Not putting it on properly

[David]

I understand the points made about hire kilts not being tailored to suit the wearer and the need to stock "average" sizes. But how hard can it be for the hire company staff to tell the wearer to just pull the waist up till the critical part of the kilt i.e. the bottom of it is at the correct height - just at the knee. I think everyone at the wedding was wearing a waistcoat, therefore the top of their kilt would have been covered by their waistcoat. Hiking the waist up would have corrected the length and filled the gap between the kilt and waistcoat, thereby covering the shirt and resolving two kilt wearing mistakes in one easy action. I was going to tell my young cousin to do this very thing when SWMBO told me in no uncertain terms to keep my mouth shut and not cause embarrassment or a scene with anyone. This is an example of what we are up against.

We have another family wedding in 6 weeks or so, my son will be going to this one and wants to wear the kilt. He is nervous about his thin legs, but is keen to give it a go nevertheless. As it will be a hired kilt outfit and bearing in mind his concerns, I will be with him for the fitting despite him being in his mid 20's, and I will make sure he has the basics of putting it on properly sorted out before he looks in a full length mirror.

[OC Richard]

Sir Sean and his separated flashes



Kilt too low, waistcoat too short, and the evil waistbelt-under-the-waistcoat thing (this man should be wearing a kilt at least two inches longer)



This kilt appears to be the proper length for this guy but worn a couple inches too low (at least there's no waistbelt!)



About sporran height, one thing I see on posed photographs using models used by Highland Dress makers is the sporran worn far too high; the knob at the top of the sporran is often nearly touching the belt buckle



In the old days, even in the military, sporrans were often worn lower than we usually do today; note the distance between the top of the sporran and the belt buckle (I would think that the Pipe Major of The Black Watch would wear his kit how he deemed proper)



Hard to beat the classic elegance here (well it's Royalty, it should be classically elegant!)

[Micric]

I'd Hope that in time information of this type would seep out into the world in general.

It's a shame that a kilt can look so good, yet often looks so bad!
I do not believe it is merely us being picky, more the fact that it is distressing to see something with potential being ruined by ignorance.

At our local games etc. the black too-high hose and too long kilts are very common. Makes the wearers look like a bunch of old spinsters!
Even a visiting Scottish musical group looked the same. I thought for long enough they were all wearing black tights!
Such a trollopy look is B. awful in my eyes!

Thanks for this thread.

Richard.

[OC Richard]

He is nervous about his thin legs

Some nice bulky Aran knit hose would solve that worry.

Like this

https://www.google.com/search?q=aran..._AUoAg#imgrc=_

Me, with my ginormous calves, it's the opposite, and I look better in thin hose.

[CMcG]

... I'm glad it appears that its not just me who thinks there is a disturbance in the kilt wearing force. ...

I'm going to venture an educated guess, which is that the disturbance in the kilt wearing force is primarily created by ignorance.

Many guys who rent their kit are wearing the kilt for the first or perhaps second time, and they simply don't know about fit and finish. Of course the "average" size clothes of hire shops and off-the-rack options—rather than being custom tailored—don't help, but there are many simple adjustments that could be made to address the issues raised in the OP. The disturbance is probably exaggerated by an increased interest in, and availability of, kilts to rent or less expensive options for buying than there used to be.

I liken this to when guys who have never worn a suit or tuxedo put one on and nothing seems to fit right or sit well. Granted, they probably have more, and better, models to base their decisions on, but the devil is still in the details

There are probably many cases of people working at hire shops or retailers who are not themselves seasoned kilt wearers, so it is often a case of the blind leading the blind. This is where information sources like Xmarks come in handy. If anybody has the wherewithal to realize their own ignorance and start Googling Highland attire, this website shows up pretty quickly in the search results.

[Stitchwiz]

Kilts are not the only things that are worn incorrectly. Take a look around you when you attend any function where suits are worn - most of the younger men don't have a clue even how to tie a tie properly and the fit of the suit is terrible. If they bought the suit, the salesperson doesn't know enough to teach them how it should fit and they are often wearing the wrong size/length, etc. I see so many suits coming in to be hemmed and they are marked incorrectly at the store! And of course, because they are so uncomfortable, they take off as much as they can, as soon as they can, and end up looking even worse, if that's possible.

The greatest tragedy is when tuxedos are worn - the reason they are wearing a tux is to look their absolute best and yet they often look terrible - probably 99-100% are hired and they look it!

When a man cares enough to buy his own classic cut tuxedo from a tailor, just like a kilt from a kilt maker, it can last most of his life. There is nothing as handsome as a man in his best outfit, whether it is a tuxedo or a kilt.

At least when they are wearing a kilt, they aren't trying to take anything off before the end of the evening - perhaps they don't want to embarrass themselves in the process. Thank goodness for small mercies.

(Yes, Father Bill, I hear you )

[OC Richard]

most of the younger men don't have a clue even how to tie a tie properly

Yes indeed! Where I work we have to wear ties and I'm amazed at how many men don't know how to tie them.

They show up for work with the tie crooked and the collar sticking up on one side or whatever. And they have their slacks too low, all bunched up around their ankles below and their shirt tails sticking out above. A fairly constant job of mine is fixing that sort of thing and making them presentable to the public.

[Stitchwiz]

And it takes a real man in a kilt to show them how to dress...I wonder if the higher ups have any idea how valuable you are to them. I hate to think what the staff would look like if you didn't help out.

[Bruce Scott]

I will be interested to hear some views of the kilt length and hose height depicted here:
rrsnotwodress_zps3e498151.jpg

10AMessDress.jpg

Both pictures are from the Dress Regulations of the Royal Regiment of Scotland

And, perhaps it's not wise to stipulate that flashes are worn at between two and three o'clock. . . .because someone's going to assume it applies to both legs:

LouiseandNathanCraigEvaSanders-006.jpg

[OC Richard]

Yes those Royal Regiment of Scotland photos were taken at the time the regiment was formed, and the fit and wearing of the kit was criticised on these boards at that time.

I'm happy to report that the regiment doesn't actually dress that way, and wear their kit in the traditional manner.

Here you can see hose and kilt worn the traditional way, with plenty of knee showing. I wish civilian pipe bands would do this!



I just posted several pipe band photos from our local Games last weekend in the Show Us Your Pics forum, and I was pleased to see Prince Charles Pipe Band (San Francisco) all wearing their kit nicely. Note the kilts are centred, and the kilts are worn higher and more uniformly than one normally sees in civilian pipe bands, mostly towards the top of the knee.