Dressing for HOT weather?

[BladeOfAnduril]

Hello all,

In the past several days my neck of the woods has been around 95 degrees and humid - highly uncomfortable weather if not for the modern miracle known as air conditioning. This got me thinking, how does one dress well, but also dress in such a way as to not succumb to the weather? My first instinct was to run for my cargo shorts and t-shirts. I'm trying to get away from my old college kid dress habits and actually dress like a grown up. I'm still fairly new to the concept of dressing well, so please bear with me. Your advice, or examples are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[DamianM]

HA that's easy. Palm beach!
Well if you don't have a palm beach suit, linen works great.
There are examples out there see if I can find them

 

[Tomasso]

I would choose lightweight, light colored, loosely fitted garments made from fabrics with an open weave. I lean towards linens and cottons but there are wools that can also fill the bill.

 

[DamianM]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?4946-The-Palm-Beach-suit-thread

That[s the link to the palm beach thread.

Mohair, linen, cotton, In light colors.

 

[DJH]

Been in the mid 90's here in NH too.

Since I don't want to be grown up, it was cargo shorts, tee shirt and semi-calado hat all weekend.

 

[David Conwill]

I do well in Michigan's hot-and-humid summers wearing light cotton poplin and seersucker. I need to acquire some lighter-weight shirts, though.

I'm not flush enough for linen or Palm Beach suiting.

 

[Atticus Finch]

I've fought this battle for the better part of three decades. I don't think there is an easy way to dress well in high heat and humidity. Not if dressing well means wearing long pants, a long sleeve shirt, a jacket and a tie...no matter what material the clothing is made from. And I think, in some ways, air-conditioning makes the job even more difficult. It prevents one from slowly acclimating to the heat as the season progresses.

Now when I’m speaking of high heat and humidity, I’m thinking of any combination of the two that pushes the heat index above one hundred degrees. And, when it comes to dressing comfortably, it’s the humidity that is the bigger problem. For example, 88 degrees isn’t terribly hot. But combine that with a 75% relative humidity and you get a heat index of 103 degrees. In that kind of sauna, there isn't a way not to soak one's clothing with sweat, even just walking to the car. Harper Lee wrote about living in this kind of weather in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon after their three o'clock naps. And by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frosting from sweating and sweet talcum.

I don't think her description is any less apt today, even though we now spend most of our time sitting in air conditioned homes and offices.

AF

 

[DamianM]

http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/summer-suits-cool-hot/
http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/1930s-outfits-for-hot-summer-weather-apparel-arts/

another two articles from the gazette.
Just because it gets hot I dont give up and start wearing sandals. I hate sandals btw.
I take after apperal arts in the 30s summer. it works, and sweat happens. pfft deal with it.

 

[carldelo]

In the heat and humidity in NYC, if I'm trying to look dressed, I tend to favor short sleeve shirts of an open weave over very light weight trousers. The shirts are silk, cotton and cotton/poly blends. The trousers are generally tropical wool - I have a pair of wool Zanella slacks that actually let a breeze through, it's remarkable. For shoes I've been wearing fisherman style sandals, which are more like shoes with open venting on the upper. A jacket and tie kills me in the heat, I wear them throughout the other three seasons.

For some reason, I find linen very hot. But I think I've always had somewhat cheap linen items. I'm not a fan of the wrinkling, so have never sought out the good stuff which is no doubt much cooler.

 

[Chasseur]

I've lived and worked in many hot and humid places, from Washington, DC to New Delhi, and Hawaii is in the 80s and somewhat humid all the time. I'll second the previous recommendations for open weave and natural fabrics. These do work. If you have to wear a jacket skeletal lining and an open weave help.

If you have to look presentable I'll put in a vote for a white dress shirt over blue colors that are favored today. Perhaps its just me but when you sweat the wet patches on blue are really visible where with white its not as noticeable. Nothing worse than rushing to meeting and having giant dark wet patches all over your collar and the rest of your shirt...

 

[cpdv]

I thank my civil war reenacting to my tolerance of wearing a 3 piece in 80+ but linen, cotton and summer weight wool is a must.

 

[Mr Badger]

It never really gets above 90 hereabouts, but the weather can get pretty humid, us being in a valley – I have a pair of Hunting World cotton 'adventurer' trousers that are very lightweight and breathable, and my old Palm Beach 'sansbelt' slacks let a good breeze thru... I second the white cotton dress shirt, being a gent who perspires at the drop of a handkerchief I've experienced stressful situations with darker colours, but thankfully I've worked at places where a nice silk Hawaiian (the Avanti repros, mainly) or loop collar sports shirt is also acceptable, which makes Summer a whole lot easier and more fun...

My vintage 'flax' linen sport coat is nice and comfy in all but the most humid weather. But sadly the seersucker suit I bought as Summer attire has a full poly lining, so while the cotton itself is cool 'as all', it's not as functional as I'd hoped! Bit of an own goal by Nautica, methinks! Something to watch out for if you're thinking of seersucker as a solution...

In terms of footwear, I don't do sandals or such, so try to stick to relatively lightweight footwear, such as saddle shoes and spectators, worn with cotton socks...

One tip hatwise is to make your own removeable sweatband liner, especially if your Panama or straw has a grosgrain ribbon that will show any forehead perspiration as dark patches / salt stains... I simply bought a metre of 2" wide cotton herringbone tape from a haberdashers for £2, cut it to length to run around my forehead, and used double-sided tape to affix it inside the hat, just above the permanent sweatband... no more unsightly sweat stains on the ribbon, and I can easily remove it and make another if it gets a little whiffy...

 

[highway66blues]

Here Here cpdv.
As a former Federal reenactor, i Agree WholeHeartedly.
MUCH Tolerance.

 

[Gin&Tonics]

I have been hunting high and low in every thrift store I can come across for ages now looking for a linen or seersucker 3 piece suit, but to no avail. It seems like in this part of the world, even though the summers can be very hot and somewhat humid, people simply give up wearing suits or just suffer with their basic wool suits.

I found a really fantastic looking seersucker suit on Gents emporium.com but alas, it did not come in long sleeve lengths and the sleeves could not be let out! ;_; So close, yet so far...

In desperation I'm considering having a linen suit made to the tune of somewhere around 800 bucks, but I certainly don't have the cash for that right now Any ideas anyone?

 

[carldelo]

Any ideas anyone?

I don't know how you feel about Paul Frederick, but they have a range of seersucker - double-breasted jackets, 2-button single-breasted jackets, 6-button vests, pleated pants. I have no experience with their seersucker, but have about a 50% success rate with their suits (kept 3 suits, having bought 6 or 7). Maybe not practical if you include shipping to UK (is that where you are, BTW? Your profile location is enigmatic).

http://www.paulfredrick.com/Catalog/PFProducts.aspx?q=seersucker;&kw=true

 

[Two Types]

There is very little mention of footwear. Sandals are dreadful. The feet sweat, make the leather stink, then rot.
Suede shoes are good, but can get very dirty and dusty.
In my opinion, a well-fitting leather shoes (of a normal year-round weight) are perfectly acceptable for most summer conditions. I know that it tends to be relatively mild here in the UK but I've worn brogues in Florida in the summer without finding them uncomfortably heavy.

 

[Edward]

I'm just back from a week in Beijing wearing Loake and Barker co-respondents in the same weight as all their other brogues, and those were just fine. Average temperature was 34 Celsius. There is no excuse for sandals anywhere but poolside.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I live in the Hot and Humid capital of the US...Houston. It's 95-100 with 90% humidity all summer, which is May-September. Even the overnight temps are 80-85 with often around 100% humidity. In other words, yes, it's like being in a sauna.

I rarely wear a suit or sport coat in the summer for everyday wear. Some nice lightweight trousers and cotton dress shirts are the norm to the office or around town. I typically wear French cuff shirts, which are a little dressier and perfectly acceptable without a jacket in this weather. Also, since no jacket, I also don't wear a tie. I wear my normal lace up shoes with no discomfort. This attire is not as dressy, but still "dressing well" for the environment.

Oh, and I guess this goes without saying around here, but a hat is an absolute must. Lightweight straw fedora or a linen flat cap, if I'm dressed a little more casually.

You're lucky it only lasts a short while. Of course, I'm lucky it's a beautiful, sunny 65 degrees all December-February.

 

[Atticus Finch]

I live in the Hot and Humid capital of the US...Houston. It's 95-100 with 90% humidity all summer, which is May-September.....I rarely wear a suit or sport coat in the summer for everyday wear...Also, since no jacket, I also don't wear a tie.

Yep. That's the weather we have here, too. Except we generaly have it only in July, August and early September.

If I could get away without wearing a jacket and tie, I think the heat wouldn't bother me very much. Unfortunately, our State Bar (which hasn't reviewed its dress code since Sir Walter Raleigh lived here) requires me to wear both a jacket and a tie if I step foot behind the courtroom bar. I hate to admit it...but I've even been thinking about buying some of those silly clip-on ties for summer use...

AF

 

[HudsonHawk]

I hate to admit it...but I've even been thinking about buying some of those silly clip-on ties for summer use...

AF

Don't do it, man! I know things look hopeless...I know you're desperate...but you'll get through this!