pictures, the Edinburgh native fixes his hair in the mirror, charmingly pretends to take a phone call on a tartan-patterned landline and tucks into a burger and fries as he continues to pose. A playlist ranging from Florence and the Machine to Sam Fender plays over the speakers in the background.

Also, of course, drinking a glass of Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch Whisky. “Being Scottish, being Scottish, loving Glenlivet – that’s what I grew up with,” he says. “It’s so nostalgic. It reminds me of my uncles and my dad, and my whole family, really. It’s my uncles’ drink of choice, always. It smells like home.”

Thomas Doherty is getting ready at the Bowery Hotel ahead of the Glenlivet tartan holiday gathering at the Corner Store.

Angela Pham

From entering the hotel room, the actor’s love for kilts is obvious. He mentioned to me more than once that he wanted to wear traditional clothes more often. “I told you before, it would be great if you could wear a kilt every day.”

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Jewelry is another of his loves. “I like smaller jewelry, like fine jewelry, I don’t really like thick things, so that’s definitely my choice. And silver.”

“I always wear my ring on my little finger and I’ll always have a little bracelet,” Doherty continues, before pulling out a dainty chain from under Raf Simmons’ sweater. “And here I have this necklace. This was actually made by my very good friend George Williams.”

Still, he keeps it tucked under his sweater all night. “I don’t want it to be too much. I want the centerpiece to be a kilt.”

Thomas Doherty poses in Glenlivet tartan at the Bowery Hotel.

Angela Pham

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“Everything is black – black boots, black top and property [the kilt] as a central place. I think we did a good job.”

The “we” he’s referring to is his stylist Bailey Moon — “I love Bailey,” Doherty says — and hairstylist Jessica Ortiz, who also watches the photo shoot happen — and runs her fingers through the actor’s hair several times throughout the night to freshen it up.

“We wanted his hair to be the downtown New York vibe” of his outfit, Ortiz tells PEOPLE, “so we did a little more of a rock n’ roll, tousled, a little rough look.”

Thomas Doherty wears a kilt at a holiday gathering in Glenlivet.

Angela Pham

Doherty’s confidence in Ortiz is clear after almost a year of working together. He admits he doesn’t do “anything” in particular to prepare before the event and prefers to let Ortiz take the reigns. “It’s just amazing. I get full works.”

(On a typical night, however, Doherty is “very simple,” he says—but his routine includes both Dior serum and Dior moisturizer.)

In reality, there isn’t much to it, as Ortiz, skin wise, keeps it pretty simple. “It’s always clean and slightly bronzed with a bit of contouring to support this beautiful bone structure that she has,” she says. – The jaw cracks, the cheekbones crack.

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When his impressive jaw line is brought up, Doherty acts coy, joking that Ortiz will get his skin right when she arrives.

Finally he admits: “The jawline and the Scottish accent, it’s related. Yeah, I’m good at it.”

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Source: HIS Education