Some days I will wear a kilt, and that despite I’m not Scottish or have any Scottish roots.
   I appreciate the comfort and variety, it provides. I like the versatility and the way it looks.
  Some few will praise me for wearing the kilt; most people seem to find it OK, realizing the difference being just the kilt. So no big deal about that.

It more or less started back in the mid nineties during a vacation in Scotland and before the Internet.
   One day I dropped in on a kilt maker’s store in Edinburgh. The purpose was to get some basic information on highland wear for a business case study had in mind and to be used in connection with my teaching in marketing research and strategy.
   The year before, I had got the inspiration to the case study from “The Scotch House” in London near Harrods’. The store was selling branded goods like Pringle, Burberry etc. but on the ground floor they also had, slightly elevated from the ground, a veritable and very distinguished highland department as a shop-in-shop.
   To me this highland department was “selling things you don’t need” – a slogan which, by the way, years later a major Danish department store unsuccessfully (and quite understandable) tried to establish as a positive thing.

Out of my visit did come the needed information on what I considered the “impossible” part of the case study. But it also ended up with me being measured for and persuaded to try on a kilt.
  I immediately got a feeling that a kilt was extremely comfortable to wear, that there was nothing feminine about it and that it was certainly different to men’s ordinary garments. In some way I got hooked, so to say.
  I didn’t buy the kilt, then. It was quite expensive and what should I use it for, even if I was told that they had a lot of non-Scottish customers from a lot of countries?

When I left I had with me a business card from the store with my measures written on it, just in case. 

A few years later, having got access to the rather new Internet, I was considering a revision of the business case study by including e-trade. During my surfing I happened to come to a site where a kilt was no more than £39.
   In order to have an indication of shipment cost I had to fill out the order and payment forms and thus I reached to the point where clicking “Enter” would mean that I had bought myself a kilt.
   Shall, shall not? It wouldn’t ruin the family economy in any way, but…  Well, I had also seen that non-Scots really did wear kilts, or wanted to.
   To put it short I clicked “Enter”. A few weeks later I was the owner of a casual kilt plus some accessories.
 

The quality of my kilt was not quite up to the standards of the one I had tried on in Edinburgh, but being a non-Scot with absolutely no possibilities to wear a kilt at dress up situations it made the point.

Later I have supplied with some better and more expensive kilts, but without access to cheap kilts I and many others should probably never have started kilt wearing, a thing many fine kilt makers should take into consideration before complaining about cheap kilts.

What is a kilt?

A kilt is a knee-length hanging or skirted garment with deep pleats at the rear. It had its origin in the Scottish highlands about 400 years ago. It was by then a rather primitive garment used for daily wear and had little resemblence with the kilt we know today.
   Not until the 19^th century Scottish lowlanders, counting for more than half of the Scottish population, would wear a kilt at all.

Do I have to be Scottish to wear a kilt?

No, in recent years more and more men, no matter their nationality, colour and heritage, will wear a kilt and even more men should like to. The movie Braveheart (1995) and, since 2nd half of the nineties, the Internet have contributed to this development.

Is a kilt a skirt?

According to The European Union Statistics Bureau, Eurostat, the kilt is not a skirt but a men’s special garment.
   Some people shall never stop calling it a skirt, however. Don't get upset. Quite a few people cannot tell green from red either.

Do women wear kilts?

Women will mostly wear kilted skirts that are lighter, use less yardage and have thinner straps and buckles. Kilted skirts may also be longer or shorter than kilts.

Who will wear a kilt?

Still a small but growing segment of men in a lot of countries with and without a kilt tradition and with and without Scottsih heritage. Demographically they in all respects equal men in general, it seems. Therefore the difference is the kilt and nothing but the kilt. By the way, kilt wearing has nothing to do with sexual preferences.

Why should I wear a kilt?

It is probably the most comfortable manly garment available. Just think of anatomy.
  It is versatile. A casual kilt can with a few accessories be upgraded to rather formal functions, not possible with blue jeans or shorts. In fact often just folding up or down kilt socks shall make it.
   It is different, the manly wardrobe in itself not being the most inspiring in the world.
   It looks good. That is my opinion. And I like the tartans.
   It provides a lot of variety due to thousands of tartans available and the fact that you get an addition to your wardrobe, meaning that you don't have to wear trousers all the time.
   You stand out from the crowd, but far less than you might fear - or hope - for.

When and where and to replace what?

In theory every when and everywhere.
  In practice non-Scots tend to use the kilt as informal casual wear, i.e. to replace shorts and blue jeans rather than to job and formal events.
   To Scotsmen and men with Scottish roots formal wear or national dress functions in connection with Scottish gatherings/ highland games and sports events will often play a major role. That might also influence their choice of (first) kilt.   

It can be, but fortunately it does not have to, at least not for casual wear. Here a rather cheap kilt will do. Just make sure you buy a kilt and not a tartan skirt.
   In fact, the availability of cheap kilts might be the condition for men starting wearing kilts and for a growing kilt market.

What about my surroundings?

People who don’t know you couldn’t care less how you look or how you dress. Your relatives and people in your neighbourhood will soon get accustomed to it. Your wife might worry the most about your kilt wearing – and in all probability without reason.

What if I do something wrong?

Here we talk casual wear, not national dress. Accordingly you can and should forget about most and often rigid rules, apart from a general proper appearance. And honestly, how likely is it that you shall meet an expert?

Is it true?

The inevitable question. Be sure the truth is YES, NO and DEPENDING ON! Whatever your choice, better keep it a secret. What has kept the kilt very much alive might be the fascination about whether or not. You are the one to know. For others it is only to guess.
  It is called going regimental or commando - in case it is true.

What should Scotsmen think?

Only a handful of traditionalists might be against non-Scots wearing a kilt. Making tartan fabrics and highland wear is a living for a lot of Scotsmen. The more they sell the better.

Should I try to look Scottish?

Do other people think I'm Scottish?

It depends on where you are living, I suppose. In Scandinavian countries you are always addressed in the local languages, indicating that you are regarded just a man wearing a kilt.

The kilt is a valuable garment which you can wear when you like to and when appropriate. I myself should never give up trousers and shorts. But I shouldn't be without my kilts either. Variety is the spice of life.
 

How long will the kilt season be?

At temperatures between approx. -3C and 30C the kilt is perfect.
  In winter only your knees have to be uncovered and they don’t freeze. The kilt itself with its four to seven meters of fabric as well as the kilt hose will keep the remaining parts of your legs efficiently insolated.
   In summer the kilt is protecting against heat - and sun. In fact you’ll feel more comfortable than when in shorts.
   Add to that that you are at all times better dressed up. Where you should not be at ease wearing shorts you can without problems wear the kilt. That is what I call versatility.

Examples of kilts

Casual poly viscose kilt from Heritage of Scotland. About £64 including shipping. Shown with plain day leather sporran. Tartan is  MacLeod of Harris Ancient. Original kilt belt and buckle.

5 yard 'James Morrison" Kilt, 10 oz wool, made to measure by Heritage of Scotland. £115. Campbell Ancient tartan. It keeps its pleats very well.

Utilikilts

Below  Scottish footballfans visiting Copenhagen 2004

Accessories 

Plain day leather sporran - no annoying tassels.
 

Kilt belt & buckle
 

Kilthose. I strongly recommend Brevin&Co.
 

Garter flashes. Available in various colours.
 

Kilt pin

More Dress2Kilt links

How do I get a kilt?

Take a flight to Edinburgh. It is a beautiful city. Or go on the Internet. There are so many options.

What kilt?

Basically there might be three segments:
1.The traditional kilt made of 8 yards of heavy weight wool (16 oz) in a tartan pattern. Hand or machine-sewn.
2. The (semi)traditional or casual kilt using fewer yardages and typically in a lighter tartan fabric which again can be wool or poly viscose.
3. The modern or contemporary kilt which by origin is American. It is solid colored or in a camouflage pattern, it will have pockets and the fabric is denim or equivalent, allowing it to go into the washing machine. By design it has more or less resemblance with a semi-traditional kilt.

10 oz, 13 oz or 16 oz?

The fabric is determined by its weight in oz.
13 oz is medium weight and by far the most universal and popular quality for kilts.
16 oz is heavy weight and might not be the optimal choice on a hot summer day. To most purists it is a must, however.
10 oz is light weight and in general only recommended for kilts to be used in a hot climate. Most comfortable to wear, however, but might not be the optimal choice on a windy day.

What and where to order?

I suggest your first kilt be a rather cheap one which you can really wear without taking too much care.
   Later it is likely that you might go up the ladder and invest in more expensive kilts.
   But the money you spend on your first budget kilt is never wasted.

The traditional/Semi traditional casual kilt

1. A lot of kilt for your money
For your first kilt I should recommend Heritage of Scotland. For around £41 plus £23 for shipping you can in about one week’s time have a casual kilt delivered. If you buy for over £75 shipping is free. That means that an extra kilt is no more than £11 or you can get a sporran at no extra cost.

This kilt does not quite feel like wool and no wonder because it is made of poly viscose. It won’t last a life time but long. Before that it will stand up to a lot of battering and you don’t have to care much about it. It keeps its pleats extremely well.It is not for very formal events but neither is a pair of Hugo Boss or Tommy Hilfiger jeans.
  It is not made in Scotland but in Pakistan. But so it is with most of the clothing industry. Even high priced brands are today mass manufactured in countries where labor cost is low - like it or not. 
   To Scottish kilt makers manufacturing of kilts outside Scotland is an almost mortal sin, but so it has been within most trades and in all countries. When I was a child my father and especially his brother would sometimes have their suits hand sewn. Today hardly anybody should even think of it.     
 
For walking along the coast, in the hills or mountains, in the woods, when driving to the DIY market on a Saturday morning, going to the mall with your wife, going sightseeing in a European capital or when mewing the lawn in your garden this type of kilt is just perfect.

Should it be ruined it is good to know that it is cheap and fast to replace. I shouldn’t be without one. The customer service of Heritage of Scotland is extremely good, too.
   Another reason the cheap kilt is a good starting point is the sizing. How far is the kilt from being optimal in waist and length? A good and cheap way to feel more assure when you order your next and probably more expensive kilt.

Living in the US: Sportkilts and Stillwaterkilts may be worth looking at.

2. Up the scale and probably your second kilt
This is the kilt type of my choice and probably shall become yours too. Wool (13 or 16 oz). About 5 yards. Custom made to fit you, still machine sewn but in Scotland. Many tartans available. Solid coloured too. Price level around £150. Pay £50 - £100 more and you have the same kilt in traditional eight yards. If you can live with 10 oz (not that big problem) prices are down to £115-125 for a good 5 yard kilt.

Heritage of Scotland (prices include shipping)
Scottish Kilts.net
Scotweb

In the US: USA Kilts

The traditional kilt. Best quality
Can be like a piece of art. Hand sewn and with the greatest sense for detail. But do you really need it? From a logical point of view hardly, but...like art collecting, you  know.
  Prices easily exceed £400.

Hector Russell Kiltmaker
Geoffrey Tailor
Kinloch Anderson

In the US:
Hector Russell and Kinloch Anderson have branches in the US.
Matthew A.C. Newsome (USA) has specialized in box pleated kilts. He can also design your own tartan, should you wish so.

The modern or contemporary kilt

Jeans functions

Alpha kilts  (USA)
Utilikilts (USA)
Freedom kilts (Canada)
R-Kilts (Canada)

Business suit functions
Top quality reflected in price. No pockets. You need a sporran and other accessories from the tartan kilt.  
21th Century Kilts, Edinburgh

What about sizes?
For kilts yards and inches are used. Recalculation is simple: 1 in = 1 " = 2.54 cm.
1 ft = 1 ' = 12 in = 30.48 cm.
1 yd = 36 in = 3 ft = 91.4 cm.

Waist size
For a kilt it is about navel, i.e. higher than trousers. A casual kilt can be worn lower, however. If you are between two sizes take the bigger one. As it is fastened by means of straps and buckles there is some flexibility.

Hip size
Where you are at the broadest. Take a lose measurement. For a ready made kilt you are not asked.

Length
Off the peg kilts are 'standardized' 24” or 61 cm long. Shall that fit you or not? Depending on how high or low you are going to wear your kilt there is some give and take regarding the effective length.

What is the correct length of a kilt?

From the middle of the knee cap to the top of the knee or even 1 inch above it. By no means should it cover your knees – even if it is not uncommon.

How to determine the length of my first kilt?

My advice:  Use a towel and a belt. Place yourself right up in a good distance (2-3 meters) from a tall vertical mounted mirror. Start out to see if 24” could be appropriate, otherwise adjust the length of the towel from the top of your belt and measure out what is the ideal length.
   Remember that you shall probably use a belt one inch wider than you are accustomed to.That adds to the length.

I myself am 178 cm high = 5’10’’. Placed at navel a 24” kilt goes to the middle of my knee cap. In my case this length is the absolute maximum. A 21” kilt resting on my hips comes to about one inch above my knee cap, thereby still just acceptable. Fastened at navel it should look more like a mini kilt, however. The perfect length for my kilts is 23” – in my opinion - and what I was measured to in Edinburgh. This again to indicate that there is some flexibility – come in mind we talk casual kilt, not national dress.

Accessories

For a traditional kilt you need “pockets”, a purse called a sporran. Go for a plain leather day sporran – without the noisy and annoying tassels most sporrans on the market come with. For casual wear you might in stead simply use a belt pack. I should recommend the sporran, however.
   Semi dress sporrans often come with a front of seal skin. They are illegal in some countries. Dress sporrans are out of the question for casual wear.

A kilt looks at its best together with a 2 ¼-2 ½ inch wide belt. An origial kilt belt & buckle might be a little bit overdressed for casual wear, nevertheless it looks quite good and wide-enough ordinary belts are hard to find.
   
Long socks, called kilt hose are common with the kilt. To keep them stay up you might also need garter flashes. Finding flashes overdressed for casual wear? Use some cheap velcro strips in stead - invisible when your socks are folded down just below your knees as they should. For casual wear you might scrunch or roll your socks down. Even if white socks, whether long or short, are not to everybody’s taste, most kilt hose are probably white or off white. The reason might be that they'll go with practically every kilt. Other popular colours are black, lovat green, lovat blue, bottle green, dark grey and navy.

If you buy a kilt pin, remember it is NOT intended to keep the layers of your kilt together! It is for pure decoration.

All other accessories are unnecessary for casual kilt wearing. Wearing of the special knife, the sgian dubh in your right (or left) kilt hose could in some countries bring you into jail.

It is often cheaper and by all means easier to buy the accessories together with your first kilt. Price offs on kilt packages are rather common.  

What else to wear with the kilt?

The kilt not being national dress to you, keep it simple:
   For the upper part of your body wear what you should else be wearing, whether a regular shirt, a polo or a t-shirt.
   If you need a jacket you’ll have to buy a special kilt jacket, however, probably an Argyle or a Braemer. Forget about men’s ordinary jackets. They are too long and look ridiculous with a kilt.
  If it is merely a question of protecting yourself against coldness a lot of short wind breakers will do the job efficiently and look nice with your kilt.
   On your feet wear shoes fitting the purpose. For casual functions and especially when wearing modern kilts many men prefer heavy-duty shoes or walking boots. In the summertime you might also replace the kilt hose by ordinary short socks. For casual wear the better solution, in my opinion, but traditionalists shall object to this.

With a tartan kilt your shirt, socks, and everything else, e.g. a tie, should be solid coloured and in accordance with the colours of your kilt. Leather items, sporran and belt should be either black or brown and match the colour of your shoes. Most common and thereby cheaper are kilt belts and sporrans in black leather.