man of substance help

**swampfox** · 24th October 10, 07:14 PM

hello all... (if this has already been posted please delete or move as i havent seen a thread on this)
well to the point... i am a man of substance and my issue is my gut seems to stick out between my belt and sporran making me look almost pregnant

lol im wearing my kilt about an inch above my belly button and my sporran is on a chain belt, well ive made my own hangars tonight but it still seems to be an issue... would it be ok if i wore the sporran an inch or two below the belt to "hide" my paunch or is my kilt ill fitted? it is a bit small for me by a few inches and ive poked an extra hole in the straps for a more comfy fit.
is this normal for a man of girth or am i doing it wrong? lol thanks in advance.

**McNulty** · 24th October 10, 07:45 PM

I too am a man of substance and have had the same concerns(not a problem really). I tend to wear my kilts a tad higher up on my gut. I usually go about three fingers,two inches, above the navel. My sporran is kept relatively high because of my gut and I feel that it rides better higher up than hanging lower. All of my kilts are 22'' long and the only one that is longer is the WPG MacKenzie at 23''. I'd get away from using the chain sporran belt and get another, preferably leather from one of the sponsors of the forum. The chain tends to eat into your fabric and possibly could fray your kilt material especially if it is a synthetic one. Here's a pix of me getting ready for Homecoming this past year in my IOS and Wyvern sporran. Sometimes the type of sporran will make a difference as to how it sits. More folks will follow with additional suggestions.

McNulty

**The Wizard of BC** · 24th October 10, 07:51 PM

I always advice my customers who are 'Gentlemen of Substance" to wear their kilts at their Natural Waist, or just under the ribs at the side.

Then to get their sporran as high as they can. The sporran is not a crotch protector and should be worn so it sits on top of the stomach hanging free. This keeps the strap or chain from catching the aprons and causing them to bunch up.

I usually advise two to three fingers width below the belt buckle.

Sporran hangers help a lot. Just make sure that they are fairly short. Another trick is to tuck the sporran strap under the belt or lift it to the top of the belt so that it hangs quite vertical in the front.

**swampfox** · 24th October 10, 07:54 PM

thank you for showing me im not the only one lol i read earlier about how the chain will eat the fabric and since mine is acrylic i dont want that to happen... im hitting up the goodwill tomorow to see what i can find for a strap but till then im gonna use the hangars with a very short chain to hold it up, also its a home made sporran i made from leather scraps bought at hobby lobby, i think too my belt is not wide enough for a man my size its only 1 1/2 wide so im thinking if i go with either a 2 1/2 to 3 inch it will look more proportionate.

**McNulty** · 25th October 10, 04:36 AM

Swampfox
The belt in my pix is 2.5" and my sporran should be a tad higher up. I usually go about 1-2fingers between my belt and sporran. It tends to clear that extra front porch and to me it feels better higher up. Never tried hangers for the sporran though can't help there. When kilted at school I usually go sporran-less as it tends to get in the way as I move around my classroom.
McNulty

**Riverkilt** · 25th October 10, 07:13 AM

Another option for us fat guys is to wear a baggy sweater and forget the sporran. Ham suggested wearing a vest or bomber style jacket in lieu of a sporran. Much more comfy and without the sporran to telegraph what's underneath, the tartan pattern sort of covers the paunch.

**swampfox** · 25th October 10, 07:18 AM

living in the deep south I.E. middle georgia and soon to be central florida the weather dosent offer me to wear a jacket BUT when it does get chilly i wear a mountain hardware zip up so when it comes to that i wont wear a sporran but more of a belt pouch on the side.
as a fairly new kilter i have to remind myself that there are no exact rules for wearing a kilt and still look good.

**Squeaky McMurdo** · 25th October 10, 08:12 AM

First off, please excuse the drooping belt in this picture. It was nylon and my husband was a newbie kilt wearer.

There is the possibility that you could just hang your sporran from your belt with short hangers.

**swampfox** · 25th October 10, 08:34 AM

no worries at all about the picture... i wore my hangars today wilst shopping for a good belt and my what a wonderfull feeling... it bounced a little too much but i got over that, with the smaller sized belt im wearing it tends to pull the front down but i found a 3" carpenters tool belt at lowes for like 16 bucks in a dark brown almost black so that should hold the weight of my wallet and cellphone.

(edit) well my new belt is about two inch's too small

lol i guess its motivation to lose some weight.

**Tiny** · 3rd November 10, 03:19 AM

The 2 solutions I have found to this very issue are sporran hangers(not for everyone but very handy for those of use who have more of us) or switching to a leather sporran strap.

The leather sporran strap is stiffer and will help keep a gentle curve to the lines where as I found the chains to be pulled down more significantly by the sporran thus accentuating the dunlap. the extra bonus is the strap wont wreck your kilt like a chain will.