Dressing dapper while beating the heat

[VegasMike]

Hello gang! You've all inspired me to start dressing a little classier again, now that I know I'm not the only one trying to keep style and class alive

I could really use some recommendations on how to best go about looking sharp, while still staying cool. I'm in Las Vegas, so it's stupid hot here, and alot of the time I have to drive between some of our different sites fixing computers and what not, so I was wondering what your suggestions might be?

Thanks!

 

[slicedbread]

I've run into this problem just recently...

You see, I've lived in texas for a long time (dallas), but although it was very hot, it was also pretty dry....

However, I've just moved to Baylor University in Waco, Tx and it's EXTREMELY hot and EXTREMELY humid...I can't stand wearing jackets at all anymore...However, I still wear nice shoes, cool socks, dress pants, and a polo or dress shirt also sometimes a hat...

If anyone else has any other suggestions then please put them forth!

 

[timo]

Stay indoors as much as possible and drink lots of water. That's all I've been able to think of. I love wearing suits, but you've still got fabric of varying degrees of insulation almost all over your body... and you're in the middle of a desert.

 

[dhermann1]

I bought a couple of nice 100% linen trousers at Jos A Banks recently. Not as cool as wearing shorts, but still very light on weight. I also have a very cheap but still passable linen/rayon suit that I bought a couple years ago. There's something very Sidney Greenstreet about trying to wear a complete suit in murderously sweltering weather. Dabbing the forehead with a LARGE handkerchief, nursing an appropriate tropical drink, and saying drolly malevolent things to the hero.

 

[skwerl-hat]

oh ice cubes where art thou!
the sweltering unending heat like standing in a great oven
hopefully we get some more answers because this is a question i have also.
Personally i wear a dress shirt usually the lightest color possible and my straw fedora and some light colored slacks usually this gets me by.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

I know you're sick of seeing me....

But it is hot, and I look pretty bloody dapper, don't you say?!!

-dixon cannon

 

[cookie]

What to Wear

I've run into this problem just recently...

You see, I've lived in texas for a long time (dallas), but although it was very hot, it was also pretty dry....

However, I've just moved to Baylor University in Waco, Tx and it's EXTREMELY hot and EXTREMELY humid...I can't stand wearing jackets at all anymore...However, I still wear nice shoes, cool socks, dress pants, and a polo or dress shirt also sometimes a hat...

If anyone else has any other suggestions then please put them forth!

Guayabera

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Linen Linen Linen. Billowy cut trousers or shorts for air flow.

Short sleeved shirts.

Sandals.

bk

 

[Orgetorix]

In the heat, especially in humidity, wearing fabrics that breathe is key. So the type of weave is more important than what the cloth is made out of, though that matters too. Linen is cooler than cotton poplin. Wool fresco is cooler than gabardine. Oxford-cloth or linen shirts are cooler than poplin ones.

 

[slicedbread]

Sandals.

bk

NEVER. =)

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Sandals.

bk

Haha - know what I first read? "Sandals"!


Er, wait…

 

[Rooster]

Light colors made of linen. Wear a wife beater under your shirt, once you sweat it will keep you cool. I find suspenders are nice instead of a belt constricting my waist. Specs with mesh uppers and thin socks are nice...no sandals for me. lol
Here in Iowa along the Mississippi we have high temps and very high humidity. The humidity runs 60-70% June through August with the temps in the upper 80's through the upper 90's which gives us a heat index that is quite often above 100. I havn't been able to wear a suit jacket in that weather other than to church in the morning before it gets blazing hot. I will put on a tie for just buzzing around town though.
I've been wear fur felt hats all summer with no ill effects. still looking for the right straw.
I'd also like to add that modern day light weight suit coats are crapola. They are all fully lined and hotter that hell. I've got a couple light weight wool vintage suit jackets with skeleton linning that are far cooler than anything modern.

 

[cookie]

Light colors made of linen. Wear a wife beater under your shirt, once you sweat it will keep you cool. I find suspenders are nice instead of a belt constricting my waist. Specs with mesh uppers and thin socks are nice...no sandals for me. lol
Here in Iowa along the Mississippi we have high temps and very high humidity. The humidity runs 60-70% June through August with the temps in the upper 80's through the upper 90's which gives us a heat index that is quite often above 100. I havn't been able to wear a suit jacket in that weather other than to church in the morning before it gets blazing hot. I will put on a tie for just buzzing around town though.
I've been wear fur felt hats all summer with no ill effects. still looking for the right straw.
I'd also like to add that modern day light weight suit coats are crapola. They are all fully lined and hotter that hell. I've got a couple light weight wool vintage suit jackets with skeleton linning that are far cooler than anything modern.

Aussie stockman wear Akubras in the desert/outback - felt hats - not straw eg the Territorian. Berbers in Morocco/Sahara wear light weight woollen clothing against the weather.

 

[dhermann1]

Also silk

Silk is the other fabric that really breathes. I have a silk sport coat that is amazingly cool, even tho it looks pretty warm. I likewise enjoy my rayon Hawaiian shirts when it's sweltering.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Sandals take far too much abuse around these parts. They are the most practical of summer shoes.

bk

 

[jgilbert]

For work, just slacks and a polo. Running shorts and a T-shirt and afterwards shorts and a dress shirt.

 

[Fletch]

Anytime I have to Not Look Sweaty - a year round concern for me; I'm hyperhydrotic - I wear the quick-dry/wicking/Coolmax kind of t shirts under my shirts. They're also made as polo-type t or golf shirts. Some types work better than others - experimentation is a must.

I also find Jos.A.Bank "Traveler" and "Stay Cool" dress shirts keep nice looking in the heat. They're 100% cotton and treated to shed moisture quickly and resist wrinkling. Hint: White, or thin stripes on white, hide perspiration best whatever kind of shirt you wear.

Leather sweatbands make me do just that, sweat. And make it roll down my forehead and into my eyes, or down my neck, turning my shirt collar dark. I like a cloth sweat or, ideally, that stretch jersey stuff, which is nicely absorbent.

Probably the best performing summerweight suit I have is a Haspel 3B, bone colored, made of 50/50 Cotton/Tencel microfiber. Wrinkles mostly shake out, and I've sponged out small stains with hot water and a dish towel. Alec Guinness would be impressed.

 

[shindeco]

This is me from last summer

This summer's find is a silk/cotton blend knit T-shirt. I wear it with linen trousers. It's amazingly cool and comfortable (and dressier than the usual T-shirt). It was on sale for ten bucks, too!!

 

[dhermann1]

Sandals

For decades my mother used to noodge me about getting a pair of huaraches. They were big when she was in college (1937-41) so they're card-carryingly vintage. Never did. But I'm still occasionally tempted.
http://www.huaraches.com/

 

[Nick D]

There's something very Sidney Greenstreet about trying to wear a complete suit in murderously sweltering weather. Dabbing the forehead with a LARGE handkerchief, nursing an appropriate tropical drink, and saying drolly malevolent things to the hero.

That, sir, is the best thing I've read all week.

I've been wondering about hot weather as well, since I sweat quite a bit when it's hot, and especially when it's humid. I refuse to wear shorts or sandals (this is nothing new with me, I've always hated shorts and sandals.) The only time I'll wear shorts is with my Scout uniform. I'm not sure why I have this aversion, I just do. I'm sure material is key, though wearing a dark suit in the blazing sun probably wouldn't help.

Of course, it's when you stop sweating that there's a problem...