Kilt Blog

Just a quick update for today.

The abruptness of the Seattle trip was insane. One minute we were heading there, then we were there, then we were leaving. I think we spent as much time packing and getting to and from the airport, which is hours from home and meant staying at hotels, as we did in Seattle.

Upon getting back home I did find my Blaklader work “kilt” at the post office. I’ll review it soon, including how much VAT (I thought mail order sales from the UK to the USA are not normally charged VAT?) and extra shipping I paid on it. I have not worn it yet, only tried it on. So far I can say that the pleats are very shallow, its more of a work skirt… but there are lots of pockets which I am sure will be nice when working on the cabin.

I also got a new computer, and have spent the past couple of days setting it up. I will use that as my excuse for not having blogged enough recently

On short notice, my wife and I ended up in Seattle on business. Of course, I had to drop in on the Utilikilts store and warehouse. Kilted Eric was nice enough to give the grand tour, which will be blogged in the very near future. My wife was nice enough to buy me another Workman Utilikilt, which is great because my current one is seeing heavy use while building the cabin.

I also learned of another kilt blog from Eric, who mentioned that kiltme.com had a Blaklader review. Not only is it great to see another kilt blog out there, but its especially interesting since I have a Blaklader inbound myself.

Seattle has been odd almost to the point of being surreal. Today I also happened to meet a model from one of the Utilikilt videos, she was the barkeep where I went to kill time while my wife did her biz. Those were two very strong soda and scotches she made, btw. And a moment ago, in the hotel lobby, I met a neighbor of utilikilt’s founder. Its a big city, and yet the unbifurcated world seems so small.

Except at Utilikilts itself I haven’t seen any other kilted blokes. Surprisingly though, I have gotten a number of rude comments on the street. A young Asian woman said “Oh, what a darling skirt”, but while I am not certain that one was intended to be rude, it sure was awkward. The rest were yelled from out car windows, or across the street, with the trouser wearing sissies unwilling to even look me in the eye afterwards. This is not something I see often in New Mexico. I suppose here they must be upset knowing that kilted men get flirted with so much more often than they do.

Not quite kilts, but closely kilt related, I recently happened across Sporran-Nation’s “contemporary unisex sporrans and bags” at a store my wife shops online. Handcrafted in Inverness, I dare not question that these are indeed sporrans, though they are certainly non-traditional. With designs including communist stars, skulls, and bombs, perhaps they could appeal to a punk-crowd which has found the kilt?

No pictures yet, since its now dark outside by 5pm, but my much awaited Stillwater Heavyweight in Black Watch tartan has finally arrived. I will try to have photos soon. This was a used kilt from eBay, but is still in excellent condition. I am surprised how well the pleats stood up to shipping.

I also have a new sporran strap from R-kilts. It is fairly nice, but with the current exchange rate I feel it was not a good value.  Still, I can once again wear my sporran after the horrible kilt-ruining accident.

Well, the weather is getting colder, and my USAK casual is now way too light to wear. My Utilikilts are doing well with socks or hose going over-the-knee at night.

The exciting thing, though, is that I have a kilt on the way. I wanted an inexpensive wool kilt. I also did not want to wait for delivery until next year. I had considered a Stillwater Heavyweight, but had never found a BlackWatch in my waist size. I have heard these are a 16oz tartan instead 13oz ‘Shadow Tartan’. Obviously the heavier the better, the winter here can be quite bitter.

I found what I was looking for, used, on eBay. A used SWK is in the post. The price was a bit less than new, but the great thing is that I found what I was looking for after looking for far too long on Stillwater’s website.

The first and only time I wore my Stillwater Economy into town was a disaster. My lovely wife has repaired the poor kilt, and it is wearable again.

On the same day my puppy was vomiting to and from the vet, it happened. Everything seemed fine, but when I stopped at the pet-store for more kibble…

I looked down to put my wallet back into my sporran, a Buzz Kidder Country Sporran which I purchased from USA Kilts when I bought my Casual Kilt from them. I was wearing it with the chain that was included, having disliked the sporran hangers I ordered at the same time. My kilt’s outer apron was half balled up with threads sticking everywhere!

I did not have a camera at the time, nor would I have stopped to take a picture of the horror I saw inflicted upon the poor kilt. I thought it was already far too late. The apron balled up because over a dozen threads of tartan had been snagged and pulled by a little jump ring on the sporran chain. This ring connected the chain to a clip. I have heard of sporran chains slowly wearing a kilt before, but this was quite different.

I opened the jump ring and after ten minutes I had the kilt back to looking like a kilt. Still, three threads could not be massaged back into the weave, they broke somewhere inside the fabric. My wife, crafty as she is, managed to pull the loose strings to the inside of the apron, then tie and cut them off. Now it looks OK from the outside.

That little jump ring…. I still can not believe that anyone would have thought this was a good idea, and a kiltmaker should have known better. Placing a ring with a sharp tooth designed to snag things next to a piece of twill tartan, with some weight pressing it down as it moves back and forth?! At least this didn’t ruin an expensive kilt or an heirloom, though I suppose for someone else it easily could have.

I will order a sporran strap soon. Unfortunately I can’t wear my sporran (with that damned chain) at the moment, which means I can only wear my utilikilts into town until a strap arrives.

So, its been far too long since I last posted. I do have a good excuse. A couple of weeks ago I took my puppy to the vet and he puked 7 times on the way there and back. That same night I caught whatever he had and spent over a week sick with it.

Well, now I am better and so I am catching up. The day I first got sick I had a kilt badly damaged, and that will be my next post.

As some readers may know, my wife and I are building an off-grid cabin in Northern New Mexico. Today was really the first cold day this Fall. Most people imagine New Mexico as being hot, since it is desert. But what we have is high desert, actually I’m in the world’s largest alpine valley. Winter here can be quite extreme. Today was just a tiny taste of that, about 40F and wind gusts up into the upper 20’s (mph). My black denim utilikilt was quite warm with O Marled stockings from Sock Dreams, a turtle neck and a nice wool sweater.

I am sure this poor guy has no idea that he is wearing the kilt so wrong. I would have hoped they’d have sorted him out at the “Celtic-themed shop”. His kilt is on backwards. Not only that, but the waist is too low. And the lower edge is half way down his calves! Sadly, he seems to think this look will drive women wild… perhaps if he had it right.

For reference, the pleats of a kilt go in the back. The waist, unless it is a casual kilt or a military kilt, is normally worn just above the navel. Military kilts are worn has high as the lower ribs. The waistline he has would be fine for a casual kilt, though larger guys (myself included) find it more flattering to wear casual kilts near the navel as well. The selvedge (lower kilt edge) should be worn from middle of the knee at the lowest, up to a bit above the knee. Covering the knee entirely makes a kilt look odd, like a boy in a dress.

I just received a shipping notice for the USA Kilt I ordered less then two weeks ago. I paid for the rush option. I should also be receiving a Utilikilt my wife insisted upon buying me (!) She actually called up the store and had the person answering the phone find a kilt that would fit me and see to it that it got shipped out… they still seem to be having issues with their online story showing incorrect inventory.

I feel so excited, two new kilts in route to me right now!

A short while back I wrote a review of my Utilikilts Original. I am still very pleased with it, and it is holding up well. A pleasant surprise is that is has not needed laundering nearly as frequently as shorts or trousers!

 However, since my review I have read several more reports of problems with people ordering out-of-stock kilts though their website, when they are supposedly in stock. This seems to be an ongoing problem that they are having. And, according to a recent entry of MysticMead’s from Living A Kilted Life, it seems that the troubles may extend beyond the computers.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think they make an excellent product for the cost, but until I hear heard they’ve sorted this out I won’t be buying another through their website. Perhaps I’ll get one from The Kilted Nation.

About two weeks ago I first wore my Utilikilt out in public. It was a great experience and all the little fears I had were for nothing.

I googled a little and found some good kilt sites. But when I tried to find some kilt blogs, I mostly drew a blank. I even checked and kiltblog.com was availible. In this day and age finding a domain like that must surely be a sign. So here’s my Kilt Blog!