Summer rugged outdoor wear: awesome or blasphemous?

[English Bloke]

Don't mess with rattlers. I've only come across them loose in the wild once, I fancied the idea of a suit of armour at the time. Alberta, prairie, there did seem to be an awful lot of them about. Shot the absolute bejeebers up me.

Your gear looks good and is appropriately practical. I like the hose tops, nice touch. You don't have to be traditional if you are not engaged in traditional stuff. To my mind anyway, but then I'm of the "it's clothes" ethos.

[Muddy]

Don't change the hat. You look great in it and it works with the kilt fine.
If it were me? I'd lose the hose tops and gaiters and just wear the boots with socks. To me, that level of informality works better with the shirt and hat. But, that's just my opinion and only given because you asked yeah? Overall, you're rockin' it. Good job.

Edit to add: You could also keep the gaiters if they indeed offer snake protection and maybe go with more subdued hose tops that match the rest of the ensemble. Again, just my opinion. Pay me no mind (chuckle).

[gary meakin]

It's curious that some of you guys think of diced hose tops as formal only. I do agree that if we were talking full hose, worn civilian-style with low-cut shoes, diced hose are best left for formal wear. But these are military hose tops, worn with leggings in a similar style to spats. There's nothing formal about that. Heck, men used to march into battle wearing spats and diced hose. And considering the nature of hose tops (which have no foot on them), these can only be worn with spats, which IMHO give them a decidedly outdoorsy look. They are not designed for formal wear; the closest they could come to formal wear is a military dress uniform.

Does the general kilt-wearing world not make an exception for diced hose tops worn with leggings/spats, given their long history of military service? If not, then should they?

Now, I can certainly understand ThistleDown's "costumey" remark, considering a recent discussion which revealed that many of the native Scots shy away from diced hose due to associations with corny musical acts of yesteryear. I can even understand it being "costumey" in the sense that it's loosely emulating a military style when I am obviously not in a Highland Regiment. I very much expected that reaction, though I was hoping at least one person would call it blasphemous.

As an aside, my wife hates this outfit. She says it's too busy, there's too much going on, too much for the eye to look at, nothing matches, nothing flows, she hates that tartan, doesn't like epaulettes on shirts, etc., etc., etc. The one thing she didn't say was that the hose looked too formal.

For me it's just a matter of personal preference I guess.
I have a pair of red diced hose and would never even consider wearing them unless I was getting "dressed up".
Right or wrong, it's just my perception. When I see diced hose, I think formal.

[Tobus]

Don't change the hat. You look great in it and it works with the kilt fine.
If it were me? I'd lose the hose tops and gaiters and just wear the boots with socks. To me, that level of informality works better with the shirt and hat. But, that's just my opinion and only given because you asked yeah? Overall, you're rockin' it. Good job.

Edit to add: You could also keep the gaiters if they indeed offer snake protection and maybe go with more subdued hose tops that match the rest of the ensemble. Again, just my opinion. Pay me no mind (chuckle).

The leggings aren't so much for snake protection (a rattler would punch right through that canvas). They're mainly to protect my legs and hose from thorns. My part of Texas abounds with thorned plants. Prickly-pear cactus, yucca, huisache, mesquite, agarita, cockleburrs, grass burrs, and countless more that I don't even know their names. For me to even walk out into my pastures to bring my horses in, I need leg protection of some sort. Boots and socks don't cut it, unless the boots are tall enough to go up to my calves (which these don't). I'd come back with my legs scratched up and my socks full of stickers. Even with the outfit shown in my first post, I think I need to ditch the garter ties, as the dangly ends would likely catch stickers.

I usually do wear 'subdued' colours of hose when wearing leggings, as shown below (those are the taller army leggings). Going with the military diced hose tops was an attempt to break from the norm and get creative.

[gary meakin]

Now that looks "right" to me

[opositive]

looks aside, wouldn't boots + hiking sox + hose tops + leggings turn your legs into sweat factories in our blistering southern summer months? that is my only concern about the hose tops.

[Tobus]

looks aside, wouldn't boots + hiking sox + hose tops + leggings turn your legs into sweat factories in our blistering southern summer months? that is my only concern about the hose tops.

I must be abnormal. My skinny legs just don't get hot. My feet do get hot and sweaty, but that can't be helped, whether I'm wearing trousers or a kilt. I have breathable hiking boots, but only wear them if I'm going to be doing many miles of pure hiking.

But as for my legs, I just don't ever feel like they're too hot. I see people complain all the time about how wool hose are too hot for summer, but it really doesn't bother me. Even with canvas leggings over them, it really doesn't make me feel like I've got too much on. I've worn wool hose and canvas leggings on 12+ mile day hikes, in 105-degree temperatures, and while I may be miserable in other ways, my legs being too hot is not a problem.

[creagdhubh]

I must be abnormal. My skinny legs just don't get hot. My feet do get hot and sweaty, but that can't be helped, whether I'm wearing trousers or a kilt.

I'm the same way, Tobus!

[Muddy]

That last pic in the utilikilt looks awesome mate. Nice look.

[James Hood]

Looks great and individual-flavoured-bold.

As kilting becomes more common, more folks will find their own look.

Personally always do long sleeve, light-hued safari shirt and brimmed bush hat in the sun, though.