Not putting it on properly

[Thekiltedmohawk]

Gentlemen,
I have learned so much from what others have done wrong as I did from the posts on how to properly put on a kilt.
Thanks for all this advice.

If and when I am fortunate enough to own a kilt, I pray one of you gentlemen are around to help me make the necessary corrections. I want my ancestors to smile and not shake and lower their heads.

You are in the good hands, my kilted brother.

They guided me very well.

[tpa]

'Encountered and quietly recommended to an individual, remove the basting stitches, at the Festival in Chicago, last month.

Another man had the pleats in front and when he was again, quietly spoken with, not he, but his feminine companion, turned beet-red.

Sellers of ready-made kilts might do well to provide an optional card for novices, of how to don and adjust the kilt.

It is a wee bit difficult to conceive how someone (an adult) would actually choose to wear a kilt without having the slightest idea as to how it should look and also move when worn; especially the absence of basting stitches and pleats to the rear, both of which have a distinctly beneficial effect when it comes to the swish and sway. Surely they must have seen one beforehand otherwise how would they know about it? (I know, even Richard Branson got it wrong, but I suspect he was simply following directions of his publicity dept. who were no doubt following someone else's suggestions, without any idea themselves. Hope someone got a reprimand for that.)

[Charles Exton]

Alot of these points speak to me in volumes, though I am a relative novice in kilt wearing I have made a short mental list of what should be done from my own experience:

1. Hem between top and mid point of the knee cap
2. Waist is to be around belly button height (this is just general for kilts or trousers worn with a waistcoat, I hate seeing parachutes sticking out between the bottom of the waistcoat and the waist band)
3.sporran about a hands width from the belly button
4.hose/long socks, I would say about the width of three/four fingers from below the knee

If i'm wearing one this is roughly how it would be (tho with hose/long socks and a waistcoat)
Untitled 273.jpg
Untitled 278.jpg

[The Wizard of BC]

With all the guidelines put forth so far let me add just a few notes.

All, and I mean ALL, traditional style kilts, are made to be worn with the top strap cinched into the natural waist. This is actually quite higher than most people wear their kilt. The natural waist is just under the ribs at the side. This is up at kidney level.
There is then 2 inches of rise above the top straps. The top of this rise should be 3 to 4 fingers below the bottom of the breastbone in front.

If you wish to wear a traditional style kilt, (And by that I mean one made in accordance with "The Art of Kiltmaking") at anywhere other than full rise the bottom of the Fell and the Hem will be too low.
In accordance with "The Art of Kiltmaking" the hem should be at the top of the kneecap. The bottom of the Fell or the sewn down section in the back of the kilt should be at the crest of the buttocks or hips. This is right about the same level as the top of your hip joint. You can actually feel the top of the leg bone where it joins with the pelvis.

If you have a kilt that does not have flare above the top strap you do not have a traditional style kilt. These kilts will not stay put at the natural waist and will slide down. This is the reason you see so many guys with the hem below the top of the kneecap.

If you choose to wear your at something other than full rise you need to have a kilt cut specifically for that.



About flashes. If you wear your flashes in the style of the Canadian Scottish Regiment you wear them with the edge of the front flash aligned with the flat of your shinbone.
The CSR also sets the height of the top of the hose at one hand width below the bone just outside and below the knee.
Wearing your hose and flashes in this regimental style is not often seen in the civilian world. Most civilians, not knowing the regimental standard, wear their hose much higher.

Most guys today wear the sporran as if it were a crotch protector. The sporran should be worn so that it bounces lightly off the stomach. This prevents the sporran strap from going under the belly and distorting the hang of the aprons. Regardless of where you wear the waist of your kilt the sporran should still not go under the stomach.

[Taskr]

"...sporran should still not go under the stomach."

Regrettably, I don't understand that description. Physiologically, one's stomach is up in the region framed by the lower ribcage. Does the description mean the top of the sporran about half-way between belly-button and crotch?

y'know...what I've never seen is an illustration of the outline mannequin with lines where things kilt should be. Lots of photos of those kilted, but that doesn't allow for really seeing where things are placed in relation to the body. Does such an illustration exist?

[Father Bill]

Take a look at these from our two "semi-professional X-Marks models". I personally wear mine just a shade higher to prevent it from whacking my privates. There is some space for personal preference, and for those of us with a few extra pounds, a marginally higher sporran helps keep things more comfortable.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f99/1-kilt-10-looks-visual-guide-formality-highland-attire-46888/

[Taskr]

Your first sentence is descriptive, to be sure, though I would surmise some scope remains to the top of the sporran depending on the type (hair, for example). The photos have been seen and have been and are extremely helpful. Yet as great as they are they do not define kilt accessories placement in the same simplicity as the line-outline mannequin seen for such topics as kilt measurements. In other words, we can't know from the exterior view of the fine looking Panache just where he has determined properly placement in relation to the body underneath. Seems accessories placement is always left to words for interpretation - not necessarily a bad thing. Thus, I asked if a line diagram for illustration existed.

[Reiver]

I've noted, even in supposed knowledgeable kilt catalogues very close to home here, 'models' wearing kilts down on the hips like low cut blu jeans.....shirt bottoms exposed below waistcoats...hose to the knee....etc.
If in the business you'd think a bit of regularity would dominate.

[flyingpiper]

I would have to agree that the cardinal sin when it comes to incorrect kilt-wearing is ignorance.

Becoming a Piper and joining my local street band was my introduction to the kilt. Basically they held a series of band kilts up to me and said okay, that looks close enough. Here you go.

No instruction on how to wear it properly, and looking back, I doubt many of them actually knew.

I suspect this same experience may be prevalent amongst the lower level bands, which may be some peoples only exposure to kilt wearing.

Fortunately I have discovered this forum, and while I hope I am not doing the kilt any disservice, I am continuing to learn every day. Our very own Wizard pointed out to me just yesterday that I needed to hike mine up a bit!

As has already been mentioned here, an offer of guidance on kilt wearing could go a long way towards improving an uninitiated kiltie's experience!

[OC Richard]

It is a wee bit difficult to conceive how someone (an adult) would actually choose to wear a kilt without having the slightest idea as to how it should look... Surely they must have seen one beforehand otherwise how would they know about it?

Here in the USA it's possible to grow to adulthood without ever seeing a kilt in person.

When I got my first Practice Chanter in 1974 I'd only seen pipes and kilts once: a kid at our school played pipes, and showed up at the school one day and plays some tunes. He gave me my first directions (I can't really call them "lessons") but he was a year older and graduated and went into the military before I got my actual bagpipes.

My first kilt was sewn by my grandmother. Neither of us had anything to go on other than a few photos in an old National Geographic magazine.

It wasn't until I got a catalogue from The Scottish Shopper in Seattle in 1975 that I had photos of sporrans, kilt jackets, etc to look at.

So I can visualize an American ordering a kilt on a whim, never having seen one in person.