Two things:

A trad kilt is never made with smaller hips than waist. If the hips are actually smaller than the waist, the kilt is made as a cylinder using the _waist_ measurement.

A kiltmaker who is making at trad kilt for someone assumes that the kilt will be worn at the waist (actually waist plus a 2" rise above). A trad kilt is not cut lower in the front to accommodate a belly, so the kilt can't be worn properly and won't hang properly if it slopes from higher in the back to underneath the belly in the front. That's why trad kilts worn that way look odd (they typically are all rumpled up under the belly or sag in the front and are hiked up in the back).

And one last thing. If you are measuring to have a trad kilt made, don't do any "adjusting" of the measurements. Measure exactly as your kiltmaker asks you to!

Cheers,

B