2 straps or 3 weigh in men! (and women)

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Speaking out on behalf of fuddy-duddyism, I would suggest that a three strap kilt, if properly made, has the edge on the 2 strap kilt. Here's why. Most kilts made today are cut a tad too low-- when wearing a Prince Charlie coatee gaps occur between the waistcoat and the side of the jacket allowing the white shirt to be seen, and this looks just awful. 9 times out of 10 this "gaposis" is caused by a kilt with insufficient rise being worn too low, in some instances riding on the hips like a pair of Levi 501s.

A quality kiltmaker, if making a 3-strap kilt, will generally allow a tad more in the rise-- I have two fairly heavy kilts made by Stewart Christie in Edinburgh and there is a bit more than 1-inch in the rise on their 3-strap kilt when compared to their 2-strap kilt. Both fit just fine, but the 3-strap kilt works better with formal attire for the reasons stated above.

There is a definite downside to the third strap for portly gentlemen in so far as over-tightening this strap only emphasizes the gut. The late Leslie Peter of Lee ( a gentleman of more than ample girth) overcame this problem by having his 3-strap kilts made with a fairly wide, quilted, waistband across the front of the kilt. He was also scrupulous about keeping the kilt at waist level so that he never paunched over the top of the kilt. Something I'd suggest all "super-sized" kilt wearers keep in mind when using their kilt belt as a belly sling! You will look slimmer if you don't overhang your kilt.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Speaking out on behalf of fuddy-duddyism, I would suggest that a three strap kilt, if properly made, has the edge on the 2 strap kilt. Here's why. Most kilts made today are cut a tad too low-- when wearing a Prince Charlie coatee gaps occur between the waistcoat and the side of the jacket allowing the white shirt to be seen, and this looks just awful. 9 times out of 10 this "gaposis" is caused by a kilt with insufficient rise being worn too low, in some instances riding on the hips like a pair of Levi 501s....

I also hate to see kilts that are ill fitting, or worn too low, but it seems to me that the problem you describe has to do mainly with kilts being made with a sufficient rise to them, rather than the number of straps holding them up.

You mention in a later post about your military kilt having two straps on the right hip and none on the left. If you read my blog posting on this topic, you will see that the origin of the third strap actually came from the military, whose kilts typically had about a 4" rise. One strap was at the waist, and one was at the top of the rise.

The problem comes when you try to put this third strap on a civilian kilt which typically has about a 2" rise. One still goes on the waist, but since the rise does not allow for another strap above it, it gets shifted down below at the hip where it serves absolutely no purpose but to get in the way.

If you have a kilt with a 4" rise and want two straps at the right hip to hold the thing up, go for it! But if you have a typical civillian kilt with a 2" rise, you'd do just as well to leave the superfluous strap alone.

Aye,
Matt
(who tends to prefer simplicity in his kilts, which is why they for the most part have only two straps, no belt loops, and no fringe on the apron edge).