How high do you wear your kilt

[DrWilson]

I know around the belly button, but I read somewhere that some men prefer it lower if not in a formal setting, that true?

[Father Bill]

High enough that the selvedge at the bottom is at the top of the kneecap. THAT's the really important measurement.

[Steve Ashton]

That really depends on what style of kilt you have.

All traditional kilts are designed so the top straps cinch into the anatomical waist. That is much higher than most people think.

The anatomical waist is right up under the ribs.

Then there is 2" of kilt above the top strap.

This means that the top of a traditional kilt will be about three to four finger widths below the bottom of the breastbone.

We never go by the naval as that is different on different guys. A guy who is heavier or has a stomach will have a naval quite a bit lower than a thin guy.

The Utilikilt was the first pleated garment designed to be worn like blue jeans. Today some, but not the average, kilt s can be made to ride lower. 21st Century kilts are now designed to ride lower. My own Freedom Kilts can be made where ever the wearer wants it to ride.




You have to think about where the straps and buckles cinch into the back, not the front.
The top position in this photo illustrates full, traditional rise. This is up at kidney level
The center position is mid rise. The belly button is in the center of this strap. The strap is riding on top of the hip bones.
The lower position is low rise. The strap is down over the hip bones.

[Jimmy the Celt]

I tend to wear my kilts at my lowest rib, but I have a couple of casuals that I wear slightly lower because they are a bit shorter. If I get any other casual style kilts, I would get them longer as I find the higher rise to be more comfortable.

[ratspike]

On my hips almost without exception, with my kilts coming in at a whopping 20.5" in length. My semi-trad from USA Kilts comes up a little bit higher, right about to my navel. The waistband sits is high enough that I can wear a vest and not have my shirt peeking out on the rare occasion that I dress up fancy, so it works for me. Anything that comes up higher on my torso is downright uncomfortable to me. For giggles a few years ago I made myself a kilt that sat at my natural waist and it was absolutely awful. I wore it out once and then promptly tore it apart and put it back together about 5 inches shorter. Much better after that.

[Orvis]

I wear my kilts (all Newsome 4-yard box-pleats) with the selvedge about an inch above the top of my kneecap. That comes from my habit in reenacting of wearing my belted plaid a bit above the kneecap for freedom of motion. In the pre-Culloden days, some Highlanders were reported (see Burt's "Letters....") to wear their plaids so short as to be considered indecent by Lowlanders and English downhill from them.

[The Q]

As my woollen kilt is an inch longer than my PV kilts, its worn an inch higher just above the navel. The PVs are on the navel. Both of which give me a selvage at the top of the knee at the start of wearing, though they always droop a bit before I have to hitch them up.

[ThistleDown]

Just below my lowest rib or, as Steve said, four finger-widths below my breast bone.

[Nathan]

As Fr. Bill said, the selvedge should be somewhere between the mid and top of the knee cap. Most traditionalists say top of the knee cap. Certainly no lower than mid-knee and not half way up your thigh either.

[O'Callaghan]

Wherever you want really. I tend to wear them all at my navel, regardless of the type of kilt or its length. I have short legs and a long body, though. If I wore them any lower the hem would hang too low, IMHO. I wear my trousers on my hip, even when designed to be worn higher, because that is what I have always done, and I can always take up the hem. YMMV. 'Regulation' length is for those in highland regiments, although one tries not to look silly, but with my particular dimensions some kilts have too low a hem and there is nothing I can easily do to fix it. If I can specify a shorter length I tend to do so.