Kilt a bit on the long side. Advice please

**SpiceyMcHaggis** · 29th July 07, 04:45 PM

Hello, I have a Gordon highlander's regimental kilt. It is a wonderfully made kilt and it is quite old, something along the lines of 68 years. The thing about this kilt is that it is a bit on the long side for me. Instead of falling to the middle of my knee, it falls to the bottom of my knee. It measures as having a 28" drop, and the drop I should have is about a 26 inch or so. This has not stopped me from wearing it, mind you, I was just wondering if it is a bad Idea to wear a kilt that is that long.
Thanks for the advice guys. After further review, I misused the word drop, I should have used overall length. I am haveing a hard time adding the pics. There are some things I need to have done to the kilt, like have it proffessionally pressed, and so on. I am having a hard time figuring out how to post pics. How do you do it?
I have a picture of me wearing this kilt as the main pic in my public profile. The problem is that the pic is small and it is sideways. If anybody can help me figure out how to post pics, it would be greatly appreciated.
I tried wearing the kilt at the bottom of the rib cage, and found that the selvege is about one centimeter shy of the bottom of the knee. I still cant post pics.

**McMurdo** · 29th July 07, 05:04 PM

So this is a Military kilt then, what I have noticed is that Military kilts seem to have a higher rise could you wear it higher up?

**gilmore** · 29th July 07, 05:09 PM

You may be wearing it too low. Military kilts were made to be worn quite a bit higher than pants. We don't know what it looks like, but you might try wearing the top at least two inches higher than the navel.

**Archangel** · 29th July 07, 05:31 PM

Not sure what we're calling a drop here but for the sake of comparison my military kilt is 26" total length. Now, I'm 6' and I wear that kilt high to have it land mid-knee. Photos are over in pics.
So, my guess is you'd have to be about 6'4" to wear that properly.

So take some pics and let's have a look.

(BTW, Military Gordon is one that people will question your right to wear it, blood was spilled, etc. Something to be ready for, the rest is up to you.)

**Doomsday** · 1st August 07, 01:13 PM

Throw a pic of yourself wearing the kilt up on the thread if you can. We can then give better advice as to whether you could wear it higher up. If that won't work you can always hem the bottom of the kilt up an inch if you have to.

**Nanook** · 1st August 07, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by Archangel

So, my guess is you'd have to be about 6'4" to wear that properly.

In the standard issue that length is tied to a height of 188 cm or 6'2"-6'4". With average proportions its above the knee.

**Peter C.** · 1st August 07, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by Archangel

Not sure what we're calling a drop here but for the sake of comparison my military kilt is 26" total length. Now, I'm 6' and I wear that kilt high to have it land mid-knee. Photos are over in pics.
So, my guess is you'd have to be about 6'4" to wear that properly.

So take some pics and let's have a look.

(BTW, Military Gordon is one that people will question your right to wear it, blood was spilled, etc. Something to be ready for, the rest is up to you.)

Speaking from a British point of view, their is no reason why you shouldn't wear a Military Gordon Highlanders or any other regiments kilt. Just like all other uniforms they have always been available to the public through army surplus. I wouldn't recommend wearing the full uniform unless you were doing some sort of re-enactment. To put it in perspective, wearing the kilt is no different than going to a surplus store in the US and buying a pair of USM camouflage trousers and wearing them.
The men are proud of their regiments, their history and their colours and proud when smartly dressed in their uniforms but it is the men, not the uniforms, that made the regiments great.

I cannot speak about Canadian Military Kilts of course, because I have noticed that non-Brits often have a different outlook on this sort of thing, and if that is the case I would respect their views.

If anyone wants a British Military pattern kilt, the following are available at "What Price Glory" in CA.

Gordon Highlanders and Black Watch, knife pleated $295

Seaforth Highlanders and Cameron Highlanders, military box pleated $315

Doomsday, it may be a difficult kilt to hem. some of the military kilts from 60 years ago were quite thick material.

Peter

**Andrew Green** · 2nd August 07, 08:42 PM

I would say wear it a little higher. The WPG Gordon I have is a 25" and I have to wear it a bit on the high side. The replicas from WPG are pretty amazing pieces... and original would be awesome to own! Wear that thing proudly, whatever you do.

**HeathBar** · 2nd August 07, 09:31 PM

Where your civilian kilt typically has a rise of 2", military kilts have a rise of 4" or more. So they are always going to be longer. At last this is what I've read in the past. The top of the miliary kilt will probably come up to the bottom of the rib cage. I think I read somewhere that it helped to keep the torso warm. As part of a uniform, the tunic or jacket would have covered the top part of the kilt, so you wouldn't normlly see just how high it was actually worn. I hope this helps. I wouldn't modify it because of its age. Its a bit of history. Imagine the stories it could tell.....