Are kilts getting longer?

[Highland Logan]

As for the photo above as it is solders I'd have to say that the kilts worn were most likely not made for them, therefore, it would be difficult to use that photo as a guide.

Very standard for the Army... either too big or too small. Quarter Masters always have the best humour.

Frank

[beloitpiper]

I think that the kilt is only around today because of the Scottish regiments wearing it so I have always tended to look to them to see how it should be worn. Hence I tend to wear mine to the middle of my kneecap.

http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/gen..._Rulations.pdf.

Peter

I totally agree. This is what I do as well. I don't wear the uniform pieces, of course, but look to the Highland Regiments for cues and classic looks.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

i disagree with the view that if a kilt is a celtic garment, it must be worn in that fashion.

its a piece of clothing, and people should be allowed to wear it how they want. if your not scottish you can wear a kilt, but you have to wear it in the traditional fashion? i don't think so.

and above all else, its just the knees folks.

As has already been pointed out, the kilt isn't a Celtic garment, it is a specifically (and one might say, uniquely) Scottish garment. That said, one is of course at liberty to wear it as one pleases-- but one does so at their peril when viewed by those who know what the "proper form" is supposed to be.

Proper form has the hem of the kilt resting at the top of the knee, and under no circumstances longer than the middle of the knee. Now this may seem arbitrary to some-- rather like having the cuff of a trouser leg reach to the shoe, rather than stopping several inches above the ankle-- but like so many things in life there is a reason behind it. Anyone who actually wears a kilt, as opposed to those who have adopted wearing it for latent counter-cultural reasons, will tell you that the kilt is worn high to keep the pleats, especially when damp, or wet, from sawing away at the tender skin at the back of the knee when walking. Now it may be conceivably possible to prevent this from happening by wearing the kilt lower-- the hem below the knee-- but when this is done the visual effect is that of a man wearing a tartan skirt.

Just as trousers with the legs too short make the wearer look like a hick from the sticks, a kilt worn too long makes the wearer look like he's put on Aunt Minnie's skirt. This awkward look is exacerbated when the hose are pulled up to the bottom of the knee, with the result that it appears as if heavy knit tights are being worn under the kilt. Equally bad, in my view (and probably that of anyone else who sees people dressed in this manner), is the over-long kilt worn with scrunched down socks-- this gives the wearer the appearance of those thick set, mannish, "women-in-tweeds" one associates with the English mystery films of the 1930s. Probably not a look most gentlemen wish to cultivate or emulate...and certainly not how the Scottish kilt is intended to be worn.

[Cavebear58]

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[St. Amish]

So, you are saying you know for sure that the kilts worn were their own. You never indicated that in the first post. If so I would assume they were wearing the kilt too low, not that the the kilts were being made longer. Any kilt maker I've ever dealt with would not intentionally make the kilt too long. As for the photo above as it is solders I'd have to say that the kilts worn were most likely not made for them, therefore, it would be difficult to use that photo as a guide.

http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/gen..._Rulations.pdf

For argument's sake, I'm going to point out that if this document is the RROS equivalent of the United States Army's AR 670-1, then it would be the strictest standard. The fellows in this guide would be wearing garments that are fitted properly. They aren't candid photos from a battlefield.

There are at least two fellows in this document, the STANDARD of RROS military uniform who are wearing their kilts at or just below the kneecap. In two of the photos provided, the kilt very nearly TOUCHES the top of the hose. I would charge that the writers of the document didn't care that the kilts were worn so low, or they would have corrected it in the military regulation manual.

I personally like the kilt higher. I like to show off my knees. I don't think it's the end of the world when I see someone with their kilt slightly lower. Halfway down the shin is ridiculous. Anywhere near the kneecap, and I don't take a second look.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

As for the photo above as it is solders I'd have to say that the kilts worn were most likely not made for them, therefore, it would be difficult to use that photo as a guide.

Glenn, you have just pointed out one of the pitfalls of relying on photos of soldiers when discussing Highland attire.

The military issues clothing in one of three sizes:

(1) Too small;
(2) Too big;
(3) Not available.

The other pitfall is that soldiers only come up to regulation standards during inspection. So, as in the photo of the two soldiers (above), you will see all sorts of minor variations, to say nothing of the distortions caused by the camera.

[McMurdo]

Cavebear
I must apologize it was not my intent to be so snappy, I see myself as mostly a traditionalist, as such some of the modern conventions have me shaking my head. Nevertheless I should have shown more courtesy, and for that I apologize.

I would still contend that if the kilt was that low then either the gentlemen were wearing them too low or perhaps they had slipped down over the course of the day. I will comment no more in this thread.

[Paul]

Mod Hat Off

It is not a "Celtic garment" it is in fact Scottish National Dress. If you are wearing a traditional kilt it should be worn at the traditional waist, anything else and it looks too long.

I'm wondering where the traditional waistpoint would be. I realise it's somewhere above the hips and when measuring for my kilts I just went with where evers most comfortable.
I sometimes feel my kilt sits a bit high as I had it made a 25" long and I'm only 6ft.

Wearing a kilt is completely different from wearing jeans or shorts for me - as I feel it should be. If not then my 25" kilt would trail on the ground!

[Paul]

I had a look through the RRS guidelines for dress and is it just me or does this outfit look wrong?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I had a look through the RRS guidelines for dress and is it just me or does this outfit look wrong?

Well, for my money, the jacket looks too long in the body, as does the waistcoat. Rather than wrong, I'd say it looks awkward, as though it was assembled for a photo shoot rather than being a photograph of a RROS officer in a properly fitting mess dress uniform. The camera angle (shooting down) doesn't help, either.

(Just a thought, but could this have been photo shopped?)