skirtcafe.org

Big and Bashful wrote:AMM,
In the loo, just slide the sporran round to the side. Yes they are a pain when driving and sometimes the bouncing is annoying, I often wear the kilt without a sporran because they are a bit of a pain. If only I was confident enough to wear a proper skirt, I am about to order a cargo skirt from Midas but probably will never be brave enough to wear it in public.

Keep reading the input, you'll become convinced enough to start wearing in public.
Peter v

I sent my too-small utilikilt back about a month ago. I sort of forgot about it for a while, then called back. It seems they were going to make me a new one, since the old one did not match their specifications, but hadn't actually started. I suggested I would prefer a larger one (48" waist instead of 46"), which they said they had on the rack.

I got it yesterday.

They seem to have forgotten that I requested a "beer gut" correction, but since their correction is half of what I need anyway, I would have had to alter the kilt anyway to make it fit properly. Also, I can't face mailing it back and making a half-dozen phone calls again, only to still not get what I want.

On the whole, I can't recommend ordering a Utilikilt over the telephone, let alone Internet. If you can go to a shop and buy one off the rack -- after trying it on -- you may be satisfied with it. But their customer service and quality control are just not good enough for mail order.

AMM

Go here; http://www.freedomkilts.com/store/kilt/measurements to see how to measure for a kilt.

Utilikilts;
I have several and they all have the same problem too small across the hips. To put it bluntly Utilikilts are cut straight for guys with no ass!! Litteraly for a UK to fit properly you need to be a flat booty! This problem use to be worse than it is now. UK were getting so many returns that they had to do something. Apparently the cutting formulas they use do not take hips, bicycle thighs, big gluts from working out into consideration.

I have not bought a Freedom kilt yet but it be the next one. Before I got into kilts I started with skirts. I really loved them 'cause they had enough room for my bicycle thighs and butt.

-- Brandy

I helped sell Utilikilts last year. You really do need to follow theIr measurement instructions, if you want a good fit (I will admit to being a little vain about not using my true waist measurement and using my pant size instead - the result is a snug, but not uncomfortable fit).

bmaxim wrote:I helped sell Utilikilts last year. You really do need to follow theIr measurement instructions, if you want a good fit

You missed the point, as, I think, does Utilikilts. Please go back and re-read this thread.

(1) I did follow their instructions, such as they are.

(2) The first kilt they sent me was, by their own admission, not cut to the advertized size. According to the guy I spoke with there, this is an ongoing problem.

(3) Their kilts are cut in a way that they don't fit a lot of guys. (See the post preceding yours.) They seem to assume that their customers have narrow hips and thighs, and they make their kilts on the snug side even for those customers. I'm not the only one at SkirtCafe who has had to order a kilt with a waist size that is a few inches too big in order to get one that is not too tight.

My experience with Utilikilts was that I fell for their hype and spent a lot of money and a fair amount of aggravation and ended up with a product that is not as good as what I can make myself -- and I'm not a particularly good "seamster." Utilikilts is a bit of a sore point with me, and it doesn't make it any less sore to have someone, as I see it, suggesting that the real problem was that I can't follow their instructions for measuring myself.

I wonder if part of the UK problem is that the material seems to be quite tough, rigid, unyielding.

Maybe this is perceived to fit in with macho thinking? I remember Steven Vargas (sp?) saying somewhat disparagingly, in an interview, that he didn't think he would have been able to express himself in a miniskirt. So his thinking is definitely more on the traditional male viewpoint.

Trouble is, a lot of guys like skirts and kilts to be the antidote for social rigidity, and I find my favourite kilts are softer materials which have a lot of give in them. Maybe UK will one day do a version in their great styles but in a softer material!

They definitely have broken a lot of moulds and have to have credit for that, and so I think they will respond to this sort of thing and they probably watch the market closely.

In fact they're probably watching you right now! Look, behind that sofa!

I recently tried measuring my Utilikilt, and found one more issue: it's marked as being 21.5 inches long, but it's only 19 inches at the back from the bottom of the waistband. Even measuring from the top (which doesn't make any sense), it's still only 20 inches or so, and from the bottom of the belt loop (which would be the bottom of the belt if I had a 3" wide belt) it's more like 18 inches.

No wonder I've been getting a lot more skin-to-chair contact than I'm used to with even my shortest skirts!

Moral: double-check every measurement as soon as your UK arrives.

I tried on a utilikilt in Las Vegas at a ren fair once and thought it felt too heavy on my waist compared to a skirt. Although it seemed to fit good, I didn't buy one because of the weight issue.

Kevin

kevinnv wrote:I tried on a utilikilt in Las Vegas at a ren fair once and thought it felt too heavy on my waist compared to a skirt. Although it seemed to fit good, I didn't buy one because of the weight issue.

Kevin

Have you tried a traditional 8 yard kilt? they weigh a ridiculous amount and are still too short when sitting on something cold. I wonder how a utilikilt compares weightwise? Also as they hang from the hips, do they seem longer at the back when sitting?