Just want you all to know I am someone who has bought through Shaun at Oz-Kilts.

I can see he has made some unfortunate errors of judgment. As a yound start up company I think & hope he will learn from his mistakes. I believe he has the potential to deliver a good unique product.

I believe I was his first customer. This was my first foray into kilts. I am in Australia

I had never actively pursued getting a kilt until a recent accident. (I might post that story on the Newbie section as it is probably unique.) Suffice to say I wanted a durable kilt and fast. The need for speed meant I first looked local. After a quick bit of research I found some traditional kilts immediatley available and could get something in a tartan which matched my heritage but dicovered these were way out of my price comfort zone.

A friend then told me about utility kilts. I jumped on the web and searched "Utility Kilt, Australia". Up popped Oz Kilts. These interested me because they looked so practical - robust and with pockets. Just what I wanted. I stopped searching. So at that stage was blissfully unaware of Uitilkilts and all the other off-shore options.

I rang Shaun. He was easy to reach and cool to talk to. He assured me a kilt would be available in three weeks (which was not as fast as I really wanted). Well it actually took five and that was dissapointing. I understand the problem lay with his suppliers. The kilt itself appeared great but I had ordered a size too small. DAMN! It was wholly ME who made that mistake (not Shauns & I know better now!). So I had to send it back

Now that I know what Utilikilt looks like, I assure you they are not the same. Amongst other things, Shauns sit much higher on waist (more like a tradional kilt) and have 3 nice leather straps. To me, who although untrained in kilts, has an idea on clothing quality in material and construction. Oz Kilts are good value for money. The fabric, weight, stitching and leather quality were all fine. I would have been happy with it.

My once urgent need is no longer current. And I've had time to do a ton of research (including a lot from trawling through this great site). I consider myself well informed.

This week I reluctantly asked for a refund (Shaun had always been clear refunds were absolutley no problem if not completely satisfied and he was true to his word). The only reason I am not buying an Oz Kilt now is because I want to be able to throw a kilt into the washing machine and I felt the leather straps on Shauns might not appreciate that.

I have now ordered a not dissimlar priced utility kilt but with fabric straps from a competitor. (NB total price is significantly higher due to international freight). I will be very interested to compare the quality differences

I liked dealing with Shaun despite some teething problems and I do like his product. I would not rule out an Oz Kilt in my wardrobe in the future. I wish Oz Kilts well.