Identifying kilted skirt vs kilt

[The Wizard of BC]

For guys with a slim build, like those in the military, a waist to hip difference would average 3-4 inches.
As the belly increases the difference can become significantly more.

And no, the mismatch of the top band in the rear is normal. In fact it is almost impossible not to have the mismatch without piecing the top band.

It is unlikely Thompson ever saw a lower rise kilt. They are a bit more modern. One of the very first to begin producing a kilt made to be worn lower was Howie Nicklesby of 21st Century Kilts. Next was probably the Utilikilt. And then myself.

One of the causes of the confusion is that guys only knew of, and had experience with, blue jeans. They simply did not know that they were wearing the kilt designed in an older style.

Today it is quite common to see kilts made without the flared rise. Perhaps that small but important detail was not passed on to the next generation of kiltmakers. More than likely though, it was that customers were more concerned with price and kiltmakers needed to do whatever was necessary to keep their costs down. The casual kilts without stabilizer and interfacing, the 5 yard kilts to save on fabric, the Mid-Eastern competition for the tourist dollar are all signs of the market.
The result is, that on kilts without the flare, the smallest part is at the top band. Above the straps and buckles. So the kilt wants to slide down and the buckles no longer hold it up.

And very few know that this was not always so.

What is sort of forgotten is that the interest we see today in kilt wearing, is quite recent. Before the beginnings of this century there were very few kilt wearers outside of the military and pipers.