Kilt Blog

Recently I received a comment asking that I cover the USPS postman who wanted to be able to wear the kilt while delivering mail. This story recently made NPR, the Boston Globe, and The Seattle Times after postal worker Dean Peterson, of Lacey, Washington State, USA, lobbied the National Association of Letter Carriers in Boston to include a “Male Unbifricated Garment” among the approved uniform choices for all male US Postal Service workers.

Dean Peterson, who wears the kilt for comfort rather than as a symbol of his heritage, spent his entire $1,800 tax rebate check mailing his proposal to fellow postmen prior to the conference. He also won supportive resolutions from postal workers guilds in both Washington state and Oregon. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful at winning majority support for the creation and acceptance of a postal kilt due to concerns about “safety”. This despite the fact that female postal workers may wear skirts.

Mr. Peterson, also a retired Master Sargent from the US Airforce, began wearing the kilt three years ago when his wife bought him one on a holiday to Scotland. He loved it because of its comfortable and airy nature and now owns 17 different kilts. According to his letter, “Unbifurcated Garments are far more comfortable and suitable to male anatomy than trousers or shorts, because they don’t confine the legs or cramp the male genitals the way that trousers or shorts do.” His plea to fellow postmen included a sample picture of what a postal kilt might ultimately look like, which was a Utilikilts Survival model with its side pockets snapped off.