How to Wear a Traditional Kilt

There is a right way and a wrong way to wear a kilt.

From punk rock musicians to science fiction authors, more and more men are discovering the pleasure of wearing a kilt--and making it part of their wardrobes. Rather than a confusing length of fabric, today's modern kilts are constructed for easy wearing. The pleats are sewn in permanently and arranging the kilt is a simple matter of wrapping it correctly and buckling the straps.

Instructions

1. Put on your shirt before attempting to add your kilt. It is much easier to buckle the kilt over shirt tails than it is to attempt to tuck a shirt in afterward.

2. Wrap your kilt around you with the pleats in the back. Make sure the top edge of the fabric sits at your natural waist, above your navel.

3. Grasp the leather strap that sits at the top of the right-hand apron. Feed the end of the strap through the hole in the left half of the kilt from the inside going out. Fasten the buckle so that the kilt is snug against your body and with the strap laying flat against the left side of your body above the hip.

4. Pull the left side of the kilt over your body toward the right and fasten the strap with the buckle. Fasten this tight enough so that the front of the kilt lies smooth against your body and does not sag down. Position the right and left straps so that they are evenly placed on the sides of your body.

5. Fasten the second buckle on the left kilt half if your kilt is supplied with one. Do not fasten this strap too tightly, but only enough to make the kilt lie smooth against the front of your legs.

6. Reach up underneath your kilt and grasp the tails of your shirt. Pull down your shirt tails to smooth the top of your shirt to make your appearance neat.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not buckle your kilt below your stomach if the front of your body is oversized. Always arrange the top of the kilt so that it rides above your navel.

References

• Matthew A.C. Newsome: How to Wear the Kilt--Literally
• Your-Kilt.com: How to Wear a Kilt