Royal Regiment of Scotland Kilt Uniform

[Regimental]

I believe "breech" should refer to hip size, not length.

Ah yes, it appears the breech sized is fixed as 16 cm larger than the waist.

[Regimental]

Delighted to say that my RRoS kilt arrived this morning, and I’m very pleased with it! Although used, it is in absolutely great condition, and I’m looking forward to getting a chance to wear it properly

A few things I have noticed:

1. The Govenment 1A Tartan is actually very nice – I was worried it would be overly dark, but the slightly bluish-green is quite bright.


2. The fabric weight appears, at least to me, noticeably a little heavier than my existing heavyweight kilts, and a little bit rougher to the touch (as perhaps befits a military garment) though it felt great to wear. The weight gives it a truly fantastic swing – better I think than any other kilt I’ve worn.

3. The box pleats to the stripe are very nice, and give a quite different to my existing kilts.


4. The belt buckles are black-coated metal, which I wasn’t expecting – I haven’t seen this on other kilts, but it’s actually a great look, and reduces the extent to which they stand out quite significantly. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this become an option in civilian kilts as well in due course.


5. The kilt was sized as 170cm (5’6”) height, 76cm (30”) waist and 92cm (36”) breech. It fits great (or at least will do one I loose a few more pounds of Xmas excess ) but I do notice it is an inch or two longer than my existing kilts – it seems to have a higher rise above the straps, so I assume is intended to be worn a little higher.


All in all, very pleased with what I’ve got, and at £100, it was a fantastic deal (actually a great shot for anyone looking for a genuine quality kilt but who can’t stretch to the usual prices).

I’m going to enjoy this for the moment, before thinking about what items to look to acquire next – if anyone has any suggestions, do let me know.

[OC Richard]

Ah yes, it appears the breech sized is fixed as 16 cm larger than the waist.

That's interesting!

I remember a kiltmaker saying how differently two kilts of identical waist size would have to be made, for two gents in our band, due to their breech measurements being so different. One kilt was fairly straight-sided, almost like a cylinder, while the other was conical. (Little bum, big bum I suppose.)

[OC Richard]

The buckles are black-coated metal, which I wasn’t expecting.

As I recall all of the older Other Ranks kilts I've seen have quite distinctive buckles, stamped out of sheet-metal and having two prongs.



The RRS kilts I've seen have civilian-style buckles, cast metal with a single prong, but done up in black, a nod I suppose to the old style of buckles.

Officers' kilts, being private purchase items, might have any style of buckle.

I do notice it is an inch or two longer than my existing kilts – it seems to have a higher rise above the straps, so I assume is intended to be worn a little higher.

Yes, military Other Ranks kilts generally have a higher rise, as I recall a 4 inch rise as opposed to the 2 inch rise usually seen in civilian kilts.

Here are military kilts in situ

[Regimental]

That's interesting!

I remember a kiltmaker saying how differently two kilts of identical waist size would have to be made, for two gents in our band, due to their breech measurements being so different. One kilt was fairly straight-sided, almost like a cylinder, while the other was conical. (Little bum, big bum I suppose.)

I can imagine

I guess for inventory management they probably don’t want too many variants for the soldiers – waist and height already gives quite a selection to keep track of. The double straps should be relatively accommodating (excepting some particularly large-bottomed individuals perhaps!)

[Regimental]

As I recall all of the older Other Ranks kilts I've seen have quite distinctive buckles, stamped out of sheet-metal and having two prongs.



The RRS kilts I've seen have civilian-style buckles, cast metal with a single prong, but done up in black, a nod I suppose to the old style of buckles.

Interesting – yes, these are no different to civilian style buckles, other than in colour. A nice little nod to history as you say perhaps, but it does also give a cleaner look, with the buckles not standing out at all, which probably works well in focusing the attention on the kilt itself and some of the other more important elements of the uniform, rather than the straps.

Yes, military Other Ranks kilts generally have a higher rise, as I recall a 4 inch rise as opposed to the 2 inch rise usually seen in civilian kilts.

It’s certainly an inch higher – not quite sure it’s two, though it’s a little tricky to judge exactly to be honest!

[Macman]

Delighted to say that my RRoS kilt arrived this morning, and I’m very pleased with it! Although used, it is in absolutely great condition, and I’m looking forward to getting a chance to wear it properly

Very nice! That looks fantastic, and at a good price.

[figheadair]

Interesting – yes, these are no different to civilian style buckles, other than in colour. A nice little nod to history as you say perhaps, but it does also give a cleaner look, with the buckles not standing out at all, which probably works well in focusing the attention on the kilt itself and some of the other more important elements of the uniform, rather than the straps.

Today, it's unusual to see two-proged buckles on civilian kilts. I really like them and had the military ones used on my recent kilt.

It’s certainly an inch higher – not quite sure it’s two, though it’s a little tricky to judge exactly to be honest!

It was certainly 2 inches in WWII era military kilts which were intended to be worn with the Battledress Blouse.

[JPS]

That's interesting!

I remember a kiltmaker saying how differently two kilts of identical waist size would have to be made, for two gents in our band, due to their breech measurements being so different. One kilt was fairly straight-sided, almost like a cylinder, while the other was conical. (Little bum, big bum I suppose.)

I have to imagine the military has certain *ahem* methods for ensuring the body conforms to standard issue garments.

[Regimental]

I have to imagine the military has certain *ahem* methods for ensuring the body conforms to standard issue garments.

Yes, certainly if those in charge are doing their jobs there should be markedly less bodily diversity among military kilt wearers than the average population!

I’m tickled by the idea that maybe the main idea of basic training is just to get recruits to fit into their damn kilts properly