How high is too high?

[Silent Raven]

i have 3 kilts, 1 that i wear right at/slightly below my belly button because that where it just seems to want to sit. i have another that i wear right at or above for a few reasons, one being that the kilt its self is a bit long for my femurs so i have to hike it up more than my other one so it doesn't look like im wearing it too low. and my third was made specifically for me and it sits right at my belly button, although i have yet to wear this one much more than trying it on yet. but ideally i would wear them all right at my naval if it were a perfect world

[seanachie]

Generally it's important to concentrate on where the kilt falls on/or above the knee, wherever the top of the kilt stops really isn't so very important, as every kiltmaker has slightly different ways of making, and will also probably have different measurements of rise.

Steve's point's are well taken but they may not be universal, for his kilts perhaps and his chosen method of measuring, but it might not neccessarily hold good for all kilt makers.

I think there is a lot to what Paul says. I have a few Kilts from Keltoi (John Hart) and his instructions are as follows: "Length of the kilt. Measure from your natural waist to the top of your knee-cap. Keep your back straight and don't look down. Add 5 cm (2") to this result." The natural waist he defines as: "For most people, this is the indent at your side just above the navel. This measurement should be fairly snug." Now these instructions work very well for his kilts and I am well pleased. But taking another kilt I own, following these instructions I am sure things might well have gone wrong. However I followed the kilt makers instructions and it turned out sized correctly.

[The Wizard of BC]

The definition I used above for the natural waist is paraphrased from "Gray's Anatomy" the difinitave source for medical doctors.

It is applicable to any measuring system as it is the place on a human body that is where you bend.

It does not matter what kiltmaker's measuring system you use. It's just human anatomy.

The point I was trying to make is that the location of the navel may change depending on the body shape. For Gentlemen of Substance the location of the navel is lower than on skinny guys. Bones on the other hand don't cange. The natural waist is always the natural waist.

Your kilt may not fit at your natural waist or you may not like it there. That is the wearers choice. But we should use the same definitions and terms.

For example, my Tewksbury kilt fits at my natural waist. It is the only kilt I own that is designed and made to fit there. When I strap it on it stays perfectly. It never moves or is uncomfortable. The top of the waistband is almost four inches above my navel. It covers my short ribs.

Most of my own design kilts I make to fit at mid-rise. The waistband sits on top of my hip bones and is almost exactly at my navel in the front. But that is just coincidance due to my body shape. I have made kilts for a wide range of body shapes and everytime I use the three places on the spine to measure the customer the kilt fits the way they want it too. I can't remember ever using the navel as a referance point. I just find it too arbitrary for a good fit.

I was just trying to pass on a little tip I have found over the years to better describe where a waistband could fit.

Take it or leave it. Your choice.

[OC Richard]

How high is too high??

Old 27" Army kilts on short guys



Here's a modern Army kilt, showing the typcial traditional (19th century) kilt height:



This is what looks "right" to me, and that's pretty much how my kilts fit.

I never see anyone wearing kilts too high, but I see kilts worn too low all the time, guys shoving them down around their hips as if the kilt was a pair of blue jeans, and the knees hidden.

[Paul Henry]

The definition I used above for the natural waist is paraphrased from "Gray's Anatomy" the difinitave source for medical doctors.

It is applicable to any measuring system as it is the place on a human body that is where you bend.

It does not matter what kiltmaker's measuring system you use. It's just human anatomy.....snip .

Steve, the point I am trying to make it that each kiltmaker may use a different way of measuring, I'm not commenting on where a person's natural waist is, or how to measure where that is. You have worked a system for your kilts but it is not neccessarily the same system used by others.

As we have said so many times and often, it is important to follow the instructions supplied by the actual kiltmaker concerned to get a good fit, so it may well make a difference if you follow the instructions from one kiltmaker when ordering a kilt from a different maker

[Newfoundlander]

Hello Lads,

Thanks for this thread, what fantastic information and it's quite interesting to hear the different points of view of the different makers that are here in the forum as well.

For my own kilt, which really is to say my own body, I like my kilt more at the natural waist almost perfectly the navel, with a 2" rise on that. It tends to to have the straps positioned just above the hip bones and sits quite nicely, and once tightened doesn't move a bit unless I move it. The belt buckle is positioned just in front of my navel and shows just a tiny bit in a PC jacket and waistcoat. I tend to wear it there always whether i'm in a sweater or in a PC, mostly because it just feels better there.

When I was in the regiment, my kilt had a full 4" rise and the top edge would come to just under my ribs. I do enjoy the feel of kilts this high up as well. This was my first kilt-wearing experience so I got very used to how it feels and looks. My father now wears my blackwatch kilt, but when I go back to Newfoundland I do wear it and enjoy the feel. It makes me sit straighter too... (Conditioning or kilt design I wonder?).

I've never worn a casual kilt at the trouser waist, so I have no idea what it would feel like, so can't comment I'm afraid. However, I will offer humbly that I think the mid- or full-rise looks sharper IMO. Chances are all my kilts will be mid-rise...

Is there anyone out there whom dislikes mid-rise kilts and only wears the trouser-rise kilts? If so, why?

For me the knee position is a pretty important point. And this is totally a preference thing I'm sure. But I like my kilts to just touch the very top of the kneecap. I might adjust it down to the top quarter of the kneecap, but certainly not mid-knee. That's just where I like it, and again like so many of my "kilt habits" is a throwback to the regiment. I think the "right way" is the way it feels good (within the accepted parameters of length of course).

Again, this is all just my opinion, and it isn't worth the screen it's written on!! Ha!

[Zardoz]

I never really thought about it that much, but based on all the info here I guess I'm wearing mine somewhere between the typical High and Mid rise locations. Everyone's body shape is different, and I've kind of based my kilt height on my ribcage rather than navel...

When I ordered my first custom made kilt, I based the overall length of it on the Stillwater kilts I was already wearing. With the bottom of the kilt at the top of my knee, the SWK at 24 inches was hitting me right below my short ribs, and kind of poking them when I'd sit down. My custom kilts are 23 1/2 inches in overall length, keeping the top of the kilt comfortably just below my ribs, the half inch making a big difference to my comfort.

For the record, they come up about 2 1/2 inches above my navel.

[Jay]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

I ask because I have a 25" long kilt that feels like it sits too high on my torso versus my 23-1/2" kilts.

[hkjrb623]

Jay has the best avatar picture I've ever seen.

[Jay]

Jay has the best avatar picture I've ever seen.

I actually came across it by accident some time before I ever joined the land of the kilted. I join X Marks and sure enough, there it is on the hard drive just waiting to be used. As much as I am not a Kilt Kop, I do think that stormtrooper is wearing it too far below the knee.