'Ultra' Casual Kilt Wear

[adempsey10]

It's probably because you're expecting the kilt to sit at your jeans waist and not your true waist. The traditional Kilt is really meant to be worn much higher than jeans and your rise is probably correct. If you hem a kilt, the selvedge looks odd. THe correct way to lower the rise is from the top and this can be costly.

Steve Ashton (Wizard of BC here) owns Freedom Kilts. If you really want to wear your kilt on your hips rather than at your true waist, he can make you a kilt that is designed for just that.

My PV kilts already have a blind stitch hem so I'm hoping that taking them up a few inches won't be too difficult. I've seen other threads on this site where people have done it and it looks good.
As I said to the other fella, my issue isn't with being used to jeans sitting at my hips. I like the kilt at my true waist but my drop is so short. 21.5" between belly button and buttom of my knee that a 24" kilt sits up almost to my nipples. I have an unusually short torso and long legs. It makes me a powerhouse when I'm riding a bicycle but hard to find a good fitting kilt without custom tailoring, which I can't afford right now.

[CMcG]

I realize the kilt sits at the natural waist. What my issue is that my kilt is sitting almost up at my nipples in some cases because my drop is so short. I've got a short torso, unfortunately. I like the kilt sitting just about my belly button or even slightly lower, which still about two-three inches above where my pants sit.

My PV kilts already have a blind stitch hem so I'm hoping that taking them up a few inches won't be too difficult. I've seen other threads on this site where people have done it and it looks good.
As I said to the other fella, my issue isn't with being used to jeans sitting at my hips. I like the kilt at my true waist but my drop is so short. 21.5" between belly button and buttom of my knee that a 24" kilt sits up almost to my nipples. I have an unusually short torso and long legs. It makes me a powerhouse when I'm riding a bicycle but hard to find a good fitting kilt without custom tailoring, which I can't afford right now.

Yes, if your kilt is too long, it will work much better if it is shortened.

Just to clarify though, you belly button isn't necessarily the same thing as your natural waist, nor is "drop" the same thing as length. I'm quoting a couple terms from the Xmarks terminology guide

"Drop - The Drop of a Traditional Style Kilt is the length measured from the center of the top strap and buckle down to the bottom of the Hem.

Rise - In a Traditional Style Kilt the Rise is the area above the center of the top strap and buckle. It is usually about 2". The Rise may or may not be counted as part of the total length of the kilt.

Natural Waist - A persons natural waist is just under the ribs. At about kidney level. To find your natural waist place your hand with the fingers along your spine and your thumb just under your ribs at the side. Then bend sideways into you thumb and you will feel your thumb go into a depression. That is the location of your natural waist."

[adempsey10]

Yes, if your kilt is too long, it will work much better if it is shortened.

Just to clarify though, you belly button isn't necessarily the same thing as your natural waist, nor is "drop" the same thing as length. I'm quoting a couple terms from the Xmarks terminology guide

"Drop - The Drop of a Traditional Style Kilt is the length measured from the center of the top strap and buckle down to the bottom of the Hem.

Rise - In a Traditional Style Kilt the Rise is the area above the center of the top strap and buckle. It is usually about 2". The Rise may or may not be counted as part of the total length of the kilt.

Natural Waist - A persons natural waist is just under the ribs. At about kidney level. To find your natural waist place your hand with the fingers along your spine and your thumb just under your ribs at the side. Then bend sideways into you thumb and you will feel your thumb go into a depression. That is the location of your natural waist."

I can only get two fingers (tightly) between the top of my hips and the bottom of my rib cage. Trust me when I say I have a weirdly short torso.

[CMcG]

I can only get two fingers (tightly) between the top of my hips and the bottom of my rib cage. Trust me when I say I have a weirdly short torso.

That doesn't sound strange... I also only have 2 fingers distance between my hip bones and the top of my rib cage. Maybe it has more to do with your height. I'm 5'10" and a 24" length kilt is a bit too long for me, 23" is OK, and 22.5" is just about right, so I had a 24" kilt hemmed by 1.5" to get a nice fit. I could wear a 24" kilt but it ends up with the waist up near my pecs if I want the bottom near the top of my knee.

[adempsey10]

That doesn't sound strange... I also only have 2 fingers distance between my hip bones and the top of my rib cage. Maybe it has more to do with your height. I'm 5'10" and a 24" length kilt is a bit too long for me, 23" is OK, and 22.5" is just about right, so I had a 24" kilt hemmed by 1.5" to get a nice fit. I could wear a 24" kilt but it ends up with the waist up near my pecs if I want the bottom near the top of my knee.

An example of how short my torso is: My Dad and I stand the same height. From the floor up my hips are about an inch taller than his. When we sit side-by-side, however, he is almost two inches taller than me.

[Dale Seago]

An example of how short my torso is: My Dad and I stand the same height. From the floor up my hips are about an inch taller than his. When we sit side-by-side, however, he is almost two inches taller than me.

Sounds to me like you really do need something made-to-measure (which I think generally looks better on anyone anyway). . .but, also, the "standard" ways of taking the measurements for your kilt may not work best from a proportional standpoint. With photos to work from in addition to measurements, a good kiltmaker can correct for that and give you an aesthetically pleasing result. For now, hemming the ones you have is probably a good way to go, but when it comes time to think about having someone "build" your kilt, I'd strongly recommend a chat with the owners of both Freedom Kilts and USA Kilts, both of whom are here at Xmarks.

[adempsey10]

Sounds to me like you really do need something made-to-measure

That's the plan eventually. I opted to go for a larger quantity of cheaper kilts so I can wear them more frequently. As a 27 year old Grad student with a wife and no kids, I can be very hard on my clothing. I'd rather destroy a $40 PV kilt after a drunken bender than something more expensive. I've looked at both freedom kilts and USA kilts and like what they do. I'm hoping to have one tailored from them by the end of summer so that I have nice professional looking kilt to wear to school. As I said in a previous post, normally I wear band t-shirts and converse. At school, however, it's button up and tie with nice pants (replaced by a kilt soon, hopefully).