Hemlines.....

[sean_cummings]

Yep David, that was funny.

[thescot]

Well, first of all, it's not a hemline. It's the selvage line.

And I don't like anything below the top of the knee cap. One kilt is even about an inch above that, and I like it the best, I think, since the back of the kilt doesn't hit the back of my legs.

The longer kilts just don't look as sharp to me. Even Scotty Thompson called 'em "trollopy!"

But you know what opinions are like.

[Joe Gondek]

Top of the knee is my preferred lenght
Mid knee is the longest I will wear it,but is still doesnt feel as good
Below the knee just doesn't look right to me

[Splash_4]

Man, another thread out of the crypt. This one was started in 2004!

But for me, I like mine from at the top of the knee but no lower than mid-knee.

[Hamish]

Mid-kneecap or above please. Anything longer, quite simply, looks 'skirty' to the uninformed, and amateurish to those who know about kilt wearing!

[Martin S]

Funny how old threads can reappear.

From the photos posted here and elsewhere, I have the impression that kilts are worn longer one one side of the Atlantic than the other.

Logical, since Americans like to cover their knees even when they go swimming!

Martin, unashamed of his knees and thighs.

[Martin S]

I bought a second-hand kilt over e-bay a year or two ago. It turned out much shorter than expected, and I thought I had wasted my money on something I'd never wear.
But the cloth is so good and it is so well-made, that I do wear it frequently at home. It is a pleasure to have the knees -- and a little more -- completely free, while, at the same time, having a good snug fit round the waist.
In spite of ther thickness of the cloth, however, I cannot wear this kilt when it is really cold; having just a few more inches of flesh unprotected above the knee feels very chilly indeed. Paradoxical, since it is certainly my most heavyweight kilt.

Perhaps I'll post a picture one day to see what you all think.

Martin

[Phil]

The kilt should fall to the middle of the knee when standing erect (not stooping) and should be clear of the ground when kneeling. Anything else immediately looks wrong. I once had a quiet word with an Englishman trying on a kilt which a shop in Edinburgh was going to be happy to sell him and which was a couple of inches below his knee. He didn't buy it. Kilt or no kilt if it is the wrong length it just makes you look like a cross-dresser I don't know why.

[Barb T]

I respectfully beg to differ with those who argue for mid-knee. Traditionally, a kilt is supposed to come to the top of the knee cap. Ask my co-author, Elsie, who apprenticed as a kiltmaker in Glasgow back in 1947. That's what they were taught.

If a kilt is too long, there isn't enough space between the bottom of the kilt and the top of the hose, and it looks funny. "Skirtish", as Hamish says. Some guys solve this by folding their hose below the top of the calf, but that looks odd, too (makes it look like their socks are too small and don't go all the way to the top).

Frankly, I think the observation that people are wearing their kilts longer comes, not from kiltmakers who measure too long, but rather from kiltwearers who buckle their kilts on too loosely and let them sag down so that the top of the kilt rides at the waist or, worse, on the hips. I feel like a broken record, I've said this so many times. Many guys who wear kilts are unaware that a kilt has a 2" rise _above_ the waist. So, if you buckle your kilt so that the top sits at your waistline, it will be longer than the kilmaker intended. This was never an issue when men wore their pants at the waistline, and it _really_ wasn't an issue in the 19th century when pants matched kilts with a rise above the waist so that you could wear the short jacket of the time without having your shirt tails bunching out at the bottom of the jacket every time you bent over.

Anyone who owns a Prince Charlie jacket can immediately see what the rise of a kilt is for. A proper PC jacket comes to the middle of the buckle at the side of the waist. If you're wearing everything properly, the 2" rise of the kilt extends up beneath the jacket and keeps your shirt from showing. If your shirt shows at the bottom of your PC jacket, you're wearing your kilt too low.

You can see an example of this if you go to the following web site and scroll down to the very last picture on the page:

http://kiltrental.com/Kilt-Rental-Customer-Pictures.htm

The gentleman on the left is wearing a PC that fits him just fine, but he's wearing his kilt too low. So, the kilt is too long (skimming the tops of his hose), and his shirt shows at the side. If he had his kilt up at the proper height, everything would be fine, including the length. I'd also point out that this picture shows why you shouldn't wear a belt with a PC jacket.....

Cheers,

Barb

[Rampant Lion]

I wear my kilt just below the top of the knee to mid-knee(depends on how my waistline is doing that day). The thing is I'm 6'2, very thing, and long-legged. If I were to wear my kilt right at the top of the knee there would be too much leg showing from the top of my hose to the bottom of my kilt.

As you can see in these pics, my kilt is between top of the knee and mid-knee, my hose are at the thickest part of my calf, and there is still plenty of leg showing.