Hemlines.....

[Barb T]

I respectfully beg to differ with those who argue for mid-knee. Traditionally, a kilt is supposed to come to the top of the knee cap. Ask my co-author, Elsie, who apprenticed as a kiltmaker in Glasgow back in 1947. That's what they were taught.

If a kilt is too long, there isn't enough space between the bottom of the kilt and the top of the hose, and it looks funny. "Skirtish", as Hamish says. Some guys solve this by folding their hose below the top of the calf, but that looks odd, too (makes it look like their socks are too small and don't go all the way to the top).

Frankly, I think the observation that people are wearing their kilts longer comes, not from kiltmakers who measure too long, but rather from kiltwearers who buckle their kilts on too loosely and let them sag down so that the top of the kilt rides at the waist or, worse, on the hips. I feel like a broken record, I've said this so many times. Many guys who wear kilts are unaware that a kilt has a 2" rise _above_ the waist. So, if you buckle your kilt so that the top sits at your waistline, it will be longer than the kilmaker intended. This was never an issue when men wore their pants at the waistline, and it _really_ wasn't an issue in the 19th century when pants matched kilts with a rise above the waist so that you could wear the short jacket of the time without having your shirt tails bunching out at the bottom of the jacket every time you bent over.

Anyone who owns a Prince Charlie jacket can immediately see what the rise of a kilt is for. A proper PC jacket comes to the middle of the buckle at the side of the waist. If you're wearing everything properly, the 2" rise of the kilt extends up beneath the jacket and keeps your shirt from showing. If your shirt shows at the bottom of your PC jacket, you're wearing your kilt too low.

You can see an example of this if you go to the following web site and scroll down to the very last picture on the page:

http://kiltrental.com/Kilt-Rental-Customer-Pictures.htm

The gentleman on the left is wearing a PC that fits him just fine, but he's wearing his kilt too low. So, the kilt is too long (skimming the tops of his hose), and his shirt shows at the side. If he had his kilt up at the proper height, everything would be fine, including the length. I'd also point out that this picture shows why you shouldn't wear a belt with a PC jacket.....

Cheers,

Barb