Where do you wear your kilt?

[AJBryant]

I'm getting ready to order a new kilt (the diet keeps making me change sizes. Yay...?) and I wanted to get some input.

It's been forever since I was able to wear my kilt (ordered years back when I was much smaller) and a few months back I ordered a "quickie" kilt that came in a standard cut but fit my width. It struck me that it seemed to want to ride WAY high on my body to fit to the top of my knees -- almost four inches above my navel. Then I broke out my old tank and laid the new one on it, and lo and behold they were the same height -- only very different widths.

That made me start to wonder everything I ever thought about where one wears a kilt, so since I'm ordering a new one, I thought it would be good to check with conventional wisdom FIRST.

So. Here's the question.

When you wear your kilt as you prefer, how high up does the top of it sit? Is it at your navel (where I *thought* it was supposed to be), higher than your navel (how much higher?) or BELOW your navel?

Help a confused brother out.

Tony

[TheOfficialBren]

To be honest, when I first looked at kilts before purchasing, I thought below the knee was okay (I SHUDDER at this now)...then middle of the knee (really not my cup o' tea). Now, I'm up to the top of the knee, the proper traditional height.

When I didn't know anything about kilts I thought jeans waist. Then navel. Now, I'm an above the navel kind of guy, as high as it takes to get the bottom to the top of the knee, which is paramount over where the waistband lies. Regimental height is okay (ribs) but civilian height (navel-ish) is preferred.

[Eric D Scott]

From what I know, both from my dealings with the band and in the military, the kilt when worn should be about 1cm off the ground, should you kneel. Now the question is, why are we kneeling on both knees in the first place?

[Jock Scot]

I suspect that it depends how the kilt is made. Bespoke? Customised? Made to measure? These terms can mean much the same, but they do imply a certain amount of individual measurements have been taken , whilst off the peg does not. So it really does depend -----plus, if you add personal preference to how the kilt should sit to the measurements, then it can depend quite a lot.

I was always taught it is the the bottom of the kilt ----the hem for ease of description-----and where it sits in relation to your knee-cap is paramount and to a point, the top can look after itself. But on average perhaps for kilts where your input of measurements are involved and a certain amount of advice from the kilt maker then, somewhere around the belly button or an inch or two higher would be somewhere near.

No doubt every kilt maker and every kilt-wearer will have there own view on this, but I doubt that there will be major disagreements over this, apart from-------where the kilt selvedge(hem) should sit!

[Father Bill]

Now the question is, why are we kneeling on both knees in the first place?

It's Easter Sunday. We should give thanks!

[McElmurry]

Depending upon my waist size, how tightly I strap the kilt, and the length of the event, the top of my kilt rides between 1.5 to 2.5 inches above my navel.

[AJBryant]

I think I might not have been clear. I'm asking about the TOP of the kilt, not the bottom where it comes down on yer knees. ;)

[Paul Henry]

I think I might not have been clear. I'm asking about the TOP of the kilt, not the bottom where it comes down on yer knees. ;)

but it is the where the bottom of the kilt falls that is important, where the top sits isn't too important really, if you are having a kilt specially made then perhaps you can specify,but within reason an inch or so around the navel isn't much of an issue

[Kiltedbiker]

for most of us , the kilt stays put better if the top is above the navel and then adjust for position at the knees. It really begins to look like a skirt when it starts getting to low. But again, just a personal opinion.

[Zardoz]

Everyone has a different bodyshape, I center my 'gig line' by finding my navel right under my belt buckle, about 3 inches from the top on the kilt, any higher and it hits my ribs.