pleats?

[Caultron]

Utilikilts seem to be a series of experiments. And I think the present could be considered a period of experimentation.

If you mean utilikilts generically, I agree. There are lots of small providers, each trying to distinguish themselves.

And there are many types and styles of trousers, skirts, dresses, shorts, and other garments. Kilts certainly deserve the same variety.

And garment designers certainly do experiment. Just look at all the new styles that emerge year after year.

[David R]

Traditional kilts are garments designed for standing and marching. They are not suitable for sitting in. Sitting on pleats is uncomfortable and having to arrange the pleats as you sit is a pest. In addition the flat apron front does not drape well between your legs when sitting, to provide modesty.

If a kilt must be pleated then locating the pleats in the front of a kilt with the unpleated area at the back would be more practical for sitting as the fabric between your backside and the seat would be flat and not uncomfortable. In addition the ample fabric in front drapes between your legs. This is easily tested by putting your kilt on backwards.

Further, pleats in the back of a kilt are unnecessary for freedom of movement. Legs bend forwards from the hip and so for freedom of movement the pleats should be on the front.

If pleats are desired in a kilt then all that it is required for movement is a couple of pleats in front of each leg and unpleated around the back. I have made such kilts and they are fine for walking and sitting (and standing and marching)

[Big and Bashful]

I agree with many of the downsides to a kilt, but I find that the double flat panels at the front actually work rather well, with the inner layer dropping to conceal the undercarriage while the outer apron sits flat and looks neat.
For me a traditional kilt costs a fortune (bad), lasts for many years (good), has no pockets (bad), weighs a ton (bad), can be far too out of control in a high wind (bad), is so thick at the back that it is like sitting on a cushion (can be good), but the pleats are a pain to get sorted out as you sit(bad). Also the 12 expensive yards of wool will suffer if it gets wet and as far as I know it is going to cost me £20 round trip just to get it to the nearest Dry Cleaners, and then there is the journey to collect it, can't blame the kilt for that though!
Hence skirts, pockets, cheaper, easier to live with and if they are below the knee it is not a problem concealing ones valuables.

[janrok]

Another downside of kilts not mentioned yet is emptying your bladder! Especially when you are on diuretics like me. Try to grab all those pleats, keep them upwards while you steer your outlet in the right direction, eight times every morning.
That's why I prefer a Macabi around the house.
Jan

[skirtyscot]

David, 7 posts in 10 years marks you out as a man of few words! But they are well chosen: what you say about the disadvantages of a traditional kilt is spot on! Demolishing the generally accepted notion that the kilt is the best (or only) style of skirt for men.

[Caultron]

Whether or not kilts are the best (or only) style of skirt for men, they're generally the most accepted.

[Uncle Al]

And being a kilt wearer, I've never encountered ANY of the problems
you've mentioned in your post. My kilts hang properly, and cover the
"modesty" issue quite well. I've no problem using the "Facilities" when
nature calls and do not have any "Marilyn Monroe" incidents unless the
wind is very, VERY high.

My kilts are not wool as I'm allergic to wool. My more traditional kilts
are from Still Water Kilts.com, purchased on-line, and made in the U.S.A.
My other kilts are from Utilikilts.com yet I purchased them from their
booth at a Scottish Festival.

So, I think someone is not properly wearing their kilts.

Uncle Al

[David R]

skirtyscot - I was surprised to note that I have made only 7 posts in 10years. I used to post on Toms Café before the site became Skirt Café. Perhaps those posts don't count.

My wife hates the look of tartan kilts but she is reasonably happy with me wearing plain non-tartan skirts. She tells me that kilts look like grandma skirts. And she’s is right. They do look like the dowdy tartan skirts that grandmas may wear.

The last time I wore a traditional tartan kilt was a few months ago to a Paterson family reunion (yes, my ancestors did migrate from Scotland). I felt like I was at a costume party with me the only one in costume. I doubt if I will wear a traditional tartan kilt again except for a costume event. (Family reunions are OK.)

I will stick with plain hiking skirts, denim skirts, and plain-color skirts with a few pleats in the right places, all of which are available off the shelf on the other side of the aisle. And my wife does not object to these.

The interesting thing is that when wearing a knee length skirt of length similar to a kilt I am regularly asked “are you from Scotland”? To which at least I can reply that my family ancestry was Scotland. And people seem to be satisfied with that. So I am convinced that any knee length skirt; pleated or otherwise is considered by the uneducated public as a type of kilt.

And we skirtwearing men should be happy that when we wear conservative around knee-length skirts we are generally considered to be associated with an ethnic group accepted as wearing skirts and are not considered to be transvestites.

[Milfmog]

And we skirtwearing men should be happy that when we wear conservative around knee-length skirts we are generally considered to be associated with an ethnic group accepted as wearing skirts and are not considered to be transvestites.

Why should non-Scots want to be labelled as Scottish any more than a Scot would want to be labelled as English? I'd be far happier if people could simply see a man in a skirt and think to themselves "Hey, a man in a skirt... Now what was I doing?"

Have fun,


Ian (an Englishman with some Scottish and Irish heritage)

[skirtingtoday]

Hi David R. I for many years believd my "ancestral" tartan was McInnes and that tartan (specifically the hunting tartan) is particularly dull comprising of broad black, dark blue and darg green swathes with a thin intermittent red or yellow stripe.
I later found out that my tartan (Angus) did in fact exist and I do not believe it looks like a "grandma skirt" though I take your point on the McInnes hunting tartan does look quite drab.

(bbt - it was at Xmas and the waitress at the restaurant seemed none too impressed by the Santa hat...)

Good to have a supporting wife - a wish many of us on this site would desire!

Ross

[couyalair]

I have to agree with the waitress -- but she ought not have made her distaste so obvious!
I do like the kilt, though -- smart and colourful. Adn, unlike the kilt police, I like to see a tartan tie that matches.

Martin