The utilikilts company
Encyclopedia
The Utilikilts Company is an American kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...

 company that was founded by Steven Villegas and Megan Haas in April 2000. Villegas created his first unbifurcated garment in the late 90's as a comfortable alternative to pants meant to offer the most freedom of movement while working on his motorcycle. Created from an old pair of military pants, Villegas was so fond of his creation he wore it quite often around town. He was approached by his first customer, "a bouncer that you wouldn't want to mess with", at a local bar.

That first encounter encouraged him to produce more kilts, and sell them at the Fremont Street Market, in Seattle, where he met co-founder, Megan Haas. Villegas and Haas soon formed the Utilikilts Company, establishing both a brick-and-mortar and web based storefront for the product. Haas left the company in 2005.

Commercial success

Utilikilt's commercial success is primarily from word of mouth, as the company does not pay for product placement or commercial endorsement and eschews professional models in favor of photos of actual customers. Despite this low-key approach, they grew from sales of 750 kilts their first year to over 11,000 three years later. The company received a big boost in recognition after Richard Hatch
Richard Hatch (reality TV)
Richard "Rich" Hatch is the $1,000,000 winner of the first American Survivor series, and was a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice 4.-Early life:...

 donned a Utilikilt on-screen in Survivor: All-Stars
Survivor: All-Stars
Survivor: All-Stars is the eighth season of the United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed in 2003 and debuted in the United States on CBS on February 1, 2004 after Super Bowl XXXVIII. It was set on the Pearl Islands of Panama, where the previous Survivor: Pearl Islands had just finished...

.
The Utilikilt was also used as part of the costume for the O.Z. rebels in the Sci-Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...

 miniseries Tin Man
Tin Man (TV miniseries)
Tin Man is a 2007 four and a half hour miniseries co-produced by RHI Entertainment and Sci Fi Channel original pictures that was broadcast in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel in three parts. The first part aired on December 2, and the remaining two parts airing on the following nights...

 (2007)

The character Lafayette wears a Utilikilt in the premiere episode of HBO series True Blood
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...

.

Wil Wheaton
Wil Wheaton
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...

 plays Fawkes
Fawkes
Fawkes is a surname of Norman-French origin, first appearing in the British Isles after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The name ultimately derives from the pre-6th century Germanic given name of Falco meaning "falcon"...

, the Utilikilt-clad leader of the Axis of Anarchy, the villains of Season III of The Guild
The Guild
The Guild is an American comedy web series created and written by Felicia Day, who also stars as Cyd Sherman . It premiered on YouTube on July 27, 2007. Subsequent webisodes premiered on Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace, Zune Marketplace, and MSN Video. The webisodes were later made available on...

.

A Utilikilt is the featured prop promoting gender equality in Linda Biggs
Linda Biggs
Linda Biggs is an American painter, working with watercolors. Her fantasy art blends gothic aesthetics with rainbow motifs in the lowbrow art style.-Early life, education, career:...

' artwork, "One of the Boys."

External links

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