Helpful Hint: The easiest order in which to dress, is to start with your socks, shoes, flashes and sgian dubh. Once you are correct below the knee, put on your shirt and tie, followed by the kilt, sporran and chain, then the belt or the waistcoat (whichever is appropriate).  Dressing is finally completed by the jacket then the plaid (if appropriate) to finish the outfit.  

The kilt is worn with the pleats to the back, and should sit well up on the body – approximately 2" above the waist. The bottom of the kilt should be approximately at the top to middle of the knee cap, and should NOT be touching the ground if kneeling (this is the old fashioned Regimental method).   Our hire kilts have double sets of straps for maximum adjustability and either set can be used.

Where the jacket requires a waistcoat the Jacket should be left open to show the snugly fitting waistcoat , the buttons should be centred with the Kilt’s centre (or centre line) and sporran.

The sporran should be centred to the front apron of the kilt, with the chainstrap fed through the loops at the back of the kilt, and should sit approximately 4-5 fingers width below the top of the Kilt.   In the case where a waistcoat is worn, the sporran should best centred and in line with the buttons.

The ghillie brogues should be laced up as follows and as per image above:

  1. Start off in the usual shoe tying manner by crossing the two laces and pulling tight.
  2. Holding this foundation, criss/cross (twist) the laces four times and pull tight
  3. (this will produce a vertical thong of approximately 1").
  4. Cross the laces around the back of the ankle, bringing both laces back round to the front.
  5. Tie in a normal bow, at the front or to the outside of the ankle, leaving remaining lace and tassle to dangle.

 

Normally, this is worn down the right sock, although strictly speaking, a left handed person could wear this down the left side. The literal translation of sgian dubh is "hidden or black knife" and that is precisely what it should be. Only the top 1" should be showing above the hose.

The kilt pin should be pinned through the front apron of the kilt only and serves purely as a decoration.  On no account should the two aprons be pinned together as this can result in ripping the cloth of the kilt.

The bow tie is normally worn with Formal Outfits, with the most appropriate style of shirt being the wing collar. For those wearing the Day/Semi Formal Outfits, the silver/grey wedding tie and standard collar shirt are recommended.

These should NOT be pulled up right to the knee, but should be approximately 3-4 finger widths below the bottom of the knee cap.

Flashes should be worn to the outside of the leg, bringing the sock turnover down, covering approximately half of the flash.

The Belted Plaid should be laid on the floor to the back of the Kilt, inside out, and the tapered corner on the left side. The long ties should fasten/tie on top of the Kilt at waist height.

The tapered corner should then be fed through the left epaulette and secured with a brooch.

For the Full Plaid (shown in opposite image), unfasten the epaulette on the left shoulder. The pleated/stitched end should start at waist/chest height (this will vary dependant on the customers height and plaid size) and go over the left shoulder, under the right underarm and back over the left shoulder.

It should then be pulled firm and the epaulette refastened. Pull the leading edge forward so that the plaid falls over the whole of the left side. The over-all length of the plaid should fall mid-calf, if it does not adjust from the start, the plaid should then be secured with a plaid brooch.

Your belt requires to be 2" bigger than your Kilt waist. The belt should take the place of a waistcoat , they should not be worn together, it should fill the space between the shirt and the Kilt. The belt does not go through the loops at the back of the Kilt, they are for the sporran chain. The buckle should be centred with the sporran.