Utilikilts interviewed by Seattle P-I

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boca
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Utilikilts interviewed by Seattle P-I: Utilikilts going to L

Post by boca »

I just found this fairly well-done article on Utilikilts by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/301419_retail27.html?source=mypi
Below is a copy of the text:
Saturday, January 27, 2007

Retail Notebook: Manly skirt is not just for Scots anymore

By CRAIG HARRIS
P-I REPORTER

I'm in Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle and for the first time in my 15-year career as a journalist I'm dropping my drawers for an interview.

No, it's not what you might be thinking.

I'm being fitted, with my beige J.C. Penney trousers around my ankles, for a Utilikilt. For the uninformed, which had included me, that's a skirt for men.

An expensive skirt for men.

To know Steven Villegas, a former artist who founded Utilikilts, is to know his product. In fact, the well-built, free-spirited coffee addict would have it no other way.

Had I not slipped on the six-snap, khaki mocker Utilikilt, which retails for $164, Villegas tells me he would have cut short what became a two-hour interview.

You can't write about a Utilikilt if you don't know how one feels, Villegas reasons.

On this day, the feeling is, well, a bit drafty.

Nonetheless, that simple buy-in philosophy has guided Villegas since he designed and began selling kilts in April 2000 at the Fremont Sunday Market.

Since that first year, Utilikilts has gone from selling 750 kilts to more than 15,000 annually, and the company has grown from a handful of workers to a 25-employee business.

Villegas said the company has 6,000 customers on its mailing list and sells all over the globe through Internet and phone sales. Some loyal buyers have traveled from Sacramento, Calif., to get personally fitted.

Four months ago, Utilikilts moved from Interbay to Pioneer Square, where the company has a retail shop at 620 First Ave. Villegas hopes that being located in the historic Seattle business district will elevate the company's stature among tourists and expand its reach.

As we walk about a hundred yards from the store down a nearby alley to the company's headquarters, where about half of the kilts are made, the gawking is a bit unnerving. On the way back, a young blond woman engrossed in her Starbucks drink does a double take and chuckles as two nearly middle-aged men stroll by in kilts.

Villegas, also wearing a ski cap and long black earrings, said he gets a kick out of making people smile.

"They just make people happy," he said of the kilts.

The business, however, is no laughing matter.

He said revenues last year exceeded $2 million. The company also has begun a wholesale business, and next month, Utilikilts will travel to Las Vegas for the MAGIC Marketplace, one of the largest menswear trade shows of the year.

"We know how to get people into kilts, but we have to convince people who want to convince people to get into kilts," Villegas said.

So, who's buying all these kilts?

Someone secure in "his manhood," according to Villegas.

"The common denominator among our customers is they are fearless and they are leaders," said Villegas, who first started wearing a kilt in 1997 because he wanted more comfort. "It's a big deal. The first two weeks everyone is watching you. But once you start, you can't stop."

In the early days, the success of Utilikilts spread by word of mouth. But even today, the company places at least 20 business cards in each kilt so customers can hand them out when they are asked about wearing one.

The company also has changed its marketing philosophy. Two years ago, Utilikilts was at 150 events, such as fairs, to display the goods and find buyers. This year, as Utilikilts hopes to get into other retail stores, the company plans to attend just 25 events.

The kilts come in denim, canvas, leather and poly-cotton twill, and they cost up to $626 each. The "base model," with two cargo pockets in the front and one pocket in the back, sells for $131.

My mocker had sleek lines and "inconspicuous" deep pockets, so no belongings would bulge against the material. I also was fitted with a 2 1/2-inch leather belt, which cost $50.

There are no dressing rooms at Utilikilts, where salesmen -- in kilts, of course -- perform an "honest inch" measurement of your waist. My kilt, 3 inches larger in the waistline than what my pants say, was picked off the rack and circled around my torso like a towel. My slacks then were dropped to the floor and the kilt was snapped shut.

Despite the healthy growth at Utilikilts, it might be a tough sell for kilts to go mainstream, said Patty Edwards, a Seattle-based retail analyst with Wentworth, Hauser and Violich.

"Maybe it becomes the next big thing to do when you go snowboard. It's a bit breezy, but what the heck," Edwards said with a chuckle. "For the younger guys, it's a way to stand out. ... What better way to stand out than to wear a kilt when no one else but your Scottish ancestors wears one. It definitely will get you noticed at bars."

Edwards said the future success of Utilikilts would come from the company's ability to market the kilts, which are mocked on a few Web sites.

"It could work. It will appeal to guys who don't want to look like everyone else."

Or to a reporter who wants an interview.


©1996-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
ChristopherJ
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Post by ChristopherJ »

Wow - that's a great article. Very positive all round. Well done to that reporter.

I like the sound of Steven Villegas. He seems like a great guy.

Any man who goes out wearing a kilt, a ski cap and long black earings is OK by me! :D
It's never too late to have a happy childhood . . .
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Skirt Chaser
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Post by Skirt Chaser »

Interesting article! Thanks for sharing it Boca.
As we walk about a hundred yards from the store down a nearby alley to the company's headquarters, where about half of the kilts are made, the gawking is a bit unnerving. On the way back, a young blond woman engrossed in her Starbucks drink does a double take and chuckles as two nearly middle-aged men stroll by in kilts.

Villegas, also wearing a ski cap and long black earrings, said he gets a kick out of making people smile.

"They just make people happy," he said of the kilts.
I think this comparison of the new to kilts reporter and the Utilikilt expert says a lot about how successful someone will be in a kilt. One man sees the gawkers while the other sees the happiness he spreads. Not everybody is able to get over seeing and being affected by negative reactions. I bet Mr. Villegas could just as easily walk down the street in a Superman costume without feeling self-conscious.
Despite the healthy growth at Utilikilts, it might be a tough sell for kilts to go mainstream, said Patty Edwards, a Seattle-based retail analyst with Wentworth, Hauser and Violich.

"Maybe it becomes the next big thing to do when you go snowboard. It's a bit breezy, but what the heck," Edwards said with a chuckle. "For the younger guys, it's a way to stand out. ... What better way to stand out than to wear a kilt when no one else but your Scottish ancestors wears one. It definitely will get you noticed at bars."

Edwards said the future success of Utilikilts would come from the company's ability to market the kilts, which are mocked on a few Web sites.

"It could work. It will appeal to guys who don't want to look like everyone else."
Here's a great example of why Villegas is smart to chance losing interview publicity by asking the reporters to try out a Utilikilt. The anylist was able only to speak from her viewpoint, what she sees. She made the same assumption I did about kilts and that is that they are a chosen for looks only. While the reporter only mentioned the feel was drafty he might have also noticed physical comfort which significantly broadens the market appeal of the Utilikilt. They are certainly not just clothing for young men wishing to stand out at bars. :sarcastic:

Quiet Mouse
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Post by Kilted Musician »

Skirt Chaser wrote:They are certainly not just clothing for young men wishing to stand out at bars. :sarcastic:

Quiet Mouse
They're also for us longhaired jazz musicians! ;) How are you doing, Quiet Mouse?

--Rick [playing a jazz gig tonight wearing a UK]
binx
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Manly skirt - perfect!

Post by binx »

So how'd it go in Vegas? Was anyone there? Any other manly skirts at the show?

binx
matman
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Post by matman »

I visited Utilikilts last fall. May have shared a bit of my reactions here earlier.

The novelty of having the salesperson hold a kilt up around your waist as you drop your drawers was not appealing to me. If I were a consultant I would encourage UK to try to make the shopping, selection and sizing experience seem as mainstream as possible. That's just me, though. Maybe their key objective is to market to rebels, who would be thrilled to have clearly unique shopping experiences.
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cessna152towser
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Post by cessna152towser »

I'd like to see Utilikilts sell well and make kilts mainstream, though I have to admit I don't have any of their products in my own collection. I did attempt to order one a while back and it was only some time afterwards when my credit card had never been charged and I had heard nothing from them that I found that my order had got lost somewhere in their IT system, and never been processed. Subsequently, I bought a workweight cargo kilt from Freedom Kilts instead.
Please view my photos of kilts and skirts, old trains, vintage buses and classic aircraft on http://www.flickr.com/photos/cessna152towser/
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