Photo one. This one was taken the morning of our annual Taste of Scotland festival, which is in the middle of June, and can get quite hot! I was to be recognized with an award at the festival, which involved me marching in the parade that morning and being called onto the main festival stage during the opening ceremonies for recognition. Despite the heat, this is what I wore.

The kilt hose are 100% wool, and so certainly not the coolest I own. However, the kilt itself is a four yard box pleated kilt, so it was quite cool and comfortable. The jacket and waistcoat, though wool, were a lighter weight.

I was not uncomfortable. But later in the day, when I was working in the museum's gift shop, the jacket was off and the sleeves rolled up.

I did give a couple of guided tours of the museum during the day, however, and the jacket went back on so I was dressed more or less as in the photo above (perhaps without the bonnet, I cannot recall).

Contrast that to the below.

Photo two.
This was taken several years ago and I was specifically trying to show how the kilt could be adapted to a "summer fun" care-free, hot weather environment. The idea was to be as casual and cool as possible.


Was I comfortable? You betcha! Did I feel especially "connected" to my Scottish ancestors by wearing that outfit? Not really. :-)

The kilt is of 12 oz wool, and is a five yard "casual" style. I chose a solid color specifically because I had in mind to pair it with a Hawaiian style shirt.

It was a lot of fun to wear, but I'd never make the argument that it was a traditional Highland style!