Skirt Cafe is an on-line community dedicated to exploring, promoting and advocating skirts and kilts as a fashion choice for men, formerly known as men in skirts. We do this in the context of men's fashion freedom --- an expansion of choices beyond those commonly available for men to include kilts, skirts and other garments. We recognize a diversity of styles our members feel comfortable wearing, and do not exclude any potential choices. Continuing dialog on gender is encouraged in the context of fashion freedom for men. See here for more details.
Finrod opted for the professional approach instead of producing after incoming orders in his own workshop. With orders piling up this might be a good idea but I am afraid orders will be slow at start.
By using a Designer Company and a professional Manufacturer it will be inevitable that the price will be high. Too high even to make this brave enterprise a succes.
Nevertheless if the price is reasonable I will order a tan colored one because I think a brave venture should always be rewarded. I hope my skirt will arrive this summer.
Unfortunately I live in the Netherlands and Custom fees, VAT plus shipping will add heavily to the costs.
I 'll start saving...
Jan.
Last edited by janrok on Thu May 21, 2015 3:03 pm, edited 3 times in total.
You're right that there is a risk of low demand, but I've done a fair amount of market surveying, albeit not scientifically, so I think I have a decent idea of the demand. Using a crowdfunding approach guards against most of the risk, too: the skirts won't be made unless the demand is proven with orders during the campaign. I'm hoping the success criteria will be about 100-200 skirt orders, but it will depend on the minimum required by the manufacturer we end up going with.
My take is that using a professional factory, especially one that specializes in denim (which is looking likely) will be the most cost-effective. They have the experienced staff and best machines for making the process as efficient as possible, and with higher-quality results.
Doing manufacturing in the US will raise the price, but on the other hand selling directly to consumers with no retail markup will lower it.
janrok wrote:
Nevertheless if the price is reasonable I will order a tan colored one because I think a brave venture should always be rewarded. I hope my skirt will arrive this summer.
Jan.
I feel exactly the same about it, and I look forwarded to being able to buy one.
In an earlier survey I'd already asked about colors, but this time I'm asking about the specific colors that the actual fabric is available in.
Some people have expressed an interest in getting multiple skirts, so I've attempted in this survey to separate 2nd/3rd choice of color from choice of color for 2nd skirt. For example, if I got one skirt, I might want it to be black or charcoal. But I might not want a black skirt *and* a charcoal one; rather I'd want my second skirt to be red or green.
Thanks in advance to those who give feedback!
In the next few weeks I expect to have concrete information about skirt prices and Kickstarter project timing.
Kilted Organist/Musician
Grand Musician of the Grand Lodge, I.O.O.F. of Texas 2008-2025
When asked 'Why the Kilt?'
I respond-The why is F.T.H.O.I. (For The H--- Of It)
I filled out the survey and added some feedback on Methods of Payment. Credit Cards may be commonly used in the States but much less so here in Europe. My The Urban Apparel man skirt and my two Sportkilts I paid through my PayPal-account. Easy and safe!
Thanks a lot for bringing up the credit card issue. I hadn't been aware of this.
Kickstarter accepts credit *or debit* cards from the Visa, MasterCard, and American Express networks.
Indiegogo, the top competitor to Kickstarter, accepts credit cards from those same three as well as Discover -- plus PayPal. I don't see anything about debit cards, but I assume they're ok too. Will have to research more.
I've read, though, that in some countries, getting funds linked to PayPal can also be difficult.
For anyone outside the US who cares to weigh in: is PayPal a significantly more convenient online payment method for you than Visa / MasterCard / American Express?
Some 8 years ago I ordered a Utilikilt by phone using the Visa card from a friend.
My brother-in-law Anton travels a lot and I am sure I can use his credit card if necessary.
I'm in the UK and have ordered things from the USA and Canada many times. I have never had any payment problems with Mastercard or Visa cards (either debit or credit) and have also found PayPal to be simple and reliable. Consequently, I have no strong feelings about payment options other than to suggest that the easier you make it for people to pay, the more likely they are to hand over the cash you need.
Have fun,
Ian.
Do not argue with idiots; they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Cogito ergo sum - Descartes
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
For those who are interested in this project, I just wanted to share some photos that were taken a couple weeks ago for the upcoming Kickstarter campaign.
The full set is here, along with some supplementary notes and photos in the album comments:
I saw the pictures when I checked your website yesterday awaiting a July newsletter. The pictures are exactly like I expected; If you would send this male model through every metropole handing out leaflets you could easily sell thousands of your skirts. In other words: This is the way I would like to see a man in a skirt; macho, A-line, knee long and wide enough at the hem to allow cycling. I just wonder why you chose black for this photoshoot. It is summer and thus I would have preferred a lighter color such as Tan, the color I want my skirt to be.
So far for compliments.
I wonder how long it is going to take before the mailman rings the bell delivering a parcel from skirtcraft containing my Tan colored skirt.
I only wear skirts in summer and summer it is here in the Netherlands with temperatures well above 30 degrees. So I wear my made-to-measure jeans skirt or a Sportkilt but none of those are the color I prefer.
I tried a Tan Utilikilt Mocker but I was not happy with it. Much too heavy , creasing and curling pleats forced me to iron the damned thing every day so I disposed of it.
Hundreds of dollars down the drain.
Oh well, I will have to wait and see, sigh!
janrok wrote: Credit Cards may be commonly used in the States but much less so here in Europe.
In Denmark we practically pay EVERYTHING with credit cards, even the smallest amounts, like for a hot dog at a hot dog stand. Much much easier than cash.
To each his own, Gerd, I always carry coins of 2, 1 and 0,50 € in my pocket so a delicious succulent Bockwurst at the vendor in Osnabrück I pay 2,50 in cash.
Much better than the floppy hotdog I had at Kongens Nytorv.
BTW lovely city, Kobenhavn, and I got many thumbs up when I walked Nyhavn in a jeans skirt 20 years ago.
I like the style, but I find it difficult to justify paying that much for a skirt. Maybe I'm a cheapskate. ( OK, OK, I am a cheapskate ) My most frequently worn skirts look very similar, simple, practical, good looking without trying to be too exhibitionist. Just right for a casual work environment.
