Putting on your Kilt

We often see men coming in to try on their kilts and getting in a fankle with which way the kilt goes, trying to tie their brogue laces and positioning their sporran, amongst other things. It can take customers ages to try on a kilt outfit, but there is no need to start getting ready hours before you leave the house. With a little bit of guidance, getting dressed in your kilt outfit should take just a few minutes.

Kilt: Wrap the open kilt around your body with pleats to the BACK! The flat aprons of your kilt should be overlapping at the front, this should the fringing to your right-hand side. The kilt should sit on your waist, slightly higher than your trousers usually sit and should drop to the middle of your knee.

Hose & Flashes: Kilt hose should sit just below the knee once you have folded down the decorative top. You can fold the top of your sock once or twice depending on the length of your hose. Flashes are worn on the side of your calf to stop the hose slipping down.

Shoes/ Brogues: Make sure you have a comfy pair of shoes as you will be in them all day! If they are new then take the time before the event to break them in.

Laces: Traditionally worn wrapped up the leg – this looks great but tends to be a pest with them falling down all day. Our top tip: tie lace, twist 3 times and wrap around the ankle tying at the side. This is the piper’s technique and will look effective without falling down.

Shirt, Waistcoat & Jacket: These should be pretty straightforward- just make sure you’ve lined your buttons up correctly!! Then neatly tuck your shirt into your kilt. Should your waistcoat feel a little loose or tight, this can be easily adjusted using the strap on the back of your waistcoat. people tend to leave the jacket open to show off the waistcoat nicely.

Sgian Dubh: Your Sgian Dubh should be pushed down the inside of your sock, leaving about an inch of the handle visible above your sock.  Traditionally the Sgian Dubh is worn on the right hand side.

Sporran: Simply hook the sporran chain through the kilt loops evenly so that your sporran sits in the middle of your body at front.

Kilt Pin: Your kilt pin should be worn in the right hand corner of your kilt, approx. 4″ from the bottom hem and 2″ in from the side of your kilt. Be sure to only pierce the pin through the front apron of the kilt- this will ensure your kilt keeps you modest and the kilt straight, but will leave a split between the layers giving the kilt a bit of movement.

Hopefully our tips and tricks will help you enjoy wearing your kilt!