Question on how to wear a belt with kilts

[Hamish]

Now Hamish, first you tell the gentleman that there are no rules and then you make a statement that sounds like a rule exists. You stated; "Also, if possible, try to match the buckle of your belt with the kilt pin"...? Who said there was any rule requiring a kilt pin? I haven't worn a kilt pin in over a decade and I probably never will again, just don't care for them. I own a few of them and some of them have dust from the Mount St. Helens eruption on them, that's how long since they've been moved...lol

Chris.

There ARE no rules, Chris! Those statements of mine, are expressing my opinions - nothing more!

[Blu (Ontario)]

I normally wear the belt through the beltloops. I've never noticed any adverse affects. However, tomorrow afternoon I will be wearing a kilt and jacket to a memorial service. I will wear the sporran through the beltloops and the belt over top since there seems to be some logical reasons to do so. A test drive so to speak.

.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Just to clarify, I'm not necessarily advocating wearing your sporran strap through the belt loops. I'm just saying that is what they were originally intended for. I don't wear either belt or sporran strap through any sort of loops and get by just fine. A normally proportioned gentleman doesn't need to wear his sporran belt through any kind of loops -- as Barb indicated, this is more for men who have no hips.

Most men, so long as you are not wearing your sporran strap overly loose, should have no need of them.

Matt

[Archangel]

There ARE no rules, Chris! Those statements of mine, are expressing my opinions - nothing more!

Hamish and Keef with the same philosophy, how cool is that?

[James]

It is not about rules, rather practicality and appearance: hence the need for belt loops, even though they might be rarely used.

Under ideal circumstances both kilt and belt will stay in place without any aids-but we do not live in an ideal world. We move about, get in and out of cars-chairs-bend down and so on and so on, and then the belt can ride up or down..

The result being that the line up between belt and kilt can go wrong over the course of the day-and it looks horrible to see a belt riding up or down in relation to the kilt. The belt loops ensure that does not happen-more so if like me these days, the wearer has a less than perfect figure.

Too some find that a belt can be too tight, and so uncomfortable: the use of belt loops ensures that it stays in place, yet does not need to be too tight.

In an earlier post, I mentioned the need if one is wearing a dirk-again they stop the belt getting out of place and making the wearer look ill-dressed.

Such problems do not occur if wearing a waistcoat, but then there is little need of a belt.

So the answer is quite simple, regardless of what any maker might say, if getting a proper kilt, make sure there are belt loops-they will only be needed rarely-but are there for when they are needed.

Here it is well to remember the changes that have taken place, in my youth it would be very rare to see a kilt being worn without the jacket and waistcoat, so there was little need for loops, and so 'possibly' why some makers get confused. Now however more and more people are wearing the kilt without a jacket, and see the belt as a finishing touch to their appearance-I think they are right. So to ensure looking smart, it is now necessary to have belt loops, and on occasion use them.

As for the military kilt, that is a red herring: for the belt would be worn outside the blouse/tunic, and be tight enough so as not to be dragged down by any equipment. However on both my blues and service dress uniforms-there were little metal hooks to support the belt-akin in fact to the loops on the kilt. Again essential, more so when wearing a sword/side arm, for a uniform - any uniform looks horrid when the belt is dragging down and not at right angles to the ground all round.

So the whole topic is not about this or that source/authority, or whatever, it is about the actuality of wearing the kilt, and looking smart whilst so doing.

James

[chasem]

Absolutely you may.

[Dan R Porter]

Never heard or thought of braces with a kilt, anyone have pics of someone with braces and kilt?

[davedove]

Never heard or thought of braces with a kilt, anyone have pics of someone with braces and kilt?

I would think that braces should only be worn under a waistcoat, just as with trousers. Yeah, I know people do it otherwise, but I don't think it looks right that way.

Thus, if they are under a waistcoat, you wouldn't see them unless the wearer purposely opened the waistcoat to show them.

[haukehaien]

Never heard or thought of braces with a kilt, anyone have pics of someone with braces and kilt?

It was fairly common in Victorian/Edwardian times for sure. The Cutter's Practical Guide to Cutting Every Kind of Garment Made is a tailor's handbook available online from that era. Part three has instructions for a kilt, which include buttons for braces.

There's a picture of WWI soldiers wearing braces here, although they may be wearing them on their kilt aprons rather than the kilts themselves.

I know there are some other pictures, but I can't seem to find them this morning.

[Jack Daw]

My first two kilts did not have "belt" loops, so I've always ignored them on more recently acquired kilts.