Kilt Length

[Grizzly]

It never ceases to amaze me that kilt lengths are so different from person to person, I am 6' 3" and my kilt length is 24" max, my latest kilt is being made to 23 1/2 inches which makes me 8 inches taller than you but only half inch difference in kilt length. Just goes to prove that everyone is different. Best way to check is to get someone else to measure you from wherever you want the kilt at knee height. Somewhere between mid to top of the knee, depending on your preference to two inches above the navel. This is the generally accepted range for a standard traditional kilt. However if you want to wear it lower on the waist that's fine but still leave the knee height around mid to top of knee.

[Carlo]

I'm 5'7" and was measured 25" to mid-knee. I went with 24" so that it will be around the top of my knee. That said, my natural waist appears to be a bit higher than normal.
You see there is quite a range and everyone is different.

[Barb T]

I agree that it is impossible to generalize. I've made kilts with 23" length that perfectly fit people who are 5'2" and those who are 6' tall and anywhere in between. Depends on whether someone is high waisted or not, as well as how long their thigh bones are relative to their overall height.

A traditional kilt should just touch the top of the knee cap. If your kilt seems too long, you might not have it buckled on high enough. A trad kilt has a 2" rise above the buckles, so the top edge of the kilt is made to ride 2" _above_ the true waist. If you buckle your kilt on with the top _at_ your natural waist (or, worse, below your belly), it will fall too low on your leg, even if the kiltmaker has actually made it exactly the right length for your measurements.

[KiltFitz]

Barb, can you tell me why kiltmakers ask for height when requesting measurements? I've always been measured in person but I notice that if you submit measurements online, the kiltmaker usually requires waist, hip and kilt length along with wearer height. What is that required for if the length is already specified?

[Barb T]

Barb, can you tell me why kiltmakers ask for height when requesting measurements?

I always ask, just so that I can see if there is anything that seems a little odd. If someone gave me a length of 21" and said he was 6'3", it would be outside the norm. Ditto 25" and someone who is 5'8". The measurements might be right, but they are atypical enough that it would raise a reg flag with me.

Having said all this, I always always double-check length with a customer, even when the length/height seems more or less "normal". Sometimes I'll Skype with someone to watch how they do the measuring. You have no idea how many times I send out very specific measuring instructions and someone just measures either the way they've measured before or the way they think they ought to be measuring. If I went with the initial length measurements that people send me, about 1/3 of the kilts I've made would have been the wrong length. The only way to avoid that kind of catastrophe is either to measure the person yourself (which, for most of my orders is impossible) or pester the person about how, exactly, he/she made the measurement!

[KiltFitz]

Ok, so it's just to confirm the length measurement? That's what I had suspected as previous kiltmakers/vendors have never measured my height in person.

Interesting about the difficulty in getting measurements. Although I don't make or sell kilts, I am considered to be the biggest enthusiast among my friends so I often get the job of finding bargains on ebay etc for 2nd hand kilts.

I have learned the following about asking other men for measurements:

If possible, measure them yourself.

If not, don't ask them in front of women.

Don't ask them in front of men younger than them.

No matter how many times I explain it, even if I physically demonstrate, the concept of 2 different waists (kilt and trouser) is completely alien to them.

Whatever they tell you their waist is, it will likely be 2 inches bigger. Strangely, this isn't the same for height or leg length.