Hot weather kilting in San Diego

[Tobus]

A note on the shirt: I believe that I have read here that button down collars are not traditional in the UK but I wear one as a concession to the fact that it is hard to find short sleeved, button up, shirts here without them. That and I quite liked the pattern of green and blue check on this shirt in addition to the reasonable price of $16 at Costco.

This is a major peeve of mine. I've never understood the American fascination with button-down collars, or why they were invented in the first place. It's not like there's anything special about the USA that causes our collars to flap wildly about if they aren't buttoned down. And in the rare instance where it would be an issue, it's usually nothing that a starched collar with a metal collar stay wouldn't fix. If it's just a matter of wanting to keep a collar flap straight and well-positioned, collar stays do the job just fine. Button-down collars just don't make any sense to me, yet it's difficult to find collared shirts without them.

I usually pass on shirts with button-down collars. But if for some reason I do end up with one (I do have a few), I just leave the collar flaps unbuttoned when I'm not wearing a tie. They only get buttoned if my shirt front is buttoned all the way up to the neck. The reason being, as your photo shows, the buttoned collar stands up oddly when the flaps are buttoned but the shirt front is not.

[Father Bill]

Tobus, I agree that I'd like to get some shirts without the button down (started in the sixties, I believe) but I do like the buttons when I'm wearing a crew neck or high V-neck sweater because otherwise I have to put both collar tabs out or else I end up with an uneven sinking-tab look or one of each. The buttons do address that issue fairly well.

[Stoff]

This is a major peeve of mine. I've never understood the American fascination with button-down collars, or why they were invented in the first place. It's not like there's anything special about the USA that causes our collars to flap wildly about if they aren't buttoned down. And in the rare instance where it would be an issue, it's usually nothing that a starched collar with a metal collar stay wouldn't fix. If it's just a matter of wanting to keep a collar flap straight and well-positioned, collar stays do the job just fine. Button-down collars just don't make any sense to me, yet it's difficult to find collared shirts without them.

I usually pass on shirts with button-down collars. But if for some reason I do end up with one (I do have a few), I just leave the collar flaps unbuttoned when I'm not wearing a tie. They only get buttoned if my shirt front is buttoned all the way up to the neck. The reason being, as your photo shows, the buttoned collar stands up oddly when the flaps are buttoned but the shirt front is not.

Button down collars where invented for polo players.

Here is a quote from a wiki article on dress shirts:

"Button-down collars, or "sport collars" have points fastened down by buttons on the front of the shirt. Introduced by Brooks Brothers in 1896, they were patterned after the shirts of polo players and were used exclusively on sports shirts until the 1950s in America. It is still considered a more sporting style, and, particularly outside America, traditionally dressed men still do not wear suits with this style of collar."

Here is a link to the article: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dress_shirt>

Stoff

[kiltedsawyer]

This is a major peeve of mine. I've never understood the American fascination with button-down collars, or why they were invented in the first place. It's not like there's anything special about the USA that causes our collars to flap wildly about if they aren't buttoned down. And in the rare instance where it would be an issue, it's usually nothing that a starched collar with a metal collar stay wouldn't fix. If it's just a matter of wanting to keep a collar flap straight and well-positioned, collar stays do the job just fine. Button-down collars just don't make any sense to me, yet it's difficult to find collared shirts without them.

I usually pass on shirts with button-down collars. But if for some reason I do end up with one (I do have a few), I just leave the collar flaps unbuttoned when I'm not wearing a tie. They only get buttoned if my shirt front is buttoned all the way up to the neck. The reason being, as your photo shows, the buttoned collar stands up oddly when the flaps are buttoned but the shirt front is not.

I like button down collars. Not so much with a suit, but don't like the new spread collars either. Just old fashioned I guess.

[FossilHunter]

Not as hot this weekend but still a bit warm for my liking.

Blue gingham shirt this time. Kilt a touch higher and hose a touch lower (a bit of an photo angle thing that makes it less obvious but the kilt is right on top of the kneecap).

[Jock Scot]

Not as hot this weekend but still a bit warm for my liking.

Blue gingham shirt this time. Kilt a touch higher and hose a touch lower (a bit of an photo angle thing that makes it less obvious but the kilt is right on top of the kneecap).

Love the blue gingham, a very effective choice with the kilt. Yes this camera angle thing really is a nuisance, so bearing that in mind it looks to me that you could still lower the hose a tad more and still raise the kilt a bit more than a tad. Try it?

[Tobinn]

It's been so freakin' hot and muggy here in Florida I can't bring myself to wear my hose and I have a new pair of mustard cotton hose (I picked up in New Jersey at a Battle of Monmouth re-enactment - I'm a member of Mott's Artillery) that'll just have to wait until it dips into the 80's (F).
I take'em out of the drawer contemplate it, try to talk myself into it, walk outside for a minute and put'em back in the drawer.

In the meantime, I've just worn solid calf length socks pushed down. When it's humid enough to choke a frog I bend a bit towards comfort.

[Manu]

It's been so freakin' hot and muggy here in Florida I can't bring myself to wear my hose and I have a new pair of mustard cotton hose (I picked up in New Jersey at a Battle of Monmouth re-enactment - I'm a member of Mott's Artillery) that'll just have to wait until it dips into the 80's (F).
I take'em out of the drawer contemplate it, try to talk myself into it, walk outside for a minute and put'em back in the drawer.

In the meantime, I've just worn solid calf length socks pushed down. When it's humid enough to choke a frog I bend a bit towards comfort.

I have honestly been considering modifying my kilted attire for the South Florida 9 month long summer for casual occasions. I'm thinking a pair of nice leather sandals and a linen shirt. I think it would be relaxed, casual, and most definitely comfortable. Nowhere near traditional highland attire, but then again the Highland Scots do not have to deal with the Southern US summers!!

[jumary]

I have honestly been considering modifying my kilted attire for the South Florida 9 month long summer for casual occasions. I'm thinking a pair of nice leather sandals and a linen shirt. I think it would be relaxed, casual, and most definitely comfortable. Nowhere near traditional highland attire, but then again the Highland Scots do not have to deal with the Southern US summers!!

I am also in South Florida near Naples. I played my pipes at a golf tournament a few weeks ago, and it was sweaty even at 7:30 a.m. I was wearing a belt with my kilt, and the waist of my kilt was the only thing really uncomfortable. Everything else felt quite good.

[Tobus]

It's been so freakin' hot and muggy here in Florida I can't bring myself to wear my hose and I have a new pair of mustard cotton hose (I picked up in New Jersey at a Battle of Monmouth re-enactment - I'm a member of Mott's Artillery) that'll just have to wait until it dips into the 80's (F).
I take'em out of the drawer contemplate it, try to talk myself into it, walk outside for a minute and put'em back in the drawer.

In the meantime, I've just worn solid calf length socks pushed down. When it's humid enough to choke a frog I bend a bit towards comfort.

It's been oppressively hot here as well. This weekend we should be pushing 104-106F (40-41C). Walking outside feels like walking into a furnace. I'll be honest - when it's this hot, I don't feel like wearing a kilt. Mainly because there's nothing to stop the sweat from dripping and running down my legs, which is incredibly uncomfortable. At least with shorts, the regular contact with my legs will absorb the sweat and draw it away from my skin.

But for some reason, I've never been one to feel hotter when wearing full-height socks or hose in the heat. It just doesn't have any effect on my main torso body temperature. My feet, though, will make me uncomfortable. Wearing socks and shoes in the heat, with my sweaty feet trapped inside closed leather shoes, makes for a miserable time. If I'm hiking or working out-of-doors in the heat, I make it a point to stop and rest about every hour so I can take off my shoes or boots and let my feet air out. It's even better if I can change socks every hour too. But it's all about my feet inside my shoes, and my calves don't really care.

At any rate, if you find traditional woolen hose to be too hot, you might try something like the cotton socks from Sock Dreams (these or these). They are thinner and have more of an open weave, letting more air get to the legs, while still looking somewhat like kilt hose. You won't fool any traditional kilt-wearers, especially since it's not really made to have a turn-down at the top (you have to fake it by just folding the top ribbed section over), but it's a decent compromise between traditional hose and staying cool. I have a pair of the diamond-rib style in grey as well as black, and they are not too bad in hot weather.