Posted on 09/28/2001 6:55:03 AM PDT by SAMWolf
SEATTLE (AP) -- These skirts are not for women.
"The kilt is the most macho of all garments for a man," says Steven Villegas, owner and creator of Utilikilts. "It is like a warrior's garment."
Customers from businessmen to former cowboys have snapped up 2,500 Utilikilts, a "utilitarian kilt" that comes in fabrics from blue denim to tropical prints. Styles vary from a custom-made tuxedo kilt to one for construction workers with loops to hold hammers.
Kilts are free of the restrictions of pants or shorts and offer plenty of air circulation, Villegas notes.
"I think it is the most comfortable thing a man can wear," he says.
Hugh Hunt is the proud owner of four Utilikilts, which he wears to everything from parties to the golf course.
"I am a very practical guy," says Hunt, owner of the Blair, Neb.-based Huntel Co., an Internet-service provider. "These are very practical things. They should replace jeans. They are very comfortable, and they look good."
Utilikilts sell for $87 to $150, and a custom-made kilt can cost several hundred dollars.
The 16-month-old company has yet to make a profit. But Villegas is already planning to spend any profits to fulfill his dream of converting a double-decker bus into a traveling troubadour-style theater.
Utilikilts' nine employees regularly wear kilts to work. Accountant Bill Guerts wears his crisp navy kilt with a proper blue button-down shirt, dark socks and shiny shoes.
Villegas recently moved his kilt manufacturing plant and offices from a garage-size space to a 3,300-square-foot warehouse. Kilt making will be done on the top floor, and a retail shop on the street level will open Oct. 10.
Utilikilts faces growing competition from other American kilt makers, such as Sport Kilts, based in Seal Beach, Calif.
But Villegas isn't worried. He says his patented design includes heavy-duty pockets that always hang right side up and flat, symmetrical pleating, which gives his kilts swing but prevents them from flipping up in a strong wind.
It's a man's own personal decision whether to wear anything underneath, Villegas said.
Villegas slips a stack of business cards in each pocket of his Utilikilts, preferring to rely on word of mouth rather than conventional advertising. His Web site features pictures of devoted customers.
Kilts are "good for morale," declares customer Hunt, who is featured on the Web site with a dozen male company presidents, all wearing black kilts.
On the Net:
www.utilikilts.com
If you have a weapon visible, you're wearing a kilt. If you don't, you're just some dude in a plaid skirt.
I was thinking he's Welsh, but it doesn't matter to me. I don't care if he's a Finn, Greek or Laplander. He looks great in a kilt.
I'd love to see the reaction on the jobsite when some wuss shows up wearing one of those things. I'll bet he only wears it to the jobsite once!
ROTFLMAO!!!
In '91 I saw a Scot soldier on a ride in a fest in Germany. They stoped this ride while he was upside down. His kilt dropped and he was indeed "Regimental."
I recently saw a brief story about Connery and they showed him with his brother who looks almost just like him.
Some GREAT pictures.........
Nas fhearr?
"The Pipes and Drums of the Free Republic"
Kind of has a nice sound to it, no? Any other pipers here?
Aye, laddie!
Pipe Major: Blue Bonnets!
It's a man who CAN play the pipes, but doesn't.
BTW I sell kilts and since the movies Rob Roy and Braveheart, we have had increased demand for the breacan feile (great kilt).
Nemo me impune lacessit.
Perhaps it would be appropriate to have a Bush Hunting.
Answer: Shoes and socks.
Answer: Because sheep can hear a zipper a mile away.
Better stop now. More kilt jokes could get this thread pulled.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.