Not putting it on properly

[David]

I hope this is posted in the right place, and that I don't upset anyone.

I know we are not the kilt police here on Xmarks but I’m pretty sure the vast majority of us could agree on a few basics when it comes to putting it on properly:

• The top of the kilt is worn roughly mid-way between the hip bone and bottom of you rib cage,
• The bottom of your kilt finishes about the top of your knee.
• The sporran is worn about a hands breadth below the top of the kilt.
• The hose (if they are not scrunched down) are worn so that the top of them are a wee bit below the bottom of the knee – I was taught it was the width of the index and forefinger below the bottom of the knee cap.
• The flashes are worn between 2 o’clock and 3 o’clock (12 o’clock being the front of the shin) and they show about an inch below the bottom edge of the turned over hose.
• If you are wearing ghillie brogues, you wrap the laces a couple of times round the ankle and tie a bow.

All simple and straightforward stuff, and it looks good, it looks right.

But over the past couple of years I have noticed (at formal events) a change in how the kilt is worn and accessorized. I don’t see there is anything wrong with this on an individual basis, each to their own and all that. If you want to wear a ruche tie fine, if you are wearing your kilt below the knee fine, just don’t do both of them.

Recently I was at a wedding and it is accurate to say that the number of us wearing a kilt that met what I would consider the basics was about 6 or 7 out of the 40 or so kilt wearers. I wish I could say that the other 90ish percent had made changes that improved on the basics of wearing a kilt, but I can’t. Collectively (and individually) it just looked bad. I seriously don’t think the guys wearing the kilts were any the wiser. I believe it’s down to how they have been shown either directly by the companies hiring /selling them their kilts (almost all were wearing hire kilts) or via other “influencers”; wedding planners, the bride, the wife, the Mother-in-Law, etc.

In my opinion our national dress is being devalued and hijacked by the wedding industry. I say that because it’s the only common denominator I can see. To me its reaching the point of being a parody.

The 90% had at least two of the following going on:

1. Kilt hem covering the knee, even in some cases when the waist was right
2. Kilt waist worn on the hips exposing the shirt between it and the waistcoat, again, some guys were still showing some knee
3. Kilt pin hanging off the bottom corner of the apron. In one case this only accentuated the fact that hem of the over apron was running out of line with the under apron so that at the point where the hem met the fringed edge, the corner was about an inch and a half below the under apron. This was not an isolated instance, I have seen it before.
4. Flashes worn at about 4 o’clock
5. Showing (much) more than 2 inches of flashes
6. Wearing a ruche tie (a personal dislike of the first order)
7. Wearing flashes that match the ruche tie
8. Ghillie brogue laces wound up to mid-shin
9. Ghillie brogue laces wound up the leg and tied off under the turnover of the hose, tassels showing or covered (this was a first for me)
10. As 9) but laces tied off on top of hose turnover
11. Laces wound up the leg as in 9) or 10) and wound over or under flashes
12. Low slung sporrans. In one extreme case the top of the sporran was a good 8 inches to 10 inches below the bottom of the waistcoat. The guy must have had to bend over to reach the change at the bottom of his sporran

[Tarheel]

It would feel like a daunting task to get the entire wedding industry to consult this forum for a proper presentation of kilting during ceremonies. Your short list is as good a start as anyone could ask. Photos of each point to demonstrate would be even more helpful. Those photos are available often here. I think more folks will seek out the wisdom offered here for their events. They may choose to ignore the advice.

[Tobus]

In my opinion our national dress is being devalued and hijacked by the wedding industry. I say that because it’s the only common denominator I can see. To me its reaching the point of being a parody.

Yes, I think this is the biggest factor in the recent odd changes that are happening in the way kilts are worn in Scotland. I'm only seeing it from afar, based on photos and articles on the internet. But it seems to me that what was considered proper and traditional is dying off, and is being replaced by fads and fashion, driven by the kilt hire industry. Understandably, they are in competition for business, and will want to give customers a look that "takes it up a notch". But some of these fads have become quite bizarre to the eyes of traditional kilt wearers.

Since this isn't the traditional kilt forum, I expect that it's out of bounds to comment further on the rightness or wrongness of these new fads. But suffice it to say that they are fads, driven by an industry that is more interested in making money and being "fashion forward" than trying to preserve any semblance of traditional sartorial protocols.

Sadly, these kilt-hire companies are viewed as "the experts" by a large number of people. If they don't know any better, they will wear what the hire companies tell them to wear, and in the manner they are told to wear it. I'm not quite sure how these hire companies decide what's correct in terms of how to wear flashes, sporrans, etc. Maybe they just make it up as they go?

Kilts being too long or too short, or not quite fitting the customer is to be expected. Given that a well-fitted kilt is a custom job for each person's proportions, and the "standard sized" kilts really don't do a very good job of fitting well, it's no surprise that many hire kilts appear sloppy. Hire companies have to stock a range of sizes and different tartans, and cannot possibly keep every combination of size and tartan choice for every customer. I still think they routinely fit people for kilts that are too long, and don't give them correct instruction on wearing the kilt at the natural waist (or the customers ignore it because it feels weird to them).

[David]

I think what really set me off was that there was a large number of kilts being worn with so many (bad?) variations all in one place. If you have heard the phrase "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts", well in this case it was more a case of the whole being less than the sum of the parts. From the responses so far, I'm glad it appears that its not just me who thinks there is a disturbance in the kilt wearing force. Variation is good, I'm not against it, my kilt pin is four pin badges in a vertical line. They are the four symbols chosen by the members of Led Zeppelin. Its amazing how many people believe me when I say they are actually Pictish symbols

[Hipbilly]

Lets start with the basics...
#1: Aprons facing the rear of the kilt. Seriously. I've seen waaaay to much of that in my internet meanderings...

[Tarheel]

Lets start with the basics...
#1: Aprons facing the rear of the kilt. Seriously. I've seen waaaay to much of that in my internet meanderings...

As Hipbilly points out, kilts are NOT "Union Suits" that offer a flap in the back.

[MacRobert's Reply]

I recognise all the woeful descriptions David and most weddings in Scotland have a few who look like this but the proportions at your event were greater than any I have experienced. I wonder if the hire companies in that region are particularly bad at their job.

As a clergyman I do numerous weddings and, if men in the wedding party are to be kilted, I give them a guide to highland dress well before the wedding and have even sorted out a few before the service starts! People who don't know what they don't know need to be enlightened by those of us who do.

[tpa]

Maybe it was just a popular day for the kilt hire industry! As a result they did not have precisely the right waist size for everyone, so getting the height and length right would be a challenge for some even if given the correct advice. I probably should not be writing here as I have never worn a hire kilt, but I do know that those I have bought off the peg, I always have to alter to get the fit right for me and therein lies the problem. Everyone is different, the hire industry has to standardise and is not too worried whether you are comfortable or not, all they need to do is meet the requirement for the hirer to have a kilt for the occasion and to be able to wear it without it falling off for a few hours. Those of us who wear them regularly will have tailored them to their requirements.

To put it in perspective, I was recently in attendance with my daughter choosing a wedding dress for her wedding next year. She actually chose one which had been made for someone else, but the wedding was called off so she got it for a reduced price, including alterations to suit her. I still thought it was extortionate as I could have bought two made to measure wool kilts for the same price and had some money left over. The moral of the story is that if you want to do it properly, it is expensive and you have to plan ahead and be prepared to pay more than most men would deem reasonable although if you buy the kilt you can of course wear it more than once. I don't suppose many brides purchase a wedding dress with that expectation. (Unfortunately the shop also had a male mannequin wearing a kilt, black argyle, waistcoat with kilt belt and the inevitable white hose. Apparently that was haw it was supplied.)

I hope I am not typical, but the only suit I have that I can still wear was as a result of a previous girlfriend walking me into a good tailor's shop and insisting on me buying a very expensive (by my standards) suit there. That was over 30 years ago. I have had a number of off the peg ones since and all have now gone to charity shops. I can however still wear a 50 year old kilt.

What it comes down to is that I am sympathetic to the hire industry, at least those who give the correct advice, if any. It cannot be easy to meet everyone precise requirements, especially if the notice is short, and they have to do it for a price men are prepared to pay. If it was the women who were in charge of the male attire, maybe the standards would improve.

[McClef]

There are also the tartan tat places who are happy to sell their wares to unsuspecting tourists and don't give them any instructions about how to wear them.

Several times in Edinburgh I have to gently and politely demonstrate how to wear!

[OC Richard]

Yes the same things happen here in the USA. The culprit, as you point out, is the fact that people who are unfamiliar with Highland Dress are hiring kilts.

As a piper, I'm often hired for weddings, and sometimes I'm directed to put my things in the room where the groomsmen are changing/have changed into their wedding finery. If they've hired Highland Dress I find myself giving advice on how to wear it (being the only one in the room that's familiar with it). Many's the time I've had the men turn their kilts around so the pleats are in the back, tell them how to tie Ghillies, and how to put on flashes.

One thing I don't think you mentioned, but which is very common, is for people to separate the two flashes on each garter and have one on the outside of the leg, and one on the inside. Sean Connery has been photographed doing this very thing. I wish hire companies would sew the two together.

The oddest thing, maybe, I've seen was the guy who had the under-apron going BEHIND him under the pleated portion, thus exposing one thigh all the way up. He rather liked this naughty look.

Just last weekend was our largest Games here in the Southwest and I saw thousands of kilted men. I saw very few of the sorts of things you mention. I only recall seeing one person, a teenaged boy, with a kilt worn low past his knees.

However in the Pipe Band world it's very common for men to wear their kilts and inch or two too low, with the bottom edge around the middle to the bottom of the kneecap. For some reason it's more common for drummers to do this than pipers, and more common amongst teenagers than amongst older players. This, combined with waistcoats which are too short, has ugly results.

It's my pet peeve, especially when they're wearing a waistbelt under the waistcoat.

Another thing fairly common with inexperienced band people is wearing the flashes too low. For some reason they put the elastic garter as low as possible, right under the bottom edge of the cuff.