Ever since I posted about my running skirt experience it has haunted me. I constantly find references to that post all over the blogosphere and it’s one of the more common Google search terms that leads to Half-Fast. In fact if you Google “running skirt” you’ll find Half-Fast at the bottom of the second page (as of this writing), if you up the ante and Google “mens running skirt” I am the number one search result. Needless to say I did not set out to become the world’s foremost authority on men’s running skirts, and yes I am well aware that this post will do nothing to abate my standing in that regard.
Just yesterday I found a post by The Marathon Mama who has actually found a men’s running skirt. It’s made by Utilikilts, an American company that hires actors for their commercials with Scottish accents that are worse than Mel Gibson’s. Their marketing strategy seems to be two-fold. First, they make fun of all of us “pants wearing wimps” and then they show a lot of pictures of men wearing Utilikilts doing overly macho things like construction work, lumberjacking (I’m not making this up), rock climbing, and welding - all of which just screams “TRYING TOO HARD!”
Anyway, as I perused the site I actually considered for a nanosecond how funny it would be to buy one and then post some race pictures of me wearing it without even mentioning that I owned a running skirt. That thought quickly faded when I remembered that I wasn’t a woman and also when I saw a price tag of $110. $110? Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how many pairs of running shorts I could buy with $110? And that’s the cheapest “kilt” they sell. Now, if they sent me a free one...
28 half-fast comments:
oh my! i loooooooooove your blog!!
ok one question, does it have to be a chip timed 5K? Cause i have a 5K next Saturday but i will have to go by Garmin time...
June - thanks. No it does not have to be chip timed.
It kinda looks like something Rocky would wear if he fought someone in Glasgow.
Soooo, your saying if you got a man-skirt for free you'd wear it in a race? Cause that's what I'm reading....
I agree with Razzdoodle. Why do they make it in a red satin? That's not a particularly MANLY fabric.
speaking of welding, wasn't the chick in flashdance a welder? wouldn't that under mine the use of welding as "overly macho?"
You had to use the "cross-dressing" tag again. Your blog will be getting all kinds of fun traffic this weekend.
So if a bunch of us go in on it together will you race in it? Hmm....
kyle - what is it with you and 80s dance movies?
it's merely coincidental. i've never actually seen flashdance. i just have the gift/curse of being able to remember and recall facts and anecdotes relevant to any and all conversations.
Well, there were some guys who ran a sprint race in kilts (and white shirts and ties) at a Scotish Games I went to see this past fall. :+)
They definitely need to send you one - email them and say you'll post many pics of you racing in that thing!!
And when reading your running skirt experience post I thought of The Office. Did you see the episode where everyone realizes Michael is wearing a woman's suit? *But it was on the men's rack!* Awesome!
Utilikilts??? LMAO - I just found out I won a trip to Scotland and have been teasing my hub about needing a kilt and Voila, I read Half Fast and my questions are answered. Your blog is SO useful. :D
Hi, just to clear a couple of things up for ya. "Utilikilts, an American company that hires actors for their commercials with Scottish accents that are worse than Mel Gibson’s." Well you right about being American made, but they do not hire those actors. The people in those commercials are just men who own a Utilikilt, they do it them selves, its a contest.
Their marketing strategy seems to be two-fold. First, they make fun of all of us “pants wearing wimps” and then they show a lot of pictures of men wearing Utilikilts doing overly macho things like construction work, lumberjacking (I’m not making this up), rock climbing, and welding - all of which just screams “TRYING TOO HARD!”
Utilikilts marketing strategy is not this. They really don't have a traditional marketing strategy. They let the several thousands of men who wear the kilt tell the story, what its like, and why more men should give kilt wearing a try. As for making fun of pants wearing men, well your right there.
Now the Spartan, the running kilt, is a bit odd, kinda the red headed step child of Utilikilts, but it is very confortable.
Thank you for letting me put in my 2 bits.
Kilted Eric, owner of 7 kilts, 1 pair of pants.
Oh go on and get a running skirt... you know you want to... give in to the dark side, Luke -- er, I meant to say, Vanilla...
Shucks, I'm blushing. Thanks for the link. Personally, I think nothing screams male aggression like satin, so I'd give it a whirl (so to speak) if I were you.
Kilted Eric: I generally try to avoid rational thinking and facts here at Half-Fast but thanks for throwing in your 2 bits. I realized after the fact that those videos were sent in by customers for a competition, but some of the accents were so atrocious that I just left that piece in there. I’ve no doubt that Utilikilts are very comfortable, but for now I’ll just stick to keeping my two bits snugly concealed in my pants.
Sincerely,
Panted Vanilla
I'm with Lisa (Java) we all chip in, will you run in it? :P
If William Wallace could wear one, you can too!!! Although "body glide" would certainly be in order for the "nether region" and the "wee bits".
I'm with Marcy, we could all chip in!
Im with Java & Marcy..If we chip in, you wear it on the final 5K challenge race! What better way to end the challenge.
I have $2 in for Vanilla in a skirt and the Donut dude in tights.
It's like the Robin Hood of running only with Tinkerbell and Mizunos.
And then you could get your picture in Skirt magazine! (They do feature pictures of men wearing skirts, honest! http://savannah.skirt.com/node/2552)
You're on a roll -- 3 funny days in a row! I'm impressed.
Chip in? OK - I should have a couple of Aussie dollars in the ash tray (That's my Scottish heritage showing through).
Only $110? Now think of it as a cost/laughter analysis and you might just change your mind. Think of the hours and hours of pure laughing enjoyment we will all experience if you wear this and post pictures. What if your readers take up a donation for it? Then would you wear it?
Or even better - what if one of your readers is also a seamstress and can whip you up a little number in no time! You can even pick the color.
My friend Dave has a few of these skirts and he honestly woul not wear pants again if it weren't for the whole Canadian winter thing...and he's a pretty regular guy. He picked one up while on a photo shoot in the desert areas of Africa for comfort and will not go back. It's kinda cool, as it's got so many pockets and things, and he honestly won't shut up about how much he likes it...and he's not even scottish. And the modesty strap makes the rest of happy - no surprises
Honestly, no matter the mockery we throw at him, he's still wearing it half the time. I guess you just never know...
Oh and one more bit, A couple of years ago, here in Seattle, a 5k "Great Kilted Run" was held. Rules of the run: kilts or kilt-like garment were to be worn. Granted my of the runners wore shorts underneath.
I am not a runner, I should be. I "trained" for it and run, not in the Spartan, but the Original Utilikilt. It was my first run and I didn't do tooooo bad, at 27:23 min.
I had never heard of Utilikilts until my cousin sent me this:
http://www.utilikilts.com/?page_id=250
He was the lucky Utilikilt of the Month!
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