Black Watch Military kilt

[McMurdo]

A few weeks ago someone on the forum got in touch over PM as we were talking he said there was a Black Watch kilt at a local thrift shop in Toronto's Kensington Market. The good news is with the recent weight loss it fit. The better news is I got a deal on it. The best news is that I was watching a few of these on EBay and this one was half the price of those online. As the weather has been cooling down I have had a few chances to wear it.

[Liam]

Not sure the work boots do the rest of the outfit justice. 😉 Is the kilt knife or military box pleated?

[McMurdo]

Not sure the work boots do the rest of the outfit justice. 😉 Is the kilt knife or military box pleated?

Knife pleated, not sure why I wore the boots.

[plaid preacher]

Knife pleated, not sure why I wore the boots.

..because you can't walk around Toronto in stocking feet.

[McMurdo]

..because you can't walk around Toronto in stocking feet.

You'd be surprised how many do.

[Guthrumironhead]

Looking sharp as always sir! My second favorite kilt is a military pleated Black Watch. Lucky you, being able to find a retired military example. I had to have mine made to fit my fat self😊. Congrats on the addition to the collection.

[Chris Hills]

Sir, I am new to the "kilted gentry" having just purchased my first kilt in our Hume family tartan. Only worn it a couple of times and once formally to a wedding.

Have seen a number of pics recently (including yours here) wearing a tie... and the tie is worn extremely short. Is that the correct look? In the business world we always wore our ties just over the belt buckle on our pants and, of course, my kilt is much higher so in that respect it makes sense.

Is this a personal choice on your part or pretty typical in the kilt wearing world?

[WalesLax]

Sir, I am new to the "kilted gentry" having just purchased my first kilt in our Hume family tartan. Only worn it a couple of times and once formally to a wedding.

Have seen a number of pics recently (including yours here) wearing a tie... and the tie is worn extremely short. Is that the correct look? In the business world we always wore our ties just over the belt buckle on our pants and, of course, my kilt is much higher so in that respect it makes sense.

Is this a personal choice on your part or pretty typical in the kilt wearing world?

As with a “normal” suit, the generally accepted procedure is for the tip of the tie to be at or just below the top of the pants or kilt. i agree with your question that the optics can look off at first, since the tie is so short, but it does indeed fall where it should because it is shorter than with a traditional suit.

The other thing I would point out is that, if he were to close he buttons on his jacket, the bottom of the tie would be covered or barely peeking out - which is again what you would do with a “normal” suit. If the tie came 3-4 inches below the bottom of a closed jacket, think of how “wrong” that would look.

RR

[Tobus]

Have seen a number of pics recently (including yours here) wearing a tie... and the tie is worn extremely short. Is that the correct look? In the business world we always wore our ties just over the belt buckle on our pants and, of course, my kilt is much higher so in that respect it makes sense.

Is this a personal choice on your part or pretty typical in the kilt wearing world?

It is indeed typical and traditional to wear a necktie much shorter with a kilt than one would do with trousers. The same general rule of thumb applies, where the tie should be at the top of the belt buckle, if wearing one. Of course, everyone has their own personal style and some Scots do wear them a bit longer than this, but still shorter than with trousers.

There is the underlying problem of wide ties being tied this short. The knot becomes huge, as you can see in McMurdo's photos above, as well as mine below. And the proportions of a wide tie get weird when tied short; they tend to look much wider than they normally would. This is one of the reasons I am in the process of altering my ties to a much narrower width (from 4" down to 2.5"). It helps with both these issues.

The other issue is when wearing a military kilt as McMurdo is in his photos. Due to the higher rise of a military kilt, the tie would have to get so short that it would be plain impossible to wear it where it just touches the top of the kilt. So some accommodation has to be made. I think McMurdo has it just right in his photos above, where he's wearing the ties at an otherwise normal length for a normal kilt, even with a military high-rise kilt. It does cover some of the kilt, but when there's no belt present, it doesn't matter.

[Chris Hills]

Thank you sir. I see what you mean about width as well... that will take some thought and review of existing ties.

Might I ask about your headwear as well. I presume you have your clan badge on the side in that pic? Where did you pick up that beret?