How to dress for a heat wave: Tips for staying cool

What tips are there for dressing stylishly when traveling around town on hot, humid days? I often feel like a disheveled, sweaty mess by midday during the summer, while others seem to be slipping away in a cloud of composed coolness. How do they do? Adrienne, Paris

The unpredictable weather and rising temperatures that have become a part of our lives are changing the way we dress in many ways, redefining the meaning of summer for hot girls or guys.

No one can put away their winter clothes in summer and vice versa anymore, and a whole cottage industry of materials scientists is devoting their minds and pincushions to create fabrics to help people stay cool despite the heat. Think, for example, of Uniqlo AIRism And Polartec Delta And NanoStitch Air.

But most of these advances are geared more towards performance than daily life. To do this, explains Marie-Hélène de Taillac, the cult French jeweler who spends half her year in Rajasthan, India, working with artisans at jewelry emporium Gem Palace, you have to start with clothes made from natural fabrics. like cotton, bamboo and linen, because they breathe, that is, they allow air to pass between your skin and the external environment.

Next, she said, it's time to explode the biggest myth of warm-weather dressing that less is more.

The worst thing you can do is wear tiny clothes, de Taillac said. You don't want the sun on your skin because that's what makes you hot. When you think about it, you really need to cover up as much as possible, but with ventilation.

Ins de la Fressange, the famous model turned designer (and former face of France), who was about to head to St. Tropez, agreed. The idea that you have to show your body because it's hot is not a good idea, she said.

Each of the women recommends long dresses and skirts with sleeves over short tank tops and shorts. Also, loose-fitting clothing over tight-fitting clothing. Flat shoes that aren't too tight because feet swell in the heat. And nothing that might rub against your skin, including tight armholes, too many accessories, or even belts. If you're desperate for a more defined waist, try to find something with elastic.

In India, my uniform is a cotton poplin shirt or shirt dress, explains Ms. de Taillac. If you're worried about looking like a muumuu or portable tent, the key to maintaining a trim figure, she says, is to choose a dress with narrow shoulders to create a regal line. (For inspiration, check out Cristbal Balenciaga's many stylish A-line dresses and tents.)

For another strategy: dare to keep it simple: simple long skirts, simple long pants, added Ms. de la Fressange.

So opt for larger pieces, she said, especially her favorite items: cotton poplin shirts for men. If you've noticed that shirts and shirt dresses seem to be #1 on these women's lists, that's no coincidence. Button-down shirts have an impeccable integrity and ease that stands up to heat, not to mention long-standing associations with professionalism that push all sorts of subconscious buttons associated with the put-together idea.

Sometimes women make mistakes when buying things in their size, Ms. de la Fressange continued. But it's both more comfortable and more fashionable to wear a larger size shirt, she said. You can even buy one and wear it as a dress.

Her favorite tip, no matter the season, is to shop in the men's section. Don't go where you're supposed to go in a store, de la Fressange said. I always go to the men's section. Often, the shirts are better quality and cheaper.

As for which shirt to choose, she said: pale blue poplin. It suits everyone, all ages, all hair colors. Everyone looks beautiful with it.

Your style questions answered

Each week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader's fashion-related question, which you can send to her at any time via E-mail Or TwitterQuestions are edited and condensed.