Kilt Length - Above Knee or Mid-Knee?

[oldscubaguy]

Middle (I'm the taller one)

[ratspike]

To my eye and IMO, how you wear your kilt and the shape of your body influences where you'll want the hem to fall. I'm a slouchy socks and boots kind of guy, reasonably fit with muscular legs that are short relative to my torso, and most of my kilts are made to wear on my hips. I prefer a hem that hits the middle of my knee. With the exception of my semi-trad from Rocky and Co. my kilts are pretty short at 20.5". With the hem at the top of my knee, especially if I'm wearing my shirt tucked in, it's more than a little skirty looking.

[Marine2141]

My traditional kilts I like to hit above the knee...my utility kilt hits at the bottom of my knee.

[OC Richard]

This has been an oft-discussed topic here over the years.

I did a quick search, keyword "length", and you can see a large number of threads:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...archid=2609323

The bottom line is, kilt length has been remarkably stable since our first clear images of Highland Dress in the 17th century, the main difference being that in the 18th century it was often at the top of the knee or sometimes a bit above, and in the 19th century had settled down to around the top of the knee or a hair below.

In recent decades many people, often people not coming from a kilt-wearing background, perhaps out of modesty, wear their kilts too low. This is especially true with youths who play in Pipe Bands. I think this comes from them wanting to shove their kilts down around their hips like jeans. Since their kilts were made traditionally, they end up with the bottom too low, covering their knees.

In the 18th century



In the 19th century



Modern: the army has done a good job maintaining the traditional way of wearing kilt and hose



Modern #2: a recent civilian pipe band showing the new trend of wearing the hose higher and the kilt lower



Modern #3: a more extreme example- I see this all the time with modern Pipe Bands. If the kilt was worn higher the knee would show and there wouldn't be a gap between the kilt and the waistcoat

[IsaacW]

This has been an oft-discussed topic here over the years.

I did a quick search, keyword "length", and you can see a large number of threads:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...archid=2609323

The bottom line is, kilt length has been remarkably stable since our first clear images of Highland Dress in the 17th century, the main difference being that in the 18th century it was often at the top of the knee or sometimes a bit above, and in the 19th century had settled down to around the top of the knee or a hair below.

In recent decades many people, often people not coming from a kilt-wearing background, perhaps out of modesty, wear their kilts too low. This is especially true with youths who play in Pipe Bands. I think this comes from them wanting to shove their kilts down around their hips like jeans. Since their kilts were made traditionally, they end up with the bottom too low, covering their knees.

SO... in another century or two, kilts will be worn so low they reach the ankles.

[Father Bill]

Well, I won't be around to shudder or roll my eyes!

[Jock Scot]

OCR.

As you know I take little interest in civilian pipe bands and even less in their internal procedures, but as a matter of interest does the Pipe/Drum Major have any direct influence on how the members of the civilian band dress? If they have and I have always assumed in my ignorance that they have, then why are they not doing something about their bands appearance? Do they not know how the kilt should be worn for best effect, or do they not care? Or maybe I have been mistaken in their overall influence of the band?

[Pleater]

If you are going to wear the kilt indoors for the most part then the length is a matter of preference, but the kilts I wear for walking all have strong reinforcement at the waist - the material if leftovers from making seat belts, and when buckled tightly they are above the knee.
The reason for that is a wet kilt which catches in the back of the knee as you walk can strip the skin off and make every step painful. It is not so bad if walking into the wind, but with a following wind strong enough to blow the kilt against your legs, if your hose aren't long enough to unfold and give some protection the journey could become memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Having made several hikes wearing Tilley hat and garments including a wool jersey, hose, kilt and long plaid where the weather was quite frightening and the rain so hard I had to pad the top of my hat with a beret folded up inside it, they were far more comfortable than similar walks done in waterproof garments. Yes I was absolutely soaked, but the insulation from the wool was such that I was warm - so warm that on arriving at my destination on one occasion I was actually steaming in the humid atmosphere.
A long plaid - I think it is also called a drummers plaid, long enough to fall below my knees front and back and to wrap around loosely rather than in military fashion, is long enough to wrap around several times. In really bad weather I usually tuck one end into my waistband or belt at the right side then coil it around waist, then up around the shoulders or over my head and it covers me almost completely. It must trap heat against the body.

Anne the Pleater

[Macman]

OCR.

As you know I take little interest in civilian pipe bands and even less in their internal procedures, but as a matter of interest does the Pipe Major have any direct influence on how the members of the civilian band dress? If they have and I have always assumed in my ignorance that they have, then why are they not doing something about their bands appearance. Do they not know how the kilt should be worn for best effect, or do they not care? Or maybe I have been mistaken in their overall influence of the band?

I wonder about this as well. In our band it is the drum major (ex-reserve brigade sergeant-major) who is the "enforcer" on dress and deportment. Some of the members wear their kilts as low as mid-knee, but that is as low as is allowed.

[Luke MacGillie]

In the 18th Century, the length and placement of the gap, well it varied......