Waist: high or jeans

[Tobus]

So far, my feeling is that top of the kilt right at the navel, or at most halve an inch above that, is where it will look best on me. This is also the widest part of my belly. And it really does seem to be a more flattering look than a jeans waisted kilt, as long as it does not go more than halve an inch above the navel.

That does bring me back to my initial worry: is it going to stay put if worn that way?

Apparently the two (topmost) straps are generally about 2 inches from the top, so does that put them in a place where they could hold up the kilt? I imagine that might depend on your actual figure so here goes:



The black & yellow rectangle is exactly two inches tall so the top of the topmost straps should just touch the bottom of the black & yellow rectangle if we assume a 2 inch rise. Is that correct and would this work (ie kilt staying up)?


What's puzzling me is that, if I remember correctly (I've seen and read so much these past few days that I might be mixing things up slightly), Rocky from USA Kilts also says in some videos that the (semi/traditional) kilt should be worn roughly two inches above the navel. Yet if I look at the various videos from USA Kilts it looks to me as if they wear their kilts right at the navel, not two inches above it.

So again it really doesn't look to me like he's wearing it two inches above the belly button. The overall look in that video actually seems very similar to the above picture of myself where I wear my make shift kilt right at the navel.

Also, if my eyes are not deceiving me, the straps seem to be closer to the top than two inches on that kilt.

My advice would be to stop using the navel as any sort of reference. Forget it was ever mentioned. I really, really wish the kilt industry would remove all references to the navel in their fitting guides, because it is quite useless. Instead, think in terms of your rib cage and your hip bones. Find your natural waist from your sides, not your front. Stand with your hands on your sides as I'm doing in the photo below, with hands above your hips, and dig into your sides as hard as you can. Below your rib cage and above your hip bones is where the natural waist lies. Or, put on a belt over your shirt and cinch it as tight as you can. Move it up or down and keep tightening it until you find the location where the belt cannot move up or down because it's at the narrowest point. That's the natural waist, regardless of where your navel is.

(Yes, I'm wearing trousers in this photo, and you can see where the top of my belt buckle is printing through the front of my jumper. But the webs of my hands between my thumbs and forefingers are digging into my natural waist, well above my "jeans waist".)



That's ideally where your kilt straps ought to go: centered in that groove of the natural hips. If you are trying to size your kilt based on any other location on your abdomen, you're going to end up with an ill-fitting kilt that will want to slide down or ride up over the course of the day. When you walk, sit, stand, bend over or crouch, hop a mud puddle, dance, etc., your kilt is going to constantly need adjustment if it's not sized to your natural waist, or whatever the narrowest part of your torso is. I understand your inclination to wear it somewhat lower; that's common with new kilt-wearers who just cannot get used to the visual proportions of wearing a kilt as high as it's supposed to be worn. I did the same thing with my first few kilts, and learned over time that where I really want to wear it is at my natural waist. It's more comfortable, less fussy, and just looks more like a kilt should look when worn at the natural waist.

Looking at your photo, it appears to me that your natural waist is actually at the top fold of your towel, where I have placed a yellow arrow. Your best fit will be with the straps centered there, and the top of the kilt around 2" above that (depending on what rise is built into your kilt). Keep in mind that when we talk about the rise, it's from the center of the straps, not necessarily the clear distance above the straps.

I know you've been asking your questions in the context of having a "belly", but looking at your photo, you seem trim enough that your natural waist is likely going to drive how your kilt naturally sits on your frame. If you get your kilt made with the straps more or less where the top of your towel is, it will fit well. If you size it at the bottom of your yellow marks, several inches below your natural waist, you may find yourself constantly adjusting how it rides on your torso because it's just draped onto a sloping surface, if that makes sense.

Which leads me to something else I don't really understand: if the straps really are two inches below the top, why does the fabric not droop down at the front on the right side above the straps? Is the fabric stiff enough to hold itself up from the straps upward?

Yes, any properly made kilt is pretty stiff from the top binding down to the fell area (where the stitching of the pleats in the back stops). The tartan fabric, plus the interfacing, plus the lining, plus the top binding with all the stitching, makes for a fairly thick and firm garment that will not droop above the straps when it's cinched onto your torso. Here's a kilt I bought about 10 years ago. It's actually not made to fit up at my true natural waist, and I wish I had done so, but I was still not quite comfortable with going that high yet. But as you can see, the area above the straps stands up on its own.



So back to the subject of wearing it at the natural waist. For the best fit to your body, the narrowest part of the "hourglass shape" is where it should be cinched down to avoid it sliding down or riding up. The only reason not to wear it there is if you don't like the visual proportions of it being that high. If you don't think you'll ever wear a waistcoat, jumper, or even a jacket over your kilt, this proportion issue can be ameliorated by wearing a standard kilt belt, which is typically about 2-1/4" (5.7 cm) wide. Such a wide belt drastically changes the look, and creates a visual barrier of sorts between one's shirt and kilt. Instead of looking like the kilt is as high as it really is, what people see is the portion of the kilt that is below the belt. And, to a large extent, the kilt belt can have a visual slimming effect when worn around the natural waist. It accentuates the hourglass shape.