Shirt tucked in or out?

[Manu]

I agree with the padre, the utilikilt has no Scottish background whatsoever, so rules of traditional kilted attire likely not apply to it. The way I look at It, Utilikilts in particular can be worn either way. Shirt tucked in as if wearing Dockers, or t shirt tucked out as if you're wearing a pair of shorts.

[MNlad]

To me the utilikilt is the equivalent of a pair of cargo shorts in the pa**ed world. As such, anything that goes well with one will do so with the other. There just aren't any conventions since, by nature, it is a casual garment—although I draw the line at wearing a tie with one. Tucked or untucked depends more on length and type of shirt and your own sense of style.

[6cuda6]

Interesting takes on the subject.....

[Tobus]

I have a Utilikilt, and I always tuck my shirt in when wearing it. Not out of any sense of tradition or decorum, but just because the entire visual aesthetic is thrown off with a shirt hanging down. Proportions matter to me when it comes to kilts of any type, and loose shirt tails mess with my sense of proportion.

Plus, to be honest, I want that layer of fabric between my skin and the canvas.

[FossilHunter]

I have a Utilikilt, and I always tuck my shirt in when wearing it. Not out of any sense of tradition or decorum, but just because the entire visual aesthetic is thrown off with a shirt hanging down. Proportions matter to me when it comes to kilts of any type, and loose shirt tails mess with my sense of proportion.

Plus, to be honest, I want that layer of fabric between my skin and the canvas.

I agree. I do not wear a utilikilt but I think that aesthetically they look better tucked regardless of shirt style. I think it has something to due with them being open at the bottom.

Untucked you kind of have this:

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And tucked just looks sleeker to my eye:

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[tripleblessed]

Warning: personal opinion follows close on. Mine, by the way. Never untucked. Never. Ever. If I run out the door in the middle of the night
to break up a dog fight, my shirt is tucked by the time I get there. Go out to get the paper off the lawn, tucked. Check the mailbox, tucked.
Which is why I would never buy a guayabera. But that's just me. Or maybe it's just my long gone parents still offering good advice in my head.

[Tobus]

Yes, FossilHunter, it may have to do with the inverted triangle shapes like you described since the kilt is open at the bottom. But it also has to do with proportions of the visual lengths of each segment and where the separation between the two is placed. With a tucked shirt, it seems to let the chest be emphasized, tapering in to the waist where the kilt starts (for those with an ideal body shape), then flaring back out a little as it goes down. The separator is well-placed. But with an untucked loose shirt, it just becomes like a hanging sack overlapping another hanging sack. There's no clean separator between them, and the shirt takes up more than its fair share of the space.

Strangely enough, the last few years I have gravitated towards wearing untucked shirts in the summer when I'm wearing shorts. I consider it a function of decreasing tolerance for the Texas heat, and I'm starting to heed the advice of experts who recommend loose-fitting light clothing to avoid heat stroke. A loose linen button-up shirt, untucked, is a great relief in the heat. But I don't have any problem with the visual aesthetic when paired with shorts. If I did it over a kilt, though, it would just look all kinds of wrong to my eye. I can't really explain why.

[6cuda6]

Although im a total newby at this i'm getting the visual....something tells me i need to trim my waistline to make this all look "proper".....lol.

[Fedgunner]

Srangely enough, the last few years I have gravitated towards wearing untucked shirts in the summer when I'm wearing shorts. I consider it a function of decreasing tolerance for the Texas heat, and I'm starting to heed the advice of experts who recommend loose-fitting light clothing to avoid heat stroke. A loose linen button-up shirt, untucked, is a great relief in the heat. But I don't have any problem with the visual aesthetic when paired with shorts. If I did it over a kilt, though, it would just look all kinds of wrong to my eye. I can't really explain why.

If I am wearing shorts, my "rules" are reversed. I never tuck in a shirt when wearing shorts.

[Tarheel]

On the way to my first job (fifty years ago) my dad stated, "You may have a common job, but you don't have to look like a common laborer. Tuck in your shirt tail." The US. Army confirmed that after I left home. It is a habit I live by and feel presentable to the public with, whatever I wear below my waist line.

Note: I don't swim any more. I would be shirtless if I did.