Parts of a Kilt Outfit – Kilt, Sporran, Hose and Flashes

All 12 parts on the diagram

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The outfit 9

Kilt A wrap-around garment from the waist to the knee. Pleated at the sides and back.
Sporran A pouch worn at the front of the kilt. Sporran is Gaelic for purse.
Jacket A short jacket, in one of several traditional designs.
Belt A waist belt, fastened at the front with a buckle.
Hose Woolen socks that reach the top of the calf. The tops are turned down.
Flashes Small pieces of cloth or ribbon on the garters. They show below the turned-down tops.
Brogues Thick-soled shoes with no tongue. The long laces tie above the ankle.
Bonnet A Highland bonnet. The two usual kinds are the Balmoral and Glengarry.
Sporran chain The sporran hangs from a chain or leather strap round the waist.

The kilt 3

Apron The flat layers of cloth that overlap across the front.
Pleats Folds in the cloth round the sides and back of a kilt.
Kilt pin A pin worn on the front apron, near its lower free corner.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it: Wikipedia, text only: Kilt (aprons, pleats at the sides and back, kilt pin on the front apron, kilt hose turned down at the knee, garters and flashes, sporran on a chain or leather strap, belt, jacket, ghillie brogues) and Highland dress (bonnet, Balmoral or Glengarry; ghillie brogues laced above the ankle); Highland Dress and How to Wear It, a booklet of 1940 that gives the dress rules of a kilt society in Inverness, https://archive.org/details/P011289 (kilt, upper apron, kilt pin at the lower corner of the upper apron, sporran with strap or chain, hose secured by garters with a piece of ribbon showing, flashes, brogues, bonnet, jacket or doublet, waist belt); Lord Archibald Campbell, Highland Dress, Arms and Ornament (1899), https://archive.org/details/Highland (pleating of the kilt, sporrans, hose, brogues, bonnets); and the Victoria and Albert Museum's catalog records for kilts, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O224246/ and https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O10712/ (knife-pleated; pleated to a band at the waist; worn with a kilt pin). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; the check is a plain grid, not a registered tartan; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The kilt is the heart of Highland dress, the traditional dress of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. The first drawing shows a whole outfit; the second shows the parts of a kilt itself.

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The outfit, then the kilt

Numbers 1 to 9 are on the outfit: the kilt, the sporran, the jacket, the belt, the hose, the flashes, the brogues, the bonnet and the sporran chain. Open the second drawing for 10 to 12. From the front, a kilt shows its flat apron and the kilt pin. From the back, it shows its pleats.

Sporran is the Gaelic word for purse. It hangs at the front, over the apron.
Hose are long socks. Their tops are turned down, and the flashes show just below the fold.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a kilt outfit called?

The kilt, a sporran hung at the front on a chain or strap, a jacket, a belt, kilt hose with flashes, and brogues. A bonnet and a kilt pin are often worn too. The pattern of the cloth is called tartan.

What are the parts of a kilt?

A kilt wraps round the body from the waist to the knee. The flat layers that overlap across the front are the aprons. The cloth round the sides and back is folded into pleats. A kilt pin is worn on the front apron.

What is the pouch worn with a kilt called?

A sporran, from the Gaelic word for purse. It hangs at the front of the kilt from a chain or a leather strap round the waist, and may be made of leather, fur or hair.

What are the socks worn with a kilt called?

Kilt hose. They are woolen socks that reach the top of the calf, with the tops turned down. Garters hold them up, and the flashes on the garters show below the fold.