Proper way to wear a kilt with a tie?

**Tobus** · 27th October 09, 01:09 PM

I tried to do a search using the word "tie" but apparently the search function doesn't like words that short.

Anyway... I'd like to broach the subject with my boss about wearing my kilt to work. I'm a licensed professional engineer and the manager of the engineering department for my district within the company. So obviously I need to look and act at least halfway professional. Normal office attire is 'business casual', and we usually wear neckties only one day a week.

What I'd like to do is organize myself an appropriate kilted outfit, take a picture of me in it, and show it to him to see if he'd think it's appropriate for the office.

I'm thinking it would be brown Oxford style shoes, Lovat blue kilt hose, my Colquhoun 'ancient' kilt, brown sporran and kilt belt, a blue collared dress shirt, and a dark blue or black tie. I don't have a waistcoat/vest, but might consider one. Mainly I want the look to be subdued, not screaming out with bright colors or diced hose or anything. Not at first, anyway, until people are used to the kilt in the office.

It's the tie that I'm unsure of. If I wear a tie with my kilt without a waistcoat, what are the rules? Normally a tie is worn so that the end is at the belt buckle. With a kilt, of course, that would be very very short indeed and might look kind of silly. Do people wear neckties with kilts without a waistcoat, or is it pretty much a general rule that you always wear a waistcoat with the tie when kilted?

Sorry for the dumb newbie question. Pics would help if you have them.

**Kilted Rogue** · 27th October 09, 01:21 PM

Just wanted to toss this out to ya. You can get a decent waist coat at Target. well decent till you can get a nicer one. i think they are 19 bucks.

Good luck on convincing the boss man !!

**davedove** · 27th October 09, 01:22 PM

The same general rule applies. Some might argue whether it should be the top of the kilt or the top of the belt buckle, but that's splitting hairs in my book.

Yes, if it was tied that short with trousers it would look odd. However, with the kilt it looks okay.

**Tobus** · 27th October 09, 01:27 PM

I agree, looking at the picture, it doesn't look bad at all. But what about without the jacket? Are ties generally worn with a kilt without waistcoat or jacket?

Hmm... Target. I'll check that out. I think I also saw mention of JC Penney in another thread. Would these vests be the correct length for a waistcoat worn with a kilt? And for that matter, what is the proper length of a waistcoat when worn with a kilt?

**Peregrine** · 27th October 09, 01:42 PM

It's my understanding that a 5 button argyle style waistcoat is virtually identical to what would be worn with a 3 piece suit. Regarding length, the waistcoat should cover the top of the kilt, much as a belt would. It should not be so short as to leave a gap exposing your shirt.

**Inchessi** · 27th October 09, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by Tobus

I'm a licensed professional engineer and the manager of the engineering department for my district within the company.

You sell Trains?

I could not help myself.

I had a lot of difficulty selecting a professional outfit to show off my kilt. When I thought I had something together, I took a pic and posted it on this forum. The feedback was fantastic. There were several great suggestions covering color and pattern, and several more on subtle paraphernalia placements. Try it, you will not be disappointed.

**Jock Scot** · 27th October 09, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by Tobus

I agree, looking at the picture, it doesn't look bad at all. But what about without the jacket? Are ties generally worn with a kilt without waistcoat or jacket?

Hmm... Target. I'll check that out. I think I also saw mention of JC Penney in another thread. Would these vests be the correct length for a waistcoat worn with a kilt? And for that matter, what is the proper length of a waistcoat when worn with a kilt?

Dave Dove has it dead right with his tie and no waistcoat, an inch either way would not go amiss.

Waistcoat length depends almost entirely how you wear your kilt and where it was measured from. For example a traditional kilt will be measured from above the belly button, modern style kilts, I am led to believe, are usually measured below the belly button. The trick with the kilt and waistcoat is that there should be no gap between the two. So however your kilt is measured, think NO GAP with the waistcoat! Just one last thing to bare in mind is if your waistcoat is too long your sporran will not hang tidily in place.

**McMurdo** · 27th October 09, 01:46 PM

I would say check out this thread

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/1...888/index.html

I wore my kilt to work three years and normally wore a tie though nobody else including my manager ever did. My reasoning was that if I could make the kilt seem that much more professional then the powers that be would not be able to say anything. An outfit like this would be something I'd normally wear:

or something like this

This one was taken in the parking lot at work, but does not show a tie.

One more

I normally wear solid colour wool ties with my kilts, as you can see by the photos the length varies a bit but somewhere around the top of the kilt or belt if you are wearing one is where it should land.

**Tobus** · 27th October 09, 01:56 PM

My reasoning was that if I could make the kilt seem that much more professional then the powers that be would not be able to say anything.

That is exactly what I'm going for too.

Thanks very much for the input! That helps, I think. Judging by the examples posted in the "10 looks" thread, I'd probably be going for somewhere between "day wear" and "smart day wear". So I suppose a waistcoat would be in order.

Waistcoat length depends almost entirely how you wear your kilt and where it was measured from. For example a traditional kilt will be measured from above the belly button, modern style kilts, I am led to believe, are usually measured below the belly button. The trick with the kilt and waistcoat is that there should be no gap between the two. So however your kilt is measured, think NO GAP with the waistcoat! Just one last thing to bare in mind is if your waistcoat is too long your sporran will not hang tidily in place.

Good advice. My kilt is measured to ride on my waist, above my belly button. So I'm not worried about a waistcoat being too short. If anything, I'll have a hard time finding one that isn't too long. I'll look around, though, for a decent one.

**SteveB** · 27th October 09, 04:24 PM

OK, I am not wearing a waistcoat or jacket. I have only very a very formal evening waistcoat and Argyle. Not suitable for day wear. I am the person standing on the right. I had just returned from watching the piping competition on a windy slope. I had not removed the cardigan hoodie in time for the photo.

Soon I hope to have a day wear waistcoat and jacket to wear with the kilt. BTW, I generally have the tie tip just over the kilt.