problems with the top half

[Moose McLennan]

I know the question of what to wear with the kilt (jackets, sweaters, rugby shirts and what have you) has cropped up often before, in various guises.

At a short 5'6" (and 130 lbs), I've found I hardly own anything that goes well with my kilt. Practically all of my T-shirts and polos are at least hip length and just look dreadful. Far too long. Same goes for sweaters; either too long or too slim fitting (that heavy Cameron kilt puts a good couple of inches on my hips and behind - anything slim fitting makes my hips look far wider than my chest. Unflattering). All I have is one ancient shrunk white T-shirt, one fairly short and boxy grey sweater and a hip length beige rain jacket. Not overly stylish really.

I can't really wear shirts or T's on their own tucked into the kilt either - it's military cut and reaches well up to my ribcage. I would look like a tartan lampshade.

So what's the answer, fellow short guys? Shell out for a properly cut kilt jacket? Waistcoat? Have a few T-shirts shortened?

I am desperate for ideas - going out kilted tomorrow evening (yippee!), casual but don't want to look sloppy!

Cheers
M.

[Bob C]

I posted this in another thread, so my apologies to those who have seen it:

Tuck in your damned shirt. Don't be a slob.

[HeathBar]

Tuck in your damned shirt. Don't be a slob.

I think we could be a little more helpful. Moose has said that he has a military cut kilt that comes up to his ribcage. So if he tucks in, he looks off balance because of his (lack of) height.

Moose,

Can you post a picture of yourself, tucked and untucked? It might not be as bad as you think. Would if be possible to hem the kilt so that you don't have to wear it so high? An inch or two could make a big difference.

Sweaters are not normally tucked in. If its too long try pulling the bottom of the sweater up higher and letting the excess roll over. Just work with it until it looks right.

If you do tuck in, a vest of some kind might break up the line between your kilt and shirt. You probably wouldn't even have to button up the vest. And a leather vest might give you a good casual look with a T-shirt.

I hope that helps.

[Moose McLennan]

I think we could be a little more helpful. Moose has said that he has a military cut kilt that comes up to his ribcage. So if he tucks in, he looks off balance because of his (lack of) height.

Moose,

Can you post a picture of yourself, tucked and untucked? It might not be as bad as you think. Would if be possible to hem the kilt so that you don't have to wear it so high? An inch or two could make a big difference.

Sweaters are not normally tucked in. If its too long try pulling the bottom of the sweater up higher and letting the excess roll over. Just work with it until it looks right.

If you do tuck in, a vest of some kind might break up the line between your kilt and shirt. You probably wouldn't even have to button up the vest. And a leather vest might give you a good casual look with a T-shirt.

I hope that helps.

Thank you HeathBar, you indeed hit it exactly on the head with "off-balance" - that's how I should have phrased it myself. The kilt is too heavy to be hemmed and would not go further over my hips in any case. Luckily it's a good fit, albeit on the outer holes of the straps.
Good tips with vest and sweater too.

I'll get pics up, don't worry, but not until I look presentable. Don't want to end up on that "Kilt Dos and Don'ts" thread. :-)

M.

[arrogcow]

Don't just tuck, once the kilt is on, try pulling about 2 inches of the t-shirt out evenly all the way around. The blousier (SP) look might work with a kilt with that high of a rise.

Adam

[bubba]

Moose, this is my usual look with a military cut kilt. It's the Cameron from What Price Glory.

[bangkok kilt]

Don't just tuck, once the kilt is on, try pulling about 2 inches of the t-shirt out evenly all the way around. The blousier (SP) look might work with a kilt with that high of a rise.

Adam

I'm with Arrogcow on this one. I usually blouse the shirt if I feel the overall look is unbalanced between shirt and kilt. The other thing is that you just have to get used to the look of the kilt being so high. The belt does indeed help this as well.

[davedove]

It might not be as bad as you think.

This is the best piece of wisdom so far on this thread. All of us have at one time or another been concerned about our appearance in the kilt. The truth is that most people (with the notable exception of the folks here at Xmarks) will only be noticing the kilt and not your other clothes.

Just try to be neat and walk with pride.

[Riverkilt]

Hey Moose,

You're in that transition stage...takes some sorting out of what works and what doesn't. The good part is there are some nice surprises...like who ever dreamed jean jackets and WWII replica military jackets went well with tartan kilts, or that Hawaiian shirts and Pendleton vests COULD work with solid kilts.

For me the secret was looking at all the pictures I could find of other guys wearing kilts. The pictures forum here, all the galleries on the kiltmaker's websites, all the personal galleries you can find.

If you wanna spend the ink you can also print out the pics of ideas you like as a reminder.

Not only will you find some ideas that will work for various types of garments, you'll also find color combinations that work that you'd not have thought of on your own.

Certainly there's the historic, traditional way to dress with the tartan kilt.
But there are also fun ways to dress casually, and for work in tartan and solid kilts. A lot of the fun of kilting is in finding and experimenting with looks.

Enjoy the process.

Ron

[Blu (Ontario)]

You might try wearing the shirts and polos - tucked in. I think that if a shirt is not tucked into the kilt, it just looks sloppy. Bomber style jackets work... and a jean jacket might be worth a try if its short enough.

good luck.