Contemporary kilt length, a minority report

[CMcG]

If I'm wearing a modern kilt, the hem tends to hang below the knee. For me this is tied to a couple aesthetic factors. First I think there is an alternative, casual feel about a utility kilt that is reminiscent of baggy cargo shorts. This means the hem of the kilt can fall lower, which looks a bit more relaxed. Second, and for similar reasons, I tend not to wear hose pulled up my Utilikilt. The lower hem then helps to balance the amount of leg showing against scrunched hose and boots.


If one were to wear a contemporary kilt that resembles a traditional kilt, like a Freedom Kilt or 21st Century kilt, it could go either way with the hem. For me, it still comes back to whether the hose are up or scrunched: hose up, hem up and hose scrunched, hem down looks best to me. Here's a pic from 21st Century kilts showing that, but also the opposite. You be the judge:


I suppose if it is super hot and one were to wear sandals or short socks, then all bets are off about showing lots of leg When I wear my Sport Kilt for hiking, the hem falls above my knee so it doesn't chafe the back of my legs and shorter socks to keep cool... sometimes practical trumps aesthetic.

[McElmurry]

Thanks Big Mickey that is just the kind of information I am looking for.

I wear my contemporary casuals just below the knee. Why? Because if I forget and bend at the waist young children and women don't run in terror and............................................

BECAUSE IT'S WHAT I BLOODY LIKE!!

[O'Callaghan]

I have short legs, so stock length kilts are invariably a bit long.

[McElmurry]

I like my hem to sit at mid knee. If Im at Scout Camp like it at the bottom, for the same reason Big Mikey described.
My understanding has always been anywhere around the knee is acceptable.

Makes sense to me. Sitting on camp chairs, logs, or a ground cloth can be pretty challenging with a kilt above the kneecap.

[McElmurry]

CMcG

Thanks for the input. This picture in particular provides a good comparison.

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[Alan H]

Of my 10 kilts, most hit around the top 1/4 of the kneecap. My Gray Stewart, I made longer, it sits in the bottom 1/4 of the kneecap. The Lindsay tartan, which I throw in these days, sits above the top of the knee, just barely. My X-Kilt is at the bottom of the knee and my digital camouflage reverse kinguisse hiking kilt is at the top 1/4 of the kneecap.

Upshot? IMHO, wear it where you like it...anywhere around the knee is fine. Showing 3 inches of thigh might be grand, but IMHO it's not very kiltlike. Wearing something that ends at mid-calf is also grand, again IMHO, not very kiltlike.....which doesn't mean you can't do it, of course.

[Tobus]

I have short legs, so stock length kilts are invariably a bit long.

Same here, which is why I simply cannot buy stock kilt lengths. Not unless I want to hem it up by about 2", anyway. Even when I bought my Utilikilt, I had to pay them an extra 'custom length' fee to make it shorter than even their shortest length.

The really crummy part is that shortening a stock kilt makes for a less-than-ideal fit. Oh, the length may end up where I want it, but the proportions in the rest of the kilt will be off. For instance, the fell area will be lower than it would on a kilt that was originally made to be the shorter length. Shortening the bottom of the kilt doesn't change the length of the fell, and now the proportions aren't rights. It's a minor thing, but it gets annoying after a while. So I've pretty much given up on buying stock length kilts and shortening them.

As to the length, I wear even my Utilikilt above the knee. Can't stand the fabric hitting the fronts and backs of my knees when I walk.

[Java]

If I'm wearing a modern kilt, the hem tends to hang below the knee. For me this is tied to a couple aesthetic factors. First I think there is an alternative, casual feel about a utility kilt that is reminiscent of baggy cargo shorts. This means the hem of the kilt can fall lower, which looks a bit more relaxed. Second, and for similar reasons, I tend not to wear hose pulled up my Utilikilt. The lower hem then helps to balance the amount of leg showing against scrunched hose and boots.

I quoted Colin here, because this is pretty much exactly how I was going to answer. On those occations when I wear a contemporary kilt with my hose pulled up and cuffed, then even a canvas kilt would be pulled up and most of my knee exposed, to balance the amount of leg showing.