never saw a kilt do that before

[OC Richard]

What jumped out to me when I glanced at this photo was...well, you see it too!



How does a kilt do that?

[Karl R]

How does a kilt do that?

It seems like the gentleman lacks a derriere, so his kilt is sliding down in back, and his sporran chain is sliding down in back.

[ThistleDown]

It happens -- even when in uniform. Points lost, I suppose when one is in competition. None should worry too much about this in civilian dress. It simply happens.

[Me cousin Jack]

It seems like the gentleman lacks a derriere, so his kilt is sliding down in back, and his sporran chain is sliding down in back.

And perhaps compounded by posture

[Arnot]

What jumped out to me when I glanced at this photo was...well, you see it too!



How does a kilt do that?

I think part of the problem is that he didn't put the kilt on correctly in the first place and then put the sporran on too low. All that and not much for a backside can allow things to go awry.

[Barb T]

This is more extreme than some I've seen at Highland Games, but I think mainly he doesn't have it buckled on tightly enough. And, if it's a band kilt that he inherited from another band member, it's likely compounded by the fact that it was made for someone with a different body shape. And maybe he CAN'T get it buckled tightly because the buckles and straps aren't in the right place for him.

You'll see also in the photo below that he doesn't have his belt through the loops (which I think is GREAT, actually). But, because the kilt isn't buckled tightly, I suspect what happened was that he sat down, the belt rode up in the back, he stood up, pulled up the front of the kilt, but didn't also pull the back up to get it back under the belt. So, the belt is around his waist, and he can see the front of the kilt in the right place when he looks down, so it likely feels to him like all is good.

[jhockin]

It also looks like his sporran strap wasn’t put through the sporran strap loops.

[Father Bill]

It also looks like his sporran strap wasn’t put through the sporran strap loops.

I rather think that might make it worse!

[OC Richard]

Thanks for all the input.

Thing is, I've been in pipe bands for 40 years and yes you see kilts worn too low, and ill-fitting or ill-adjusted kilts slipping down all the time!

But the kilts usually go low more or less evenly all around.

I can't recall ever seeing the front of a kilt stay that high while the rear goes that low.

I think Barb is on to something: one culprit might be the waistbelt, if the kilt got somehow held by the front of the belt while at the back the kilt is being forced below the belt.

In any case it's unacceptable for a top-grade band like that to march into the competition circle with a kilt looking that bad, especially at The Worlds, where every detail ends up live streamed all over the planet.

Since while in competition a pipe band is seen from the rear, a band really needs to have a Dress & Deportment person walk around and tend to drooping kilts and especially to hose and flashes. The most common issue is having the hose at different heights, having the cuffs folded differently, and/or having the flashes all ahoo. (Note that the piper with the drooping kilt also has issues with his hose, a narrower cuff than the others, and the two hose at different heights.)

[OC Richard]

Points lost, I suppose when one is in competition.

The Pipe Band Associations I'm familiar with don't have Dress & Deportment as part of a band's competition score.

The only time I've seen it judged is at the Worlds, where there is a separative Dress & Deportment judge (usually an RSM) who awards a separate Dress & Deportment trophy, which has no effect on the band's score or placing overall.

However, experienced pipe band people know that a band's appearance has a subliminal/unconscious effect on the way the piping and drumming judges perceive the band. In rare instances a judge might write a comment about a band's appearance on the score-sheet, though technically a band's appearance falls outside of the purview of the judges and cannot be taken into consideration.

In the late 70s/early 80s when big hair was a thing a number of bands went hatless. Ours was one of them. One judge wrote on our sheets "hats would be nice" and we got hats.

It might be of interest to note that the various USA Pipe Band Associations require bands to appear in Highland Dress, while the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (of Scotland) does not. It is perfectly acceptable to compete in trousers in RSPBA-sanctioned competitions; their rules only require "matching dress".

It would be very cool if a pipe band from Texas were to show up in Scotland wearing matching jeans, cowboy boots, Western shirts, and cowboy hats. I'm sure the locals would love it.