skirtcafe.org

moonshadow wrote:They can make "mens" skirts all day long.... I'm still going to primarily wear "womens".... why?

1) They look better (anything with a "mens" label is bound to look dull, boring, and/or obnoxiously macho....)

2) Because I can....

Fully agree. I buy mine from society labelled womenwear stores and have no issues from staff or customers. Do so online in my name, at times the parcel label has a clear indication of where it is from and unlike some stores that cover both genders some are female only.

At the end of the day it is a "label", a society "label". You can choose to live by it or ignore it. I ignore many society "labels", quite a few are necessary but clothing gender labels I just ignore. Labels are changed by society only when enough followers partake in that activity. Sometimes with a few numbers, some times many thousands are needed. As with labels, it is all down to the wim of society.

denimini wrote:

Dust wrote:

denimini wrote: I totally agree with this sentiment; from a lot of the men's skirts I have seen offered I would be put off wearing skirts, apart from the utilikilt style. I don't have any confidence that they would come up with something colourful or cheerful under the men's banner - they never did with pants.

The lack of color and cheerfulness in men's clothing, to me at least, is a related but separate issue to men's skirts. I love my Utilikilts, but if I want to wear one and be colorful, I throw on a bright colored t-shirt with it. Yellow shirt with a black kilt or something like that.

Unfortunately, for what a Utilikilt costs, it just doesn't make sense to buy a bunch of different colors. A handful of neutral colors that can be worn with something else just makes more sense, economically. And with men not used to bright colors, especially on their lower half, it doesn't make sense to try to sell them in a bunch of colors either. Men typically don't wear pants in many colors that aren't black or khaki.

What you say is true and is one reason I am not confident that things will change with colours of men's garments.
We already are unconventional by wearing skirts, so it is no surprise that some of us might deviate in choice of colour, pattern, material and style.
I am happy to buy my skirts from the women's aisle rather than tackle influencing the attitude of millions of men, to be able to buy menswear that I like.
Once I get it home, my skirt feels like it is my skirt.

I'm more optimistic about color. I've seen guys wearing pink and purple shirts and ties, in somewhat formal settings in a completely serious manner. I've even seen red dress pants and other colorful things like sports coats and occasionally suits, but these later things were in the context of Christmas parties, or something else less serious. For men's athletic wear, almost anything goes in the way of color.

New colors are relatively easy to add to the old wardrobe, especially when most of what you are pairing it with is black or some other neutral color. Plus, you can incrementally try more adventurous colors.

I wear the bright colours all the time. Bright blue, purple, red, yellow, no problem, skirts or trousers. Tops the same, female type such as camis or male type. And as for labels, that's easy, just remove the label, cut it out and then it's not a problem any more.

Why are they so expensive anyway? You get one off their website and you're looking at several hundred dollars!

Good god man!

moonshadow wrote:Why are they so expensive anyway? You get one off their website and you're looking at several hundred dollars!

They are supposedly made in the USA. And the quality is excellent. Still, all that was the case when I got my first one, about a decade ago. It was $150, and I thought the price was steep then. I only bought one at that price when I found a place that stocked them and would let me try it on. Since then the price has nearly doubled. I get all mine off eBay now, usually for around $50-75. It requires some patience to fine one in your size at that kind of price, but many don't show any real wear. Still more than I'd pay for pants, but they are far better than any pants I've ever worn.

Dust wrote:

moonshadow wrote:Why are they so expensive anyway? You get one off their website and you're looking at several hundred dollars!

They are supposedly made in the USA. And the quality is excellent. Still, all that was the case when I got my first one, about a decade ago. It was $150, and I thought the price was steep then. I only bought one at that price when I found a place that stocked them and would let me try it on. Since then the price has nearly doubled. I get all mine off eBay now, usually for around $50-75. It requires some patience to fine one in your size at that kind of price, but many don't show any real wear. Still more than I'd pay for pants, but they are far better than any pants I've ever worn.

Though prices do tend to go up, they have not doubled generally. Exceptions are, or course, in matters of supply and demand. I'll bet the cost of labor to produce the kilt, in addition to the cost of materials have not doubled. What has likely doubled is the growing popularity of the garment, coupled with a situation of few suppliers. Men want a skirt that has that coveted "Male status symbol", that says "I'm a man". The utilikilt offers that.

Men seem to be willing to fork over quite a bit to maintain that masculine image. Such as it is with this thing they call "post war consumerism" I suppose. Though the war is long over, consumerism lives on!

*shrugs* Oh well.. it's their money.

I like the Macabi skirt, and there are a few other colors I'd like to get, but I can't lay down the $75 right now. The Macabi is my "goto" skirt when I require something more conservative.

But anyway, for the man who desires to wear a skirt, but doesn't want to fork over a paycheck to get one, I can point him in the right direction, but is he "man enough" to dare?

For those in U S A.....One of the problems with a Traditional Scottish Kilt is the cost of Freight and taxation in getting the tartan material
from Scotland to U S A..........The other is the cost of traditional skilled Labour ....
This is recognised as being half a weeks work for a Skilled Traditional Scottish Kilt Maker......

weeladdie18 wrote:For those in U S A.....One of the problems with a Traditional Scottish Kilt is the cost of Freight and taxation in getting the tartan material
from Scotland to U S A..........The other is the cost of traditional skilled Labour ....
This is recognised as being half a weeks work for a Skilled Traditional Scottish Kilt Maker......

To be fair, I'm not really talking about the traditional kilt, though I do apologize, I should have clarified. I understand the traditional kilt has more meaning behind it than the utilikilt.

I mean... is a utilikilt truly a kilt? Or just a man-skirt. This is not a rhetorical question, I'm not sure, nor am I am authority on the subject.

So with that in mind, it seems kinda silly to me to plunk down hundreds of dollars for the coveted "it's for a man" label when five bucks at the GoodWill can purchase the same comfort, feel, style, and yes some even have pockets and belt loops.

Now a traditional kilt is in a class all it's own. No arguing that from me.

moonshadow wrote:
I mean... is a utilikilt truly a kilt? Or just a man-skirt. This is not a rhetorical question, I'm not sure, nor am I am authority on the subject.

Definition of a kilt; Merriam-Webster dictionary
1 : a knee-length pleated skirt usually of tartan worn by men in Scotland and by Scottish regiments in the British armies
2 : a garment that resembles a Scottish kilt

Definition of a kilt; Cambridge Dictionary - in English
a skirt with many folds, made from tartan cloth and traditionally worn by Scottish men and boys
Definition; Cambridge Dictionary - in American English
a skirt with many folds, made from tartan cloth and traditionally worn by Scottish men and boys, but also worn by women and girls

They are not my definitions so please direct any disagreement towards the original authors.
With consideration to the above definitions, a utilikilt (or similar) would be a pleated, wrap skirt with pockets, unless it was tartan and resembled a Scottish kilt.

moonshadow wrote:So with that in mind, it seems kinda silly to me to plunk down hundreds of dollars for the coveted "it's for a man" label when five bucks at the GoodWill can purchase the same comfort, feel, style, and yes some even have pockets and belt loops.

Now a traditional kilt is in a class all it's own. No arguing that from me.

I quite like the look and practicality of the utilikilt style, at least the short ones (usually designated as women's) but with international postage and exchange rate they are far too expensive. Like moon and others, I get enjoyment from buying something that I like for a few dollars.
The other day I purchased a mini skirt with belt loops (also with a matching belt) and 13 pockets! all for less than $20 including postage. I will be counting those pockets when it arrives.

moonshadow wrote:Why are they so expensive anyway? You get one off their website and you're looking at several hundred dollars!

I've got 2 Utilikilts, one I bought at the Highlands Games here in the San Francisco bay area back in 2001, and the other I bought in 2004 at the Utilikilt store in Seattle. The one bought in 2001 costs $135 and I can't remember how much I paid for the second one. Although they're made very well, there's no way I plan on buying any more of them. They're WAY too expensive for my budget now...

--Rick

moonshadow wrote:

weeladdie18 wrote:For those in U S A.....One of the problems with a Traditional Scottish Kilt is the cost of Freight and taxation in getting the tartan material
from Scotland to U S A..........The other is the cost of traditional skilled Labour ....
This is recognised as being half a weeks work for a Skilled Traditional Scottish Kilt Maker......

To be fair, I'm not really talking about the traditional kilt, though I do apologize, I should have clarified. I understand the traditional kilt has more meaning behind it than the utilikilt.

I mean... is a utilikilt truly a kilt? Or just a man-skirt. This is not a rhetorical question, I'm not sure, nor am I am authority on the subject.

So with that in mind, it seems kinda silly to me to plunk down hundreds of dollars for the coveted "it's for a man" label when five bucks at the GoodWill can purchase the same comfort, feel, style, and yes some even have pockets and belt loops.

Now a traditional kilt is in a class all it's own. No arguing that from me.

Well said Moon.....It is unfortunate that some of our friends may not have worn a Traditional 8 yard 16 ounce Scottish Kilt with a
Traditional Scottish Kilt wearing community in Southern England.............
or worn a Traditional Scottish Kilt in Scotland with a Couple of Elderly Gentlemen in Scotland .......................................
These Two Gentlemen Wore Their Traditional Scottish Military Kilts with Pride whilst they were doing their National Service with
one of the Kilt Wearing Scottish Highland Regiments nearly 70 years ago.

If one knows ones Scottish Culture one will still see The Traditional Scottish Kilt being worn.........
One may see a Scottish Kilt being worn which is not a Traditional Scottish Kilt.......
One may see a man who is not a Gentleman wearing a Traditional Scottish Kilt incorrectly.

I trust you will note that I have not attempted to confuse the issue by mentioning the utilikilt.......Caveat Emptor.............weeladdie

moonshadow wrote:I mean... is a utilikilt truly a kilt? Or just a man-skirt. This is not a rhetorical question, I'm not sure, nor am I am authority on the subject.

So with that in mind, it seems kinda silly to me to plunk down hundreds of dollars for the coveted "it's for a man" label when five bucks at the GoodWill can purchase the same comfort, feel, style, and yes some even have pockets and belt loops.

It took three UKs, three kilts of my own construction, and one kilt bought in a tartan shop, before I abandoned kilts as impractical and too-expensive. And yes the "it's for a man" label was still part of my thinking. I can't argue that they don't look good. I got complimented all the time. But I think looking good is all they are meant to do.

moonshadow wrote:Why are they so expensive anyway? You get one off their website and you're looking at several hundred dollars!
Good god man!

Hand-made by sewers in Seattle. They don't make enough of them to justify an assembly line in Bangladesh, I assume.

Daryl wrote: Hand-made by sewers in Seattle

There should be a law about that. Environmental health and all that...

Stevie D wrote:

Daryl wrote: Hand-made by sewers in Seattle

There should be a law about that. Environmental health and all that...

No reason why a tailor should not live near that sort of infrastructure.