I wear different weight/fabric/yardage kilts depending on the weather. As for hose, I wear football (soccer) socks, as I tend to regard 'proper' hose as overpriced, and I'm not averse to pushing them down if my legs are too hot. In the comfort of my own home I don't wear any socks atall in hot weather.

I don't like shorts much, but I fail to see how they could be cooler as they offer less ventilation, all else being equal. OTOH, if you only ever wear an 8yd 16oz wool kilt, then perhaps shorts might be cooler than that.

Until recently I didn't own a kilt belt, but I just bought two of them (identical, one black, one brown). One of my kilts (FC 13oz, although most people think that weight is not accurate) is a bit too large, and I was thinking that wearing a belt would help hold it up, but it is one of my lightest weight (thinnest!) kilts, and I hadn't thought about a kilt belt making me hotter. I was thinking of wearing this to an event in August, when it is sure to be hot, but probably I should try this combination out to see if the belt might make me too hot around the waist.