How to Tie Kilt Shoes

Co-authored by Jordan Stolch

Last Updated: September 16, 2019

The kilt outfit is a highland Scottish tradition. The outfit includes a tartan wraparound that resembles a skirt, long socks, garters, a ceremonial knife, and some excellent shoes called ghillie brogues. The shoes are made of shiny leather, don’t have tongues and have long, thin laces. To tie them, twist the laces at the front, wrap them around your ankle, and twist them at the back. Then tie them in a bow, either at the side of your ankle, for a more traditional look, or at the front of your ankle, for symmetry.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Twisting the Laces

1
Put your shoes on and pull the laces to tighten them. Make sure that the laces are threaded through each of the holes in the shoe. The laces should cross over each other at every pair of holes. Pull the laces tight by tugging on them, just as you would to start tying ordinary shoes.
- If you don’t have special ghillie brogues, you can improvise them by cutting the tongue out of ordinary dress shoes.^{[1]
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- Wear your ghillie brogues with long socks, with the ribs running vertically, garters, and, of course, a kilt.
2
Twist the laces around each other 3-6 times in the front. An easy way to do this is to hold one lace straight, and wrap the other one around it. Start twisting them about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the shoe top. This will make a vertical twisted rope of laces.^{[2]
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- You can decide if you want to twist 3 times, to have the eventual bow closer to your shoe, or more like 6 times, to have it farther up your leg. Whatever you prefer.^{[3]
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3
Bring the laces around to the back of your ankle. Wrap one lace around each side of your leg, so that they meet at the back. They should meet about 3 inches (7.6 cm) above your ankle.^{[4]
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- They should be tight enough around your leg that they stay up, but not so tight that they pinch.
4
Twist the laces together behind your leg. Twist them between 2-4 times, however many you prefer. Again, you can hold one lace still and wrap the other around it.^{[5]
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- A good guideline is to have fewer twists in the back of the leg than in the front.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Tying the Bow

1
Make a simple overhand knot at the front or side of your leg. Wrap one lace around each side of your leg so that they meet either at the outer side of your leg, or at the front of your leg. Tie a simple overhand knot, like you do to start tying your shoes ordinarily. Just pass one lace around the other one. If you’d like to tie your bow at the outer side of your ankle, instead, tie your half-hitch there.^{[6]
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- It’s more traditional to tie your knot on the side of the leg, but you can also do it in the front if you like the way it looks.
2
Tie your bow at the side of your leg if you’d like. This is the more traditional place to tie the bow. Once you’ve made your overhand knot at the side of the leg, tie your bow there, just like you were tying shoes.^{[7]
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- Make sure that both loops of the bow are the same size.
3
Tie a bow at the front of your leg if you’d prefer. Tying the bow at the front gives a nice, symmetrical look, and some people prefer it to the more-traditional side bow. Right where you’ve done your overhand knot at the front, tie a bow, just as you do when you’re tying regular shoes. The bow should be about 3 inches (7.6 cm) above your ankle.^{[8]
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- If you do it any higher up your leg than that, the bow will start to slip down your ankle.^{[9]
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Expert Q&A

Question

What kind of outfit works well with brogue shoes?

Jordan Stolch
Image Consultant & Style Advisor
Jordan Stolch is an Image Strategist, Style Advisor, and the Founder of MiKADO - a concierge personal styling firm. With over a decade of experience, Jordan specializes in helping people eliminate the confusion and insecurities associated with how to dress in order to build a powerful image and use clothing to their strategic advantage. Jordan trains entrepreneurs, business leaders, and corporate executives in the foundations of "power dressing", from some of the country's preeminent companies such as Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, Berkshire Hathaway, Universal Music Group, Starbucks, and Disney. She works with clients both in-person and virtually, teaching them how to take the confusion out of style so they can operate at a higher level. Jordan earned her BA in Psychology from the University of Waterloo and studied Merchandise Marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIDM).

Jordan Stolch

Image Consultant & Style Advisor

Expert Answer

For a woman, I would stay true to the classic styling of it. I would often do it with pants, either jeans or black trousers, and then a blazer on top to tie the menswear-inspired classic clothes together. I would even do a colored blazer on top, black pants, and then a white button-down shirt to make it a bit more elevated. We could also have a bit more fun with it by doing a leather skinny pant and an oversized sweater tucked in at the front. Maybe some kind of statement jacket to layer it. That could be a statement bomber jacket or something a bit more military-inspired for women.