Waist: high or jeans

[OC Richard]

What you're talking about here is called the rise. That's the distance from the top straps/buckles of the kilt to the very top of the kilt. On most civilian kilts it's around 1-1/2" to 2". On military kilts it can be 3" to even 4" (called high-rise kilts).

In either case, it's the straps that should be at your natural waist, not the top of the kilt.

Here we can see the several differences between an ordinary traditional Other Ranks army kilt (left) and an ordinary traditional civilian kilt (right).

The difference in "rise" can clearly be seen; as Tobus says the upper of the two buckles is worn at the same point of the body on both military and civilian kilts.

It's why traditionally kiltmakers have not spoken of the "length" of the kilt (the distance from the binding at top to the selvedge at bottom) but rather the "rise" (the distance between the waistline of the kilt and the binding at top) and the "drop" (the distance between the waistline of the kilt and the selvedge at bottom).

Thus two kilts of differing length might have the same distance between the waist and the knee, for example:

Kilt 1: 22" drop, 2" rise, 24" length.

Kilt 2: 22" drop, 4" rise, 26" length.

A buyer not knowing these things might imagine that a 26" length kilt will of necessity hang lower, covering more of the knees, than a 24" length kilt. It's about the drop, not the length.

You might also note the four other observable differences between the construction of the two kilts.

The straps that should be at your natural waist, not the top of the kilt. It is as you surmised: that is essentially the internal 'belt' of the kilt, and needs to be around a narrower part of the body with something wider below it, or it will just slip right off.

Unlike trousers, the kilt doesn't hug your hips or rear end.

I should point out that well-made traditional kilts conform to the small of your back, which goes a long way to keeping them in place.

It's the very thing missing on my "semi-traditional" kilt that just goes straight across the back. Add to that the fact that the pleats aren't cut out so the kilt is bulkier across the back than a traditional kilt with cut-out pleats.