Beyond Linen: The Best Fabrics for Staying Cool This Summer

Hello. We need to talk about summer fabrics because there is so much more than just linen.

Hello. We need to talk about summer fabrics because there is so much more than just linen. For example, this is a cotton voile. As you can tell, it's a very sheer plain weave that is very lightweight and breathable. It's not as wrinkle prone as linen, it's softer, it has an elegant drape, and it is best with long staple fiber, high quality cottons. Chambray is also a cotton plain weave with blue yarn in the warp and white yarn in the weft. It's kind of like a supremely lightweight denim, best used in shirts, dresses and pants. Cotton, historically known for its use in workwear with this very famous heathered blue faded color. Everyone knows about seersucker with its wrinkled appearance and alternating stripes, but it really is an ideal summer fabric because of that signature puckering. Those signature bumps literally decrease the amount of surface area that is touching your body and increase airflow within the garment. It's great for shirts, jackets, suits, pants, dresses and anything you need in the summer and never needs an iron. People often think of wool as a cold weather fabric, but at the end of the day it is a natural fiber that can be woven into something extremely breathable in a plain weave. Tropical wool is known to be a cooling and still structurally sound fabric. Great for summer suiting and it is historically worn as named in the very humid tropics. Rayon, AKA viscose, tensile, modal or lyocell is a semi natural fiber made of cellulose. It is silky, cooling, ridiculously comfortable, airy and light. It won't dry as quickly as linen, but is much nicer on body. Check out old striped Hollywood shirts that were historically worn in the Southern California heat and know that much of this clothing can be found very cheap secondhand. We also need to remember that linen is not always the plain weave nappy fabric that we often visualize. There are so many sophisticated linen blends and different weaves that we don't often think about. A silk linen is smoother to the touch and more wrinkle resistant. Wool linen can create a great texture and is amazing at moisture wicking. Cotton linen blends are the ideal combination of cotton softness and linen durability and can take dyes really nicely too. With a twill weave. Linen, sometimes with a blend of cotton can be turned into its own denim for jeans and and linen tweed woven with a thicker yarn can be equally breathable for when you want a hefty texture but still need to avoid the summer heat. Good luck dressing in the heat. I know we all need it. But with a good sink for some hand washing, a gentle cycle on the machine, a little bit of dry cleaning and a lot of deodorant, we can all look fashionable this summer. Now, let me know what you think. See ya.