Kilt Blog

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.

I know that many readers will shudder at the outfit, but for the world of “high fashion” I like this rendition of Highland Dress. Not only the kilt, but the hose, jacket, cap and shoes. The t-shirt and necklace I just don’t get. I’m not saying it is practical, but it is interesting and I hope will help unstick the kilt from the relative rut of special occasion.
This outfit was shown on stage in Milan, as part of “Queen of Punk” Vivienne Westwood’s Autumn/Winter 2008/09 collection.

YES! A Swedish kilt! I love it!

As strange as it may seem, a workman’s kilt by the Swedish company Blaklader Workwear, has become a huge hit in Sweden and Europe selling over 5,000 kilts. It was even named product of the year by the Swedish Textile and Clothing Association. The kilt has been such a hit that the company is now introducing it in the UK. It is availible from online retailer Active Workwear , who appear to deliver worldwide, contact them via email to order outside of the UK mainland.

According to The Sunday Mail, the kilt was designed by Gothenburg university student Marcus Jahnke. It features two nail pockets, a hammer loop, and various utility pockets. It is made from 100% cotton and retails for £44.75, about $87.00 US, which is less than half the price of the Utilikilts Workman Kilt.

It looks a little odd, with pockets at the top of the apron, but I simply must get one. Just “to review it” for my blog, of course

Yesterday I was in the local grocery store. It is a busy store in a fairly small town and it is not unusual to say hello to people you know. Even strangers are generally friendly and talkative. Every now and then someone, almost always a woman, does comment upon my kilt. But, this was different.

I was standing in the health-food aisle and a young woman exclaims loudly, “Oh my god! Is that a Utilikilt?!?”. “Yes it is,” I answered, and added that it was very comfortable and I really like them. “That’s great, I am so glad you are wearing it,” she said. So far, a little more animated than most, but nothing too loud, not yet making a scene. Then she says, very loudly so that people can hear aisles away, “There is nothing sexier than a man in a skirt!”

I thanked her, and I think perhaps even blushed a little bit. I didn’t berate her for calling it a skirt.  I was quite flattered, really. I am not usually someone unknown young women call sexy in front of dozens of strangers.

It has been too long since I have reviewed anything, so here is a sporran review. I bought this Buzz Kidder Celtic Knot Day Sporran with my Ramsey Casual from USA - Kilts last year. I have since worn it a couple dozen times. I previously blogged about the bloody chain that came with it damaging a cheap acrylic kilt.

Unlike that chain, however, this sporran is well made, works well, and is a good value. I paid $55, which is fair enough for a quality leather day sporran. It is ample in size, and closes with a strong magnetic clasp. I can easily fit more in this sporran than in a pair of trouser pockets, it will hold my phone, wallet, keys and even a few additional essentials that I occasionally need to carry.

The leather is heavy enough that it should last a lifetime, however it was a little stiff when new. The pewter celtic knot adds a stylish touch. The sporran hangs well, and is comfortable to wear. One minor disappointment, however, is that I must use two hands to close it, one to lift the front edge of the sporran and the other to move the flap down in to place. The magnet holds closed with a small post that actually carries a significant amount of the weight, this I presume, is the reason I need to lift and align the sporran part of the closure.

Overall: A-

Quality: A

Comfort: A-

Value:A-

Include Chain: Avoid using it

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Utilikilts were recently featured on boingboing.net because of their unique and humorous “license agreement” for customer submitted photos and emails. We all know these “agreements” which go almost universally unread. Utilikilts made theirs funny enough to want to read. It says, in part:

I grant the Utilikilts Company LLC full rights to use the entire contents of this email for any purpose whatsoever, until the end of the universe. I understand that the Utilikilts Company LLC might use the text and images enclosed in this email on their web site, in printed or online marketing materials, or as a target on the dartboard in the executive bathroom, and I am fine with that.

Boing Boing is an extremely popular blog, and has twice won the Bloggies as ‘Weblog of the Year’. The author of the post, science fiction author Cory Doctorow, also revealed that he owns and sometimes wears a Utilikilt.

Why, a flaming hot wicker basket of course!

This 156 foot tall inflatable Scotsman balloon has a kilted volume of 120,000 cubic feet. With Mont Blanc in the background it flew over an estimated 20,000 Swiss gathered at the International Balloon Festival in the Swiss village of Chateau d’Oex.

The giant kilted balloon was the brain child of Muir Moffat, 69, who has been ballooning for 21 years. “And being 110 per cent Scottish, I thought it would be fun to have a balloon like this. It’s meant to look like me. What do you think?”, he said.

A while back I blogged a photo of a kilted motorcycle rider. I was a little surprised because most motorcyclists I know are really really anal about “all the gear all the time”, and indeed I have read a dozen newstories about motorcycle accident because a lot of bikers come to New Mexico in the summer. Still I was far more surprised when I was surfing kilt photos on flickr and found a slew of riders wearing the kilt.

• Parade-69 Kilted Biker (pictured)
• Kilted Biker with saltire flag cape
• Kilted Biker on Yellow BMW
• Kilted Biker in the Rain
• Kilted Rider on a Trike
• Kilted Bikers at a Euro Rally
• Kilted Rider on the Grass
• Kilted Motorcycle Ride
• Kilted Ride Rider
• Bodhi Kilted on BWM
• Kilted Riders in Glasgow

I found this funny poster the other day on X Marks The Scot.

I was browsing through kilt photos on flickr and ran across this excellent photo from Kilted Eric of the Podcast - This Kilted Life.

I have received several requests, including one from the bride, to include another picture from the wedding I recently officiated. This is me posing with the groom. Here, we can easily see the inherent superiority of celtic dress, compared to saxon attire

I will say, however, that the saxon clothes are certainly more stylish than a groom’s typical wedding outfit.

Also, I have been asked to perform another wedding in late Spring! It now sounds like I have an excuse to buy a nice wool clergy tartan 8-yard kilt. That’s what I’ve told my wife at least.

I saw this recipe for a mixed drink called a “Velvet Kilt”. I sounds far nicer than an actual kilt made from velvet, which is what I first thought the link was.