Less Can Be More

[creagdhubh]

Watching from a distance, with a bowl of popcorn in my lap...

[tundramanq]

I'm with Tobus here - enjoying the show!
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt. - Mark Twain

[artroland]

I always enjoyed letting everyone know exactly what type of idiot with which they were dealing. It only seemed sporting that forewarned was forearmed.

[Grizzly]

Budge up Tobus, room for a little one?

[tundramanq]

grizzly - made me look up "Budge up" new one here - means move over or make room?

[Grizzly]

Being a GOS I can only dream of seeing my knees, I start out well with my kilt in the general region of just above mid knee, then breathe in and kilt falls slightly only to arrest its downward trajectory when I breathe out. I know where it's supposed to be, but without constantly checking in a full length mirror it's difficult to know where it exactly is at any given time. We are talking fractions here, suffice to say that there is a zone between mid and just above the top of the knee between which is the commonly accepted range for kilt length, outside of that above or below is skirt length.

And now I will get behind the sofa.

[Grizzly]

grizzly - made me look up "Budge up" new one here - means move over or make room?

That's exactly right. Thought I would purloin some of Tobus's popcorn

[Carlo]

Since we are talking about it anyway, I figured that top knee for me is perfect but then when we had snow I decided to go hose up and kilt down (Edge below knee) whilst outside cause additional layer of fabric brings extra warmth. (Obviously that is corrected as soon as one enters a warm house)
And about less can be more, I figured that during heavy rain I'm much better of with my hose down to the ankle. That way I don't get cold legs and no cold.

[CMcG]

I would like to weigh in on the height of the kilt selvage issue. In my book, you just show some knee and you're good That may sound flippant, so let me provide a long-winded exposition on the vagaries of the situation.

A lot of the perception of this has to do with the perspective of the viewer/camera: looking down on it makes the bottom of the kilt appear lower, while looking up on it does the opposite. This can be further skewed by the substance of the gentleman wearing the kilt, whose increase causes the edge of the kilt to create a greater angle of vision blockage and whose decrease reveals the knees more easily. There is also the fact that the knee is a joint and creates a moving target for measurements. Finally, there is the potential for a kilt to migrate up or down depending on one's posture, waist shape, level of activity, etc

All these factors result in a rather inexact science of kilt selvage height and mean that no absolute measurement is possible. Sure, there are guidelines like "bottom of the kilt touching the ground when one kneels" or "bottom of the kilt touching the top of the kneecap when standing straight," but these positions remain subject to the distortions of viewing angle and motion. One must still adjust -- and readjust -- according to their own physiognomy and activity. It doesn't hurt to have the photographer/tripod set up in a neutral spot either

From a less is more position, one should avoid the extremes because perspective, anatomy, and motion can all contribute to fluctuations in the perception of this height. The ideal range, then, appears to be somewhere between mid-knee and the top of the knee.

Too low and it looks frumpy; too high and it looks tarty. Which is worse? I'd say they both look equally bad...


More examples of ridiculous kilt selvage height to avoid:



Here's one of Kyle's pictures from the Aboyne Highland games showing a range of kilt selvage heights. On the left there does not appear to be enough (any?) knee showing, while on the middle and right we have the more acceptable range from mid to top of the knee.


Here is a closeup:


Personally, I'd rather show a little more knee than a little less, so I aim for the upper end of the range. This also mitigates the effects of unflattering downward viewing angles and the risk of my kilt slipping down my (thankfully) trim waist.

[Tobus]

Here's one of Kyle's pictures from the Aboyne Highland games showing a range of kilt selvage heights. On the left there does not appear to be enough (any?) knee showing, while on the middle and right we have the more acceptable range from mid to top of the knee.

Interesting side note: check out the age of the individuals and compare them to the height of the kilt. It might explain that those who have been wearing it longer, and who are more rooted in tradition, are showing more knee.