Questions & Pics of my New Seaforth Box

[Riverkilt]

love the brown kilt straps!

[Big Mikey]

Returning to your main enquiry, the usual answer given for a kilt that has the apron opening on the left is that the garment is a womans pleated skirt. Having said that though, the markings look to be statements about the kilt size which are usually only found on military kilts and in the military women wear kilts the same as men. Soooooo, I can't be certain about what you have other than to say it is a fine looking piece of work and you look grand in it.

[Oddern]

It looks to me that this kilt is a woman's military kilt or a kilt altered in to a woman kilt by replacing the buckles and straps from right side to left side and by that changing the over and under apron. The kilt could have had an inside buckle replaced by welcro closing when the kilt was altered, therefor no trace of a button hole. The kilt has definetly been altered in some way since the buckles are attatched onto the under apron and not to the fell. That's way the apron don't align to the pleats and the the kilt is probably to tight for you originally. Check out the under apron, is it wider than the over apron? Is the tartan centered on the apron? If it is yes on both questions, this was probably the original over apron. This kilt is probably made for a man taller and slimmer than you or a woman with a kilt / skirt that was supposed to go below the knees.
Skål!

[Spartan Tartan]

I have not personally seen a left closing kilt before--male or female. I have seen mentioned here at XMTS that a couple people have specified a left closing on the kilt for reasons that meet their needs, but it was not gender.

If it were mine, I would keep it as is and just hem the length a bit. I am a giant of enormous proportions as I tower at a full 67 inches as well. I would need about 2.5 inches of length removed to keep it from rubbing my calves excessively.

Great find.

[truckie561]

.......Check out the under apron, is it wider than the over apron? Is the tartan centered on the apron? If it is yes on both questions, this was probably the original over apron. This kilt is probably made for a man taller and slimmer than you or a woman with a kilt / skirt that was supposed to go below the knees.
Skål!

I'll take a closer look at it when I get home tomorrow to see if the apon dimensions are much different.

Again...going on my limited experience, are both apons shaped the same on their ends or is it only the outer apron that is shaped?

[truckie561]

I have not personally seen a left closing kilt before--male or female. I have seen mentioned here at XMTS that a couple people have specified a left closing on the kilt for reasons that meet their needs, but it was not gender.

If it were mine, I would keep it as is and just hem the length a bit. I am a giant of enormous proportions as I tower at a full 67 inches as well. I would need about 2.5 inches of length removed to keep it from rubbing my calves excessively.

Great find.

-So there is something definitely uncommon about this kilt?
-So sterotypically, the overall general impression about a kilt that closes on the left hip means that it was designed for a woman?
-If I wear it to a Burn's Supper or in a parade/performance, am I gonna get asked why I'm wearing a woman's kilt?

[Oddern]

Again...going on my limited experience, are both apons shaped the same on their ends or is it only the outer apron that is shaped?

On a well made kilt both aprons are shaped, but the tartan on the under apron is most likely not centered. The over apron usually have fringes and the under apron haven't.

-So there is something definitely uncommon about this kilt?
-So sterotypically, the overall general impression about a kilt that closes on the left hip means that it was designed for a woman?
-If I wear it to a Burn's Supper or in a parade/performance, am I gonna get asked why I'm wearing a woman's kilt?

Answer 1: Yes
Answer 2: In general, Yes
Answer 3: Probably not. The general knowledge about kilts are quite limited.

Skål!

[Friday]

Jeez!!Why so serious??

From this picture it seems as if the under and over apron are very similarly positioned on the sett. It appears that the edge of the apron does not have a fringe. Try putting the kilt on with the aprons reversed, with the under apron on top and it opens on the right. Hold the kilt in place with a belt while you look at it.

Does the under apron have a center stripe that lines up correctly? If the under apron lines up correctly mover the straps and no one will think twice about how the kilt was originally made.

[The Wizard of BC]

If I can approach this from a kiltmakers standpoint.....

I am, in addition to a kiltmaker, a Docent at the Royal BC Museum. We have many Seaforth kilts in our collection. All are Military Box Pleated and all are fastened on the right hip.

From the look of the position of the straps and buckles on your kilt, and due to the distortion of the fabric where the straps attach I would assume that this kilt had been altered at some time. This would also account for the Velcro on the right hip.

if you look at the edge of what is now the outer apron you can see that it does not completely cover the now inner apron and the edge is not tapered. This would indicate that the aprons have been reversed at some time.

The position of the straps and buckles appears higher than is normally found on these kilts. The top strap is usually between 2" and 4" from the top of the kilt. if the straps and buckles were in a lower position the kilt would be able to be worn higher on your body and may fit better at the knee.

If you look at your photo that shows the front of the kilt with the straps and buckles you can plainly see that the fabric of the apron is being pulled out of shape. This should not be there. Built into your kilt should be some internal stabilizer and interfacings. These are to prevent distortion of the fabric.

It is possible that if this kilt were altered to buckle on the left that the position of the straps and buckles was changed and the stabilizer missed when the buckles were re-sewn onto the the kilt. I think I can see where the stabilizer is in your kilt due to the distortion of the fabric of the pleats. It looks that the buckles used to be almost two inches lower than they are now.

One way you can check for this is to pull on the buckle on the left hip while holding the kilt were you would expect the right buckle to be. look at the pleated area in the back of the kilt as you pull. You should see no movement or stretching of the kilt. Not any, nada, none. If you see any stretch it is a good bet that whoever altered the kilt sewed the buckles on in the wrong place.

Let us know if you see any stretch in your kilt.

[LitTrog]

-If I wear it to a Burn's Supper or in a parade/performance, am I gonna get asked why I'm wearing a woman's kilt?

With your build--no. Someone may think it, but I doubt they'll ask it.

Honestly, the reversal is not something that would jump out at me at all.