Army surplus kilt/MOD Blackwatch kilt.

[Steve Ashton]

The question of waist height is one that has been discussed time and time again.

Perhaps one of the best ways to answer is that it depends on the design of the kilt.

In the back is the area that is sewn down. This is called the "Fell Area".
The bottom of the Fell Area should hit right about, or just slightly above, the crest or widest part of your hips and buttocks.

The area from the hips up to the center of the top strap is what determines the waist height.

The area above the top strap is called "The Rise" Some kilts have a 1 inch rise, some 2 inch and some 3 inches or even more.

So, what you do is put the kilt on with the bottom of the Fell Area at the height of the hips and let the waist fall where it was designed to be.

For example each of these three kilts are designed totally differently.

The kilt I am wearing in the HBC Tartan was specifically designed to fit at a Mid Waist Height.
The Highland Granite kilt on the left is my full traditional Barb Tewksbury kilt.
And on the right is my ex-MOD Black Watch Kilt.

Each of these fit me perfectly. The bottom edges are all in the same place. The bottom of the Fell Areas of each hit me in the same place. But you can see that the height of the waist is quite different for each.