Kilt length

[Dirk95]

Hi everyone,
I know this has been asked a million times, what is the correct length of the kilt, should be to the knee, at the top or mid knee or what ever ,before I upset anybody my choice is just slightly below the top of the kneecap. This comes after a discussion with my kilt maker yesterday, I do appreciate it's a personal choice just thought I'd put it out there as I have heard people talk about it. I do have 3 kilts all hand sewn already .
Dirk95
Derek

[Arnot]

When I measure people for kilts, I always measure so it comes to the top of the knee. That's where I make my kilts to go to as well.

[Father Bill]

When I measure people for kilts, I always measure so it comes to the top of the knee. That's where I make my kilts to go to as well.

This also allows for half a knee’s worth of ‘slippage’ without being incorrect.

[Jock Scot]

Top of the knee for me. Anything lower has been described as “trollopey” in some circles.

[Troglodyte]

This picture might give you an idea...




And it looks like there is plenty of rise to allow for slippage..!

[Sir William]

Top of the knee for me. Anything lower has been described as “trollopey” in some circles.

Jock, some years ago I was being measured for a kilt in Edinburgh. The salesman insisted the hem should be between the middle and bottom of the knee. I said I wore my kilts at the top of the knee. He persisted, finally admitting that he'd never had an American request higher than mid-knee.

[Jock Scot]

Its a good job that you are around to show the way, Bill.

[Steve Ashton]

This question about where the bottom of a kilt should be, relative to the knee cap, is one of the most discussed - and misunderstood - topics in kilt wearing.

Back in the day, all men's trousers were worn with the beltline at the anatomical waist.



This is actually very comfortable and is at the smallest place on a man's body. Even if he has a bit of a belly.

This is when a style of kilt was developed that spanned from the end of WWI to the beginning of the 21st century.

Then, during the '60's blue jeans became popular. Blue jeans are designed to be worn with the waistband lower and this is what most guys today think of when they say "Waist". What they are actually referring to is where they wear the waistband of their blue jeans.

Near the end of the 20th century the less expensive Pakistani kilts began to appear on the Royal Mile catering to the tourist trade. While they were styled similar to other kilts, there was one very large difference.

A kilt made before then, has the top straps lower than the top of the garment. Above the top straps, in the rear, the pleats flare outward so that the smallest part of the kilt was at the level of the top straps.



But - The less expensive kilts did not have this feature. The rear tapered part continued up in a straight line making the top of the garment the smallest part.



Kilts made where the smallest part of the kilt is not at the same place as the straps will always droop down.

So what we ended up with has two origins to today's kilt length perception. Guys used to wearing only blue jeans - and - kilts made that will always slip down.
The result was that the bottom of the kilt began to be seen below the top of the knee cap. After a while this began to be accepted as the norm.

But there is also a third issue. And most kilt wearers don't know about it.
If you break a kilt down into its components you see four sections.
At the top is the waist - this is the tapered part from the gray kilt above.
Then the apron hanging straight down from the waist in front.
In the back are two parts. The tapered area and the pleated area.
The line between the tapered and un-tapered area is called "The bottom of the Fell Area".



And for a kilt to hang and look right, this line at the bottom of the Fell Area must be right at the crest or widest part of the hips or buttocks.

The back of a kilt with the bottom of the Fell Area should have the un-tapered pleats hanging straight and you should almost not see that there are pleats.



But if you wear a garment designed to be worn - up - at the anatomical waist - down where you wear the waistband of your blue jeans - the bottom of the kilt will be lower than it was designed to be.

And the back pleated area will often develop large shower curtain folds.



You can see on the kilt above that with the bottom of the Fell Area worn lower it also puts undue stress on the pleat stitching which will often fail.

OK, how to fix this - -

Well to explain that, you have to understand that the part of the kilt that is pleated and un-tapered is always the same. From the hips down to the knee. There is a bone in the leg and this distance can't change.
So all the difference in where the wearer wishes to wear the waist of his kilt must be accounted for above the hip line.

All three of these kilts have the bottom at the same place - And the bottom of the Fell Area at the same place. All the difference is from the hips up.



It is simply impractical for a mass production operation to make kilts to fit so many different body shapes and waist heights.

What we end up with are ill fitting kilts. And un-informed kilt wearers.

If you wish to wear your kilt with the bottom at the top, the middle, or below the knee cap you are, of course, welcome to.
But you should understand where this "Kilt Length" conundrum originated.

[Recon1342]

Wow. That’s very concise explanation, and clears up a lot of curiosity on my part. Thank you, Steve!

Regards, John

[ASinclair]

Thanks, Steve.