April 2007
The story of how I started wearing kilts:It was 2006. I was a sophomore in high school in Boulder, CO and it was an unseasonably warm spring afternoon. Along with my friends Sean and Kitt, I was wondering around a shopping center after stuffing my face with a magnificent Deli Zone sandwich.
We came upon a tibetan store that had recently opened, and inside discovered a very soft skirt, designed to be worn by women. It was on sale for $10.
I said to the boys something along the lines of "Man, I wish I was a girl so I could wear skirts! Imagine having the breeze between your knees! That must by comfy as hell!"
Sean, underestimating me as usual, dared me to buy it and wear it for the rest of the day. If I agreed, he would pay for the skirt and give me $20 on top of that. If I failed, I would be humiliated and I would owe him $20.
You have to understand, this was a point in my life when I regularly wore a full-on pirate outfit, or a jail jumpsuit, or a full leopard print outfit. A skirt and a T-shirt really wasn't that much of a stretch for me.
Naturally (and to Sean's great amusement) I agreed on the bet and we shook hands.
I walked out of that store a free man. Breeze between my knees and everything. I spent the next five hours telling Sean and Kitt how insanely comfortable I was in a skirt. Aside from the eye-rolling of all the adults I encountered, I was a happy camper. Kitt broke down and bought one for himself, while Sean stubbornly stuck to his cargo shorts.
Some months later, after wearing a skirt occasionally to school (yes, high school, where kids regularly emotionally brutalize one another), Kitt discovered a company called Utilikilts. He bought the base-model for just over $100 and wore it to school loud and proud and very much not gay... though by this time I'm sure both his and my parents were beginning to suspect something along those lines.
A few weeks later I purchased my first and then second Utilikilts, and wore them every day, rain show or shine, unless the temperature dropped below 10˚F, at which point I figured my naughty bits might freeze off.
I've been in kilts ever since. Less nowadays because I tend to bike to school and that combination is a little TOO freeing, but I still break out the kilt on tvC adventures and on particularly nice days in Flagstaff.
First - a video I did last year showing the beverage-transporting capabilities of the Utilikilt:
I make it a requirement for my birthday parties now: there are no bifurcated garments allowed. Men are to be in kilts or sarongs, and women in skirts or dresses. Because (DUH), a woman in a kilt is a crossdresser. Kilts are for men!
Next up (from the old blog): the story of how I flashed a dozen people and almost lost my camera
And also, the stop-motion video that my buddy Kitt and I created in 2007 for the Utilikilts Mock-U-Mercial contest. We won third place.
This is what Utilikilts Staff had to say about our video:
Matt Beaty for “Pants don’t stand a chance”
The best of only two stop-motion videos we have ever received, Matt is breaking new ground here, and he does it well! I expect (hope?) others will be inspired to do the same thing.
Witty, fun, pants-munching, and a funny soundtrack. It is all there, especially the boxers getting stripped off at the end. I hope to see more entries from Matt as he continues to improve his skills with the technology. Stop-motion is a rich area of possibility for kilts, and Matt has thrown down the gauntlet!
For all that, Matt wins third place and takes home the Special Edition utility kilt, and a credit worth $750 in our store.
This is the first time this video has been on the Internet since 2007 - and now it's here to stay.
We shot something like 1000 or 1500 frames to get this stop-motion together, back on the D50.
Sadly, Kitt no longer wears kilts - but I continue in the tradition enough for both of us.
In other news, Flagstaff is experiencing a Wind Advisory today. Something tells me the good citizens of Flagstaff will be getting at least a few free shows out of kilted men downtown...
Cheers and Happy St. Patty's!
Kitt, April 2007
