The hottest of the four calm seasons, where the days are longest and the nights are shortest. It is SUMMER season. The struggle is real in these triple digit days. One easy way to remain cool in 108-degree weather? It’s all in the fabric you wear.
Check out our guide for the best breathable summer fabrics to keep you cool.
Cotton
There’s a reason your summer wardrobe consists of so many cotton dresses, shirts and flared skirts. Cotton is a natural fibre which allows air to circulate and move freely through the fabric, ensuring airflow that dries out damp areas of the body. A good quality lightweight cotton also absorbs moisture, allowing you to cool down
quickly, and comes in a variety of styles and colours. However, be warned, because cotton creases easily. So, when it comes to packing for a holiday, a cotton polyester blend may be your best option. It’s also worth noting that as cotton soaks up moisture, it can become heavy and wet so may show sweat patches. As a result, your best bet is to opt for light, rather than dark, colours in order to avoid pit marks.
Linen
All hail, linen. Linen is a loosely woven, natural fibre which allows heat to escape from the body, it absorbs moisture and dries quickly.
What does this mean? You + linen = cool as a cucumber.
It’s also pretty malleable so doesn’t tend to stick to the body. However, it can wrinkle quite easily so look for linen blends if crinkles aren’t your bag.
Silk
Silk is a lightweight fabric that’s a popular choice for hot climes thanks to its construction by sericulture (the term used to describe the process of gathering the silkworms and harvesting the cocoon to collect the materials).Some may prefer to wear a silk shirt than a polyester version given its weightlessness nature and tendency to adjust to your body temperature.
That said, it’s worth noting that silk isn’t as absorbent as its cotton or linen contemporaries and choosing to wear a silk slip or skirt may result in sweat stains on a very humid day. Silk – a fabric for indoor lounging rather than dancing at parties.