Skirtcraft Kickstarter is Live

[Liino]

I was very excited to received my 2 skirts the other day and was suitably impressed with final result. Comfy, they fit quite well and sit well on my waist. I do like the black and tan colored ones (the ones I had ordered) and am looking forward to wearing them. However right now I am seeing temps at -5f /-20c so outside wearing will be awhile. While inside I am worn them the last couple of days..with tights. Very happy with the skirts and I would like to thank Joe for initiating the project and bringing us an awesome skirt for men and hopefully will see them around the countries, Canada and US and where ever they have gone.
Thanks again Joe for bringing us a freestyle fashion choice the Skirtcraft skirt!

[Kirbstone]

Liino,

Move South, or across the Pond, so you can wear your skirts with bare legs even in Winter

Tom

[Caultron]

...all the signs are that you have an excellent product and I, for one, am wondering what the second Skirtcraft design will look like ...

As I get used to mine, it's striking me as a little bit plain.

Which, I suppose, is because menswear in general is plain, but it does make me think about ways to spruce it up. Off-color stitching is one possibility, like white thread on black or brown thread on khaki. Thicker zippers, as on motorcycle jackets, might work.

Or perhaps metal trinkets of some other kind, although I'm not too sure about either studs or d-rings.

Maybe some sort of printed fabric or embroidery, although I'd steer away from camouflage, flowers, or Celtic. Perhaps something with a military or outdoors theme, like a sword, or insignia, or trees, or animals. Probably shouldn't have too much detail in just one spot, though.

Alternating color panels might be another variation, although that might require more and thinner panels. Black and gray, perhaps, or light and dark olive. Hmm.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts. I suppose the immediate goals will be increasing sales volume on what you've got and possibly adding a few more colors.

[skirtingtoday]

Still waiting for mine

It was tracked to London on 25th Nov and since then, though it says "departed" it hasn't completed the trip up North! Hopefully soon!

Ross

[skirtingtoday]

Just checked again and my skirt has now, after 6 days, been "processed through the sort" facility in London. Ho hum!

Ross

[Milfmog]

Just checked again and my skirt has now, after 6 days, been "processed through the sort" facility in London. Ho hum!

Ross

Oh well; I guess it gives you a bit longer to enjoy the anticipation

Have fun,


Ian.

[johnb]

Just checked again and my skirt has now, after 6 days, been "processed through the sort" facility in London. Ho hum!

Ross

I've just checked and the same mine is in the same position. Sods law says they will try and deliver today whilst I'm out !

John

[skirtingtoday]

I see that my package is now labelled "Attempted Delivery - Item being held, addressee being notified"

Well, I have not been notified and I have no idea where it is being held. Wondering how long I have to wait? Not even sure if the addressee is myself or the sender? Or is it possibly customs?

Ross
Post Edited - Update. Just received a card from Royal Mail to say that there is a fee to pay (not unexpected). Cost is £17.20 (no less) including an £8 handling charge!!

Grumble grumble - hope the skirt is worth it!

[skirted_in_SF]

Post Edited - Update. Just received a card from Royal Mail to say that there is a fee to pay (not unexpected). Cost is £17.20 (no less) including an £8 handling charge!!

£8 handling fee? Has the Royal Mail been privatized? I pay Federal Express bill with some frequency where they have advanced customs fees and I don't remember them being that high (£8 = ~$12US).

[johnb]

My skirt arrived yesterday. Whilst I had been expecting to see a UPS van turn up outside, the final mile, or perhaps the 30 odd miles from Heathrow was done by Royal Mail, which although we were there anyway, would had made things easier had we not been.

So far as the skirt goes I am very please with it. It felt softer than I expected, even pre washing, and the quality was good. After the initial shrinking the fit should be about right. The only slight concern I have is whether a cold wash will get it clean if it does get a bit dirty. Does 30C count as cold ?

The final bonus was that my wife, to whom I hadn't said much about it to prior to its arrival, also seemed fairly happy about it even when I mentioned the price ! On the basis of what I know so far, I'd certainly be in the market for another one in the new year in a different colour, but not black.

Well done Joe.

John

[skirtingtoday]

Post Edited - Update. Just received a card from Royal Mail to say that there is a fee to pay (not unexpected). Cost is £17.20 (no less) including an £8 handling charge!!

£8 handling fee? Has the Royal Mail been privatized? I pay Federal Express bill with some frequency where they have advanced customs fees and I don't remember them being that high (£8 = ~$12US).

Hi SSF - Re the Royal mail the last shares owned by the Government were sold earlier this year so it is effectively privatised now (See Wiki extract below)

For most of its history, Royal Mail has been a public service, operating as a government department or public corporation. However, following the Postal Services Act 2011, a majority of the shares in Royal Mail were floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2013. The UK Government initially retained a 30% stake in Royal Mail, however it sold its remaining shares in 2015, ending 499 years of public ownership.

I realised yesterday when I got the card that the address of the local sorting office was some 15mins walk away so I walked there, paid the VAT, which I expected (£9.20) and the rather overpriced handling charge! The fellow at the desk was very apologetic about the cost but as usual his hands were tied!

Anyway, on the skirt itself (I ordered a black one), as you say johnb, it was softer than I expected and the deep, deep pockets are a real joy! For me it is a little loose around the waist (not enough to fall down ) but with the anticipated 1" shrinkage in the first washes, should be absolutely ideal. I did wear it today travelling to work but still changed to trousers after I arrived. I looks great (in my opinion) for myself being in a "professional" environment (I also wore black tights with it). I am considering changing back into the skirt for the afternoon as it was soooooo comfortable when travelling.

A great product Joe - I will keep your business cards and hopefully distribute them to the unconverted! I will get some pics to send to you soon.

Thanks for all your efforts and best of luck with further orders.

Ross

[finrod]

I'm so happy to read that people are generally pleased with the skirts! Thanks, everyone, for the feedback.

Caultron, I agree that it's fairly plain. I kept it neutral to make it more versatile and hopefully broaden its appeal. It's easier to incorporate a plainer garment into a more distinctive outfit than it is to take a more distinctive garment in a different direction. At least, that was my reasoning.

John, the packages were all sent via the postal service because costs for all other international shipping services were much higher. I figured people would prefer to save money, even with somewhat longer delivery times and even some delivery inconveniences.

A couple of backers have reported their skirts not shrinking as much as expected, if at all. I've realized that it may have been a mistake to build shrinkage calculations into the sizing and instructions. The stated 1" shrinkage assumes a cold machine wash (15-27 C or 60-80 F) and a medium-temperature machine dry. If a skirt is line dried, it may shrink very little due to there not being the agitation and heat of a dryer. So, if anyone is finding that their skirt doesn't shrink as much as desired, machine drying could be something to try.

John, it's safe to wash the skirt in warm water (32-43 C or 90-110 F), although this could also increase shrinkage a bit. The fabric is rated for this temperature range. I decided to state "cold" in the instructions after getting the impression that many people would wash a denim item like this in cold water regardless of the label. I feared that if the label stated "warm," the result would be many washing warm and many others cold, and that this would make shrinkages (and thus sizes) more variable. I thought that stating "cold" in the instructions would lead to most everyone washing in cold water, and lead to fewer size variability problems and exchanges. It may have been better to just put all of the scenarios and information out there in the sizing instructions ... although then more might be more inclined to skim past the "wall of text."

[finrod]

I've just now added a Testimonials section to the Skirtcraft website. It allows customers to add reviews in the form of a rating (1-5 stars) and optional text, and these appear on the website much like you see on Amazon.com or other online shops. I haven't announced this anywhere else yet, so there aren't any reviews at the moment.

If anyone would be willing to leave a rating/review, I'd very much appreciate it! You can do it either by going to http://skirtcraft.com/#products and clicking the "Please add a Testimonial" link just below the product information, or directly via this link: http://www.testimonialrobot.com/add.php ... d=jgXkzdk4. Your entry won't show up instantly because there's an approval step. The approval step can't be disabled, but I'm planning to approve all reviews, positive or negative.

Note: there are two required fields: email address and "name/location." I've tested it, and found that the email address does not initiate any kind of account, does not cause an email message to be sent to you, and does not appear in the review that shows up on the website. As far as I can tell, the sole purpose of it is that it shows up in the private dashboard that I log into to approve the reviews. You're welcome to put a dummy value there if you like (e.g. nobody@example.com), although they do have a "We Don't Share Your Data" sign there on the form.

The "name/location" will show up on the review. You can put anything you like there, e.g. "Joe, Minneapolis", "Joe", "Gandalf".

Thanks!

Joe

[Milfmog]

I promised Joe that I'd send him a couple of pics of the skirt in use. I finally made good on that this week when we had a day that was not just gloomy and overcast but had some short sunny intervals. Carole and I took the dogs for a walk along a section of the Thames path, I managed to grab a few pictures of the dogs and then got Carole to take a couple of me with the dogs. As usual, I managed to scowl at the bright, unfamiliar light in the sky, but Carole did manage to get a few with my eyes open, which I have shared with Joe to use however he chooses. I thought I'd put a couple here for my Skirtcafé friends (hopefully, nobody reading this post has just eaten... )

I left out the ones of me standing straight, they are better pictures of the skirt, but I look as though I've just eaten something that would have been better scooped up in a doggy clean up bag...



The dogs are Taz, a fourteen year old Labrador Boxer cross and Hazel a one year old (almost) Cockerpoo (Cocker Spaniel / Miniature Poodle cross) who may look as though butter would not melt in her mouth, but has managed to remove mains plugs from more appliances than I can count.


A better shot of the household shoe recycler...


Have fun,


Ian.

[Couya]

Thank you for the photos, Ian.
Amazingly shape and bright for this time of year.
Smart man, and fun dogs.
Martin