How to wear a kilt: parts, order and occasions

To wear a kilt, fasten it at the natural waist, between the lowest rib and the hip, so that the hem falls at about the middle of the knee. Then build the outfit from a short list: a shirt and jacket, kilt hose held up by garters with flashes, a sporran, usually a belt and buckle, and black or dark leather shoes. How formal each part is depends on the occasion. The rules for matching them are conventions kept by custom, makers and clan societies, not law, and the sources we read do not all agree on the details. This guide sets out the standard pieces, the order they go on, and how a day outfit differs from an evening or wedding one.

Where the kilt sits and how long it is

The kilt is a wrap garment. It starts on one side, usually the wearer’s left, goes around the back and crosses the front to the opposite side. The flat overlapping layers at the front are the aprons, and the pleats are at the sides and back. What is a kilt describes these parts in detail.

Two fit points matter more than any accessory:

• Waist. The kilt is worn at the natural waist, which Wikipedia’s article on the kilt defines as the part of the body between the lowest rib and the hip. That is higher than where most trousers sit.
• Length. The same article says the kilt covers the body down to about the centre of the knees, and that a well-fitted one reaches no lower than halfway across the kneecap and no higher than about an inch above it. A 2011 Globe and Mail article on wearing a kilt says it should fall to the top or middle of the knee and just graze the floor when you kneel, and that a kilt “hingin’ doon” below the knees is the commonest fault.

Both depend on measurements taken the way your maker asks, so how to measure for a kilt comes first, and the kilt size calculator turns the numbers into a size.

Pleats go at the back and sides. The Globe and Mail article is blunt about wearing them at the front: “That’s a skirt, man.”

The parts of a Highland outfit

Wikipedia’s article on Highland dress lists the usual components of the men’s outfit. The table follows its list, with the plain job of each piece.

Part	What it is for
Kilt	The base garment. Tartan is usually chosen for looks or family link, see below.
Shirt and tie	A white dress shirt. Day wear takes a long tie, evening wear a bow tie.
Jacket	Sets the formality: tweed or plain Argyll for day, Prince Charlie coatee or similar for evening.
Waistcoat	Optional with some day jackets. Cut and cloth change with the jacket.
Kilt hose and flashes	Wool socks to below the knee, held with garters. The flashes are the tartan or coloured tabs showing at the side.
Sgian-dubh	A small knife worn in the top of the hose. Often a decorative item.
Sporran	The pouch that replaces pockets.
Belt and buckle	Worn with day dress and without a waistcoat.
Kilt pin	An optional pin on the front apron.
Shoes	Brogues, often the laced ghillie type.
Bonnet	A Balmoral or Glengarry, worn outdoors only.

Three of these have their own pages: the kilt pin hub, kilt belts and buckles and the guide to Scottish hats.

Kilt hose, kilt socks and flashes

Kilt hose are wool socks worn turned down at the knee, often with garters and flashes, according to Wikipedia’s kilt article. Searches for “kilt socks” and “kilt hose” mean the same thing.

Clan Buchanan Society International’s dress guide, which says it draws on Thomas G. Mungall’s Wearing Highland Attire, sets out what it expects at each level:

• Ceilidh and informal wear: plain toning hose.
• Daywear: plain toning hose, and “off-white hose must never be worn with tweed jackets.”
• Black tie and white tie: diced or tartan hose are the most formal; solid colours are less formal.
• Flashes: elastic garters in tartan or plain colour by day, silk flashes or silk garter ties for black tie and white tie. They should sit forward of the side of the leg, with the front edge in line with the shoe laces.

Wikipedia’s Highland dress article gives a similar picture. Day wear takes tartan, argyle, diced or dark hose, avoiding white or off-white, while off-white hose are often seen at black tie, though it says some people deplore them. Two societies and an encyclopedia do not make a rule, so treat these as the common custom.

Show some leg. The Globe and Mail article says a good bit of flesh should be visible between the top of the hose and the bottom of the kilt.

The sgian-dubh

Wikipedia’s kilt article describes the sgian-dubh as a small knife worn in the top of the hose, and says it is sometimes replaced by a wooden or plastic version, or left out, for security reasons. The Globe and Mail article says the right sock is standard and the left for a left-handed wearer. The Highland dress article says horn or antler suits day wear, and black and silver-mounted versions suit evening wear. If you are flying or entering a venue with security, check the rules before packing a blade.

The sporran

A kilt has no pockets, so the sporran works as one. The name is Scottish Gaelic for “purse”, and Wikipedia says it descends from the medieval European belt pouch, which was replaced elsewhere by clothing pockets but persisted in the Highlands. It hangs on a leather strap or chain, usually in front of the wearer’s groin and below the belt buckle. For driving, dancing or drumming it can be turned round the waist to hang at the hip.

The main types:

• Day sporran. A simple leather pouch, often with three or more tassels and a stud or hook closure.
• Semi-dress sporran. Shaped like a day sporran but with some dress features, such as a hair-hide body or decorated flap.
• Dress sporran. Larger and more ornate, with a metal cantle, which Wikipedia’s sporran article says is made of pewter or silver, or sterling or silver-plated, and a fur-covered front with tassels. Evening dress is worn with a dress sporran.

Wikipedia notes that many sporrans use animal skin, which can fall under wildlife trade rules, and that a 2009 European vote ended seal use in sporran making. Check the materials if you buy abroad, or choose leather.

Belt, buckle and kilt pin

Day wear uses a belt and buckle, according to Wikipedia’s Highland dress article. Clan Buchanan Society International adds that no belt is worn with a waistcoat, and that at a semi-formal event or afternoon wedding a belt is worn only if there is no waistcoat or cummerbund.

The pin is optional. Wikipedia’s kilt article says it may be fastened to the free corner of the front apron, not through the layer beneath, and that its purpose is to add weight. The clan society says a pin should suit the level of dress.

Shoes

Wikipedia’s kilt article lists ghillie brogues among the accessories, with lace-up boots or moccasins named for casual wear. The Highland dress article gives black brogues for day, evening brogues for black tie, and black formal shoes or buckle brogues for white tie, and says brown shoes are rejected by some, though royals wear them. The Globe and Mail article is looser: any dress shoes will do. Clan Buchanan Society International says tennis shoes are inappropriate with formal wear.

Day outfit

A day outfit is the simplest. The kiltmaker Kinloch Anderson sets it out like this in its wedding advice:

• A plain tweed jacket in green lovat, blue lovat or charcoal. The maker says charcoal is the most popular.
• An optional five-button waistcoat in matching tweed, or no waistcoat and a belt and buckle.
• A plain leather sporran.
• A toning tie in tweed or plain wool.
• Plain toning hose and toning flashes, with plain brogues.

The Highland dress article and Clan Buchanan Society International give much the same pieces under day wear. The clan society adds that Crail or Braemar tweed jackets are typically charcoal, black, blue or green lovat. Kinloch Anderson is a commercial source, so its list shows what makers commonly sell, not what custom requires.

Evening and black-tie outfit

For evening, the jacket changes, then everything follows it. The Highland dress article lists the Prince Charlie jacket among the choices for black tie, alongside Brian Boru, Braemar, Argyll and black mess jackets. White tie, the most formal level, calls for a doublet such as the Regulation or Montrose. The usual matching is:

• A black bow tie and a turndown collar for black tie, with a wing collar kept for white tie.
• A matching vest or waistcoat, in black for black tie. The Montrose and Kenmore doublets take none.
• Tartan or diced hose and silk flashes.
• A dress sporran.
• A black-and-silver sgian-dubh.
• Evening or buckle brogues.

Clan Buchanan Society International adds a warning against mixing levels: formal and daywear items should not be combined, such as a tweed jacket with evening wear or a coatee with daywear.

Wearing a kilt to a wedding

For guests, the host’s invitation sets the level. For the groom, there are three ordinary choices, which Kinloch Anderson sets out as day, semi-formal and evening:

• Day wedding. The day outfit above.
• Semi-formal. A black barathea Argyll jacket, a silver-grey silk wedding tie or black bow tie, plain or semi-dress sporran, and plain hose, black to match the jacket or a colour that goes with the tartan. Clan Buchanan Society International describes the afternoon-wedding version as a semi-formal sporran and gillie or plain brogues.
• Evening. A coatee and vest, the Prince Charlie, with bow tie, dress sporran and tartan hose.

The Highland dress article says formal Highland dress is worn especially at ceilidhs and weddings, that the black-tie version is increasingly common, and that plaids are usually kept for the groom at very formal events. It also says the full plaid, fly plaid or short belted plaid are reserved for very formal events or for the groom at a wedding. On whether a wedding kilt must be a family tartan, the maker says the choice usually follows the family name and its association with a clan or a district, though without a clan link there are four “universal” tartans and general options. Who can wear which tartan deals with that question.

Most Scottish people treat the kilt as formal or national dress, owned or hired for weddings and other formal occasions, and anyone may wear one regardless of nationality or descent, according to Wikipedia’s kilt article.

A practical order

The sources do not give a standard dressing sequence, so this follows only from how the parts connect.

1. Kilt at the natural waist. Fasten the straps and buckles and check the hem against the kneecap.
2. Hose, garters and flashes. Keep a visible gap between the hose top and the hem.
3. Belt and sporran. The sporran hangs at the front below the buckle.
4. Shirt, tie and jacket. The jacket goes over the waistcoat if there is one.
5. Sgian-dubh, kilt pin and shoes. If a pin is worn, it is fastened to the front apron and not through the layer beneath.

Underwear is a personal choice. Wikipedia says it may or may not be worn, while the Globe and Mail article advises wearing it, citing strong breezes, dancing and mixed company.

Questions and answers

Is there one right way to wear a kilt? Only the fit points are close to firm: natural waist, hem at the knee, pleats at the back. Everything else is custom, and customs differ by occasion and by source.

Do I need a jacket? At formal events, yes. The jacket sets the level of the outfit. For casual wear, the Wikipedia kilt article mentions ghillie shirts as a more casual modern option.

What are kilt flashes? The tartan or coloured tabs worn on the garters at the side of each leg, below the turned-down hose.

Can I wear a kilt in any tartan? Many people choose tartan for looks, according to the Highland dress article. For family or restricted tartans, see the page above on who can wear which tartan.

What about women’s dress? The Highland dress article describes a separate traditional women’s outfit; the Highland dress overview compares the two and says who sets the rules. Kilts for women are covered on women’s kilts, and the range of men’s and unisex styles is set out in types of kilts.

For buying a kilt, the kilts hub is the starting page.