Thursday, April 27, 2006

Nae, Laddie, Nae.

A first: Yesterday I encountered a man at my office who was wearing a skirt. I saw him again today, at the elevator, wearing a skirt of a different color.

There is pretty much no way to see a guy hangin' around wearing a skirt in your office and be cool about it. My approach was to glance down at his legs, realize what he was wearing, quickly yet still too-obviously avert my eyes, and proceed past him as quickly as possible.

I mean if you are male and wearing a skirt in the office, you might as well just wear a matching t-shirt that says, "Ask me about my man-skirt." Well, I do not want to ask about the man-skirt or even let on that I noticed it. That's because whenever I sense that someone is tacitly seeking attention in some way, my first reaction is to ignore that person as completely as possible.

However, I did involuntarily see the label on the skirt, which was Utilikilt. That would be a "Mens Unbifurcated Garment," in case you required clarification.

Are these items being worn by Scotsmen who are proudly guarding their heritage, if not their balls? No, according to the Utilitykilts people. "The only common denominator amongst [our customers] is self-possession and courage. Our customers dare to be comfortable."

Actually, there are several other common denominators amongst "UKers," judging by the site's photo galleries: beards, pale skin, and a fondness for computers seem to be pretty much standard. Tattoos and self-importance also appear to be popular accessories.

Just imagine if everyone "dared to be comfortable" at the office. Imagine all the napping, elastic waistbands, exposed feet and escaped gas. Unfortunately, one person's comfort-courage usually has a price, that being a palpable drop in comfort for those who are forced to witness it.

3 comments :

  1. Anonymous7:53 PM

    it just goes to show you: one person's comfortable moment is another person's uncomfortable moment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12:24 PM

    Welcome to SF, what day IS halloween in the castro? There's a story about Gil Amelio, one-time CEO of Apple Computer (and much-hated, albeit somewhat unfairly). Employees charged that he ridiculed a man (a long-time employee) who came to work each day in a dress and pearls. Amelio claimed that he merely said 'Huh, I wonder what he'll wear on dress DOWN day?' I thought that was pretty funny...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well obviously on casual Friday, you just leave off the pearls.

    ReplyDelete

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