Let’s first of all deal with what a kilt is.

How Did the Kilt Originate?

No, it’s not a man’s skirt. According to Wikipedia, a kilt is ‘a type of knee-length non-bifurcated skirt with pleats at the back, originating in the traditional dress of Gaelic men and boys in the Scottish Highlands.‘ (in case you’re wondering, non-bifurcated means not split, so no split up the back of the kilt!).

It’s generally agreed that today’s kilt is descended from the great plaids worn by the highland men of Scotland for hundreds of years. These plaids, called, in the Gaelic, /Breacan an Fhéilidh/ (belted plaid) or /Feileadh Mòr/ (great plaid) were one piece of cloth worn over the shoulder and hanging down past the knee, held in place with a belt around the waist. A pouch would be hung from the belt (which later became the famous sporran).

Sometime in the 17th or 18th centuries, the top part of the plaid was jettisoned, leaving only the part hanging from the waist. This shortening is often attributed to one Thomas Rawlinson, who, being involved in the running of a smelter in the highlands watched the men that were employed there cut off the tops of their plaids, leaving only the part below the waist, thus making it easier to work in the smelter. An admirer of highland dress, Rawlinson modified the men’s crude cut-off garment and thus ‘invented’ the kilt.

I’m not so sure about that story. If you peer back further in time, you’ll find plenty of stone carvings throughout Scotland that show men wearing a kind of a kilt. Like, for example, the carving that can be seen on the magnificent 16th century St Clement’s church in Harris, in the Outer Hebrides. There, a panel (likely to be far older than the church) shows a kilted figure. Stones found from Roman walls also depict kilt-like figures.

So, who knows? I for one, think that placing the origin of that kilt that you’re thinking of wearing to one single event in 1728 is just a little too neat and tidy for something that is so intrinsic and important to Scottish history and the Scottish psyche.

What Kilt To Wear

In terms of types of kilts, there are actually two main types: the ‘regular’ or ‘dress’ kilt, that we’ll just call the kilt because that’s what it is, and the ‘casual’ kilt.

Casual Kilt

A casual kilt is a real kilt. You can wear it just fine and you don’t need to tell anyone you have a ‘casual’ kilt. So what is it then? It’s simply a kilt that’s been made with less cloth! Instead of the usual 8 yards (7.4m) of heavyweight or mediumweight wool fabric, it’s made from 5 yards (4.6m) of lightweight wool. So it’s much lighter, and if you’re living in a very hot country, you might appreciate its lightness!

Don’t think that a casual kilt is somehow a ‘lesser’ kilt. It’s cheaper certainly (it’s machine-stitched rather than hand-stitched, for example) but maybe that’s what you want – or need. And if you opt for a polyester blend, the cost will reduce further. In Scotland and in lots of other countries many people wear casual kilts, well, casually. To the football or rugby match, perhaps. Or call it your hiking kilt and wear it while you’re walking through the woods or over the hills. So don’t fret – wear a casual kilt – they’re great.

Oh, and one more thing – they’re also available in mostly the same hundreds of tartans that are available for the regular kilt.

Regular / Dress Kilt

Regular or ‘dress’ kilts are the traditional heavy kilts associated with outfits for weddings, formal occasions and dinners. They’re also the type worn by pipe bands around the world and by the soldiers of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

These kilts are traditionally cut from 8 yards (7.4m) of heavyweight or mediumweight tartan wool fabric and are hand-stitched and hand-finished.

The heavyweight cloth is the traditional cloth used to make dress kilts. It’s also known as 16oz cloth. One metre of this cloth (yes, the mills mix imperial and metric measures!) weighs around 0.5kg. Each kilt will use 3.7m of this cloth, which means that your kilt will weigh 1.85kg.

(At this point you might be thinking that 8 yards is a lot longer than 3.7m. And you’d be right, of course. But the mills traditionally weave what’s called ‘double width’ cloth. This means that the length of the fabric can be halved because the width of the fabric is doubled. So the old imperial measurement was 4 yards of double width cloth, which approximates to 3.7m.)

Mediumweight cloth, which weighs 13oz, is also used for dress kilts. Obviously a lighter kilt is produced but the kilt will still have a ‘swing’ as you walk.

Which to choose? Well, it’s really up to you. I’d hazard a guess that more people probably opt for mediumweight kilts than heavyweight kilts, if only because they tend to be slightly cheaper and because some tartans are only available in 13oz cloth – all of the Irish tartans, for example, are made in 13oz wool.

Army kilts and pipe band kilts are almost always made from 16oz heavyweight cloth.

If you’ve ever hired a kilt, then it’s likely to be a mediumweight kilt as they’re cheaper to buy for the hire company. But, as I said, they still feel great to wear.

If you’ve never worn a kilt, and hiring one is difficult, and you’re not living close to a highland outfitters where you can try one on, and assuming that your budget will stretch to the higher cost, then I’d say go for a traditional 16oz heavyweight kilt. You won’t regret it and, assuming that you’ve stopped growing, it will last you for years.

Lightweight Kilt

Wait. You’re thinking that I said that there are just two types of kilt: dress and casual. What’s this lightweight kilt?

Yes, I did say that. But I’ve added this one at the end because t’s not nearly as popular as the other two types, but some opt for a lightweight kilt if they’re living in hot countries.

The reason that some people choose a lightweight kilt and not a casual kilt is that they want their kilt to be a hand-finished dress kilt but simply made from a lighter wool.

A lightweight kilt then, is made from the same length of cloth as dress kilts (3,7m) but uses a less heavy 10oz cloth and is therefore considerably lighter. So if you’re living in say, India or Australia or the southern USA, and you want a kilt for your next formal event, this gives you an extra choice.

What Kilt Size?

Don’t think that this is hard. It’s actually very straightforward to get measured up for the perfect fit for your kilt. What you do need though, is an assistant – don’t try to measure yourself!

First, remember that your kilt will sit high on your waist. And that’s your true waist, the part of your body that lies above your pelvis. And that’s not where your jeans sit. So we recommend that your assistant uses your belly button as a guide to taking your waist measurement.

Draw the tape tight but not too tight that you can’t be breathe! We call it comfortably tight. Remember that your kilt will have three straps to hold it up and each strap will have 4-5 holes, so you’ve room for a little adjustment when you’re fastening it.

For the second measurement, slide the measurement down from the waist and measure around the fullest part of your seat or hips.

That gives the two width measurements of your kilt. The kilt maker will use these two measurements to craft a kilt that will fit you perfectly.

The last measurement is the length. That’s easy. Simply kneel on the floor and measure from belly button to floor. That will make sure that your kilt sits just on the tip of your kneecap.

As a guide your kilt length should be approximately 1/3 of your height.

To recap measurements:

1. Waist: Stand straight and ask your assistant to run the tape measure around your waist at your belly button. The tape should be comfortably tight.
2. Seat / Hips: Take a measurement around the fullest part of your hips.
3. Kilt Length: Kneel on the floor and, making sure that kneel upright, ask your assistant to measure from your tummy button to the floor.

Putting Your Kilt On

Your kilt is held around your waist by three straps: two on the left and one on the right.

The strap on the right is fastened first, to fix the kilt around your waist. That leaves the front of the kilt – the non-pleated side – hanging. The front of the kilt is called the ‘apron’. Bring it over the front and fix it in place with the two straps on the left. Fasten the top one first, and then the second, which will fix the left hand side of the kilt apron in place.

How Should Your Kilt Fit?

Your kilt will feel snug around your waist and curve around your seat to make a firm fit before hanging beautifully over your thighs and swinging as you walk.

Remember that your kilt sits high on your waist. If you’re used to just wearing jeans that hug your hips, it might feel a bit odd at first wearing something that sits so high on your waist. But you’ll soon forget about that when you look at yourself in the mirror. You will look magnificent!

What Is A Kilt Belt?

Although accessories and sporrans are beyond the scope of this article, I felt that I should include information about the kilt belt as your kilt might well have large belt loops sewn into the waistband. These loops are for a kilt belt.

The kilt waistband, by the way, is called the ‘rise’. It will be a standard 2” wide (unless you’ve instructed your kilt maker to make a deeper rise of 3”). Traditional kilt belts are fastened with a large silver buckle and are 2” in width.

It must be said though, that a kilt belt is really an optional dress extra. It’s not really a device to hold up the kilt. Your kilt will fit snugly around your waist, sitting on top of your pelvic bones, and it won’t fall down if you don’t wear a belt.

But wear a kilt belt by all means. They look good and some wearers of the kilt love them as they feel it sets the kilt off. It’s usually not a good idea to wear a belt if you’re also wearing a waistcoat, as the waistcoat points will cover the silver kilt belt buckle. And remember: only wear a belt if there are belt loops sewn into the waist, otherwise the belt will ride up and be uncomfortable.