Quote Originally Posted by Scottish Rock View Post
I realize that the kilt is not held up by the belt but instead by its own leather straps so to speak (or just the top of the kilt if it has velcro® closures) and I'm not exactly certain where those are relative to the top of the kilt (this may be related to what I have heard being referred to as 'uprise'), but in general it would seem to me that you want the part of the kilt that keeps it up to be just above a part of the body where the body gets wider going down to keep the kilt from sliding down. Otherwise you're having to rely on friction 100% to keep it up.
What you're talking about here is called the rise. That's the distance from the top straps/buckles of the kilt to the very top of the kilt. On most civilian kilts it's around 1-1/2" to 2". On military kilts it can be 3" to even 4" (called high-rise kilts).

In either case, it's the straps that should be at your natural waist, not the top of the kilt. It is as you surmised: that is essentially the internal 'belt' of the kilt, and needs to be around a narrower part of the body with something wider below it, or it will just slip right off. Unlike trousers, the kilt doesn't hug your hips or rear end. Everything below the top straps is just dead weight trying to pull it down.

Some of the folks with wider torsos have relied on braces (suspenders) to help keep the kilt up. These are best worn when hidden by a waistcoat, jumper, etc.


I'm also wondering if having the kilt's top above the navel isn't going to make my upper body look strangely short.
I do have fairly average bodily proportions and I'm 6'3. My legs are perhaps a bit long proportionally speaking but not outrageously so.
It depends on what you mean by "strangely". Wearing a kilt at the natural waist is going to feel and look different than you're used to, and will look different to people who aren't used to seeing men wear anything above the hips.

I don't have the belly issue, but I am a fairly short guy at 5'-7", with longish skinny legs and a short torso. Wearing a kilt at the natural waist was something I had to adjust to, and get used to the idea that the proportions are different.

Here I'm wearing a military kilt at my natural waist. I've pointed out the ridge of the top of the kilt that can be seen through my waistcoat, as well as my natural waist where the straps are cinched above my kidneys and "love handles". As you can imagine, without the waistcoat on, only my upper chest would be sticking out the top of the kilt. That's how it's meant to be worn, and it just looks weird to people who aren't used to it. But again, if you don't like those proportions, wearing a waistcoat/jacket/jumper over it can sort of bring the visual proportions back to what you're used to.