Dressed to kilt for a day on site

Swedish firm launches the latest in safety wear for the well-dressed builder – the fluorescent craftsman's garment.

FORKLIFT truck driver Kris Mills saunters bare-legged through the muddy building site to roars of approval from his workmates.

Hand on hip like a true catwalk professional, the 24-year-old shows off the latest in construction site wear – the fluorescent craftsman's kilt.

The garments have been selling around the world after being created by Swedish firm Blaklader as a quirky alternative to the traditional workmen's belts and high visibility jackets. But is there any chance of them catching on in the traditional home of the kilt?

Judging by the reception at the Miller construction site, on West Granton Road, there doesn't seem to be much chance.

"Donald, where's your troosers?" yells one passing builder, while Kris' pal, David Smyth, unleashes a piercing wolf whistle.

"The big question is, is he a true Scotsman?" asks a worker, with a wink, as another yanks up the hem.

Some wouldn't be seen dead in one. "We can't wear it on site, we'll never hear the end of it," smiles David, as he heads in the opposite direction, "Anyway it's not my colour."

But dad-of-two Kris is game for a laugh and pops into a hut for a quick outfit change.

After a few minutes playing to the audience, Kris is happy to declare he would be happy to wear one – as long as everyone else did too.

"Everyone is taking the mickey, but if they were all wearing it I would too. I've got my own kilt at home, so why not?"

Site supervisor George Murrin, 52, from Dalkeith, braves a flurry of jokes about "toolboxes" after volunteering to try the kilt on as well.

"It's a thing that could catch on," he says, as he struts his stuff. "I would wear it if it was warm enough.

"The problem would be if you were wearing a kilt and needed to use a harness to work at height," he grimaces, pointing to a colleague with straps around the tops of his trousers.

The kilts are designed with pouches for carrying Stanley knives, rulers, pens and even a mobile phone.

They are the brainchild of Swedish student Marcus Jahnke, who created them for a design competition, before they were taken up by Blaklader.

Now selling for £53.75 each, they are supposed to combine the practical needs of workmen to carry tools, be seen in order to be safe and to keep cool in warmer weather.

The company sold 5000 black "craftsman's kilts" worldwide, before starting to sell the fluorescent version last month.

Blaklader's UK manager, Jeff Adams, said they were already selling well.

"Some have been sold to more eccentric tradesmen and one to a window cleaner," he says. "It was actually designed for people working on the roads where they need high-visibility clothing but might want something cool."

The kilts have proved particularly popular with tradesmen in Cornwall, where the weather tends to be warmer than in much of the rest of the UK, he adds.

Health and safety rules mean that on most building sites they would need to be worn over trousers, meaning they would be more likely to help keep you warm in winter, rather than cool in summer.

Miller site supervisor Jim Marshall, 48, from Livingston, points out what he thinks is another basic problem.

"I don't think it needs pockets. Bricklayers have a spirit level which sits in the back pocket, that's all," he says.

"A joiner uses pockets all the time, but you are bending over so they would catch. You could do yourself an injury."

Over in London Street, where a team of workmen employed by building contractor Mackenzie Hughes are gutting a three-storey Georgian house, the kilts get an equally cool reception.

Calum Coyle, 17, from Portobello, is volunteered by his workmates to don the kilt.

"I've seen more meat on a butcher's pencil than on those legs," teases his boss Rory Forteath, while another worker takes a sly snap of him on his mobile phone.

"It feels draughty," Calum complains, "I've worn a kilt a few times but it's not for me.

"I think all my workmates would laugh."

Rory is also less than impressed. "It's got no kneepads so that would be a problem.

"Most trousers now have them in-built. It can't do the kilt, and therefore Scotland, any harm though. People will look at the kilt as being a garment rather than a skirt as many of my English friends say now.

"Though it's not the best thing if you are going up scaffolding," he adds with a grin.

WOLF WHISTLES STRIKE A BUM NOTE AS WORKERS BUILD A DIFFERENT IMAGE

IT'S a far cry from the image of builders leaning over a wall, wolf-whistling at passing women and exposing their "builder's bums".

Most construction sites these days have a code of conduct aimed at wiping out offensive behaviour, as well as potentially dangerous dress.

In an age of health and safety restrictions, shorts are a definite no-no and shirts have to remain firmly on, at both the Miller and Mackenzie Hughes sites, in common with many others. All the builders know the rules.

Even when builder David Smyth whistles in fun at his colleague in a kilt, he feels obliged to add a disclaimer.

"I'm not allowed to whistle at girls," he says with a grin.

Among the 200 workmen at the site of the future Morrison's Granton, which is due for completion in September, there is not a bare chest in sight, despite yesterday's sunshine.

George Murrin, a site supervisor at the West Granton Road site, says most building sites have little to do with the traditional stereotype of leery builders boasting mahogany tans.

"The whole image of the construction industry has changed," he adds. "You do still get guys on some house-building sites with no shirts on, but you don't get away with it on the big sites."