what about us who live in warmer climates like Brazil, San Diego and Dubai. what should we be wearing on a daily basis?
Here in Melbourne, in summer it gets up to 42*C, so I know your pain. We don’t get the humidity.
Contrary to popular belief, wearing less clothes in summer doesn’t necessarily make you cooler. If you’re outside, especially, the sun is hitting your skin directly and warms it up. You remain much cooler if you wear full-length clothing in a light colour, that reflects the suns rays and keeps them off your skin.
So in a sense, This style:
is exactly right. Exactly the reasons why you see everyone wearing white linen suit in Colonial-era films set in Dubai, Morocco, Egypt and the like.
But how do you make it stylish? Here’s what I suggest:
* Light colours, for god’s sake. They reflect sunlight so much better. Whites, creams and light blues do the trick well.
* Invest in some well-fitting, slim chinos. ASOS do a house-brand chino for around $30 that is really light-weight (this is actually because they’re quite poorly made, but it’s a big benefit to guys who live in warmer climates because they keep the sun off without being too warm. If they fall apart at the seams it’s actually a really easy repair).
* Wear shoes that allow you to go sockless/near-sockless. This keeps your ankle cool and gives a nice little updraft of air up your leg every time you walk.
* If nowhere near you sells invisible socks, you should invest in a company that does so and make millions. They keep your shoes from getting sweaty and gross but still allow your ankle to be free of sock.
* Shoes that can be worn sockless include anything that has a nice low profile to it. Boat shoes (pictured above) are a great example of this, they’re really low-cut and look far better sockless than with socks. Sperry make the ‘original’ boat shoes and they do it quite well for the price.
* If you’re wearing full-length pants, you can wear any other shoe sockless. Personally, I wear my chinos with Clarks Desert Boots, sockless. The boot is quite wide around the laces and top of the shoe so air flows around your feet nicely, not to mention they look good and are comfortable as shit!
* Shirts – I’m a big fan of wearing a singlet (or vest/tank top/whatever you call this locally) with an unbuttoned shirt on top. Keeps the sun off your body, but as you walk around the air flows around your torso and it feels fantastic. This is a must if you ever ride a bike in the heat, it’s like having a fan on your body the whole time you’re riding.
Unfortunately my Google-Fu skills aren’t working this morning, so I can’t find a good picture of the last point, but this is vaguely what I mean: 
. Have the shirt completely unbuttoned (and just have a plain, white/grey singlet on underneath). If you have a lot of chest hair beware that this look will show it off, so grooming/trimming might be in order.
Hope that helps!
Posted in: Simple Style Tips