I'm a little late with my two bits to the discussion, but I think the rabble has covered it pretty well... From the ACTUAL number of kilt wearers, even the brisk business that Utilikilts does (presumably) worldwide, it still can't account for more than a few, relative to the population of any given area. I do suspect however that the closer one gets to Utilikilts HQ in Seattle, the better the odds are of seeing someone wear their products.

Just a couple of quick notes addressing some of the thread discussions.

1. I HAVE been laughed at by Asian people... (Then again I live in Asia). But it's only certain groups. First of all, they are mainly young (think: high school)... Also, the northern countries, like Japan, Korea, China, etc you are much more likely to get a surprised reaction than from the Thai, Burmese, Malaysians, Sri Lankans, etc... as those cultures are used to MUGs -- they are very fond of their sarongs. I wear sarongs too -- but unlike kilts that at least come with a sporran, sarongs have no pockets, making them a little impractical to wear them out and about (even though I do anyway). When I first was introduced to sarongs by my Burmese friend in Canada (who never set foot outside his own house wearing it), I quickly sewed two of my own and started wearing them out. I got a few looks, but only once was I spotted by two, young Korean women who laughed so hard they doubled over and cried when they saw me... Never deterred me though. I'm not sure if this is REALLY the main reason why you don't see so many people wearing kilts.

2. Because I'm expected to dress a particular way for work, daily kilt-wearing is rather impossible. At least if I want to KEEP my job... hehe So it becomes more of an evening/weekend thing. So if I lived in your neck of the woods, you would likely not see me wearing mine very often. I suspect many are in a similar situation.

3. A lot of men might order a kilt from places like UK, try it and DON'T fall in love with it (weirdos ) so it gets relegated to the far reaches of the closet or sold on e-Bay to someone who knows a good thing when he sees it and probably already owns several.

4. This is also my situation -- as I only own two kilts (so far) and I DO like to change my wardrobe just about daily (I'm not one of those people who you see wearing the same pair of jeans and same t-shirt each time we meet)... I feel awkward always wearing the same clothes, kilt or not... So I vary it up. Some weeks I'll wear shorts, then I might wear my sarong for a day or two, then pants, then my other sarong, then my other kilt... whatever. So again, the chances of actually seeing me in a kilt vary.

5. Finally, this is most likely a topic for another thread altogether, but right now in Kofu, Japan it's as hot as blazes!!! Humid too. There's no way I'm going out in my SWK standard. The Utilikilt is cooler but then, see item 4 above...