The return of double-digit temperatures doesn’t necessarily mean stripping away all your clothes. While it’s tempting to reduce your wardrobe to shorts, tanks and flip flops, this approach doesn’t leave room for much creativity.
So in an attempt to keep the style and the sweat at bay, we are introducing you to these natural fabrics that were built for spring and summer.
Cotton
Adaptable, affordable and readily available, there are few corners of your wardrobe cotton hasn’t conquered. In fact, as the most widely used natural fibre in the world, you’ve probably worn it every day this year.
Cotton makes a great fabric for warm weather due to its vast capabilities.
IT BREATHES. Crucially, cotton is an extremely breathable fibre. Which means it won’t trap hot, moist air between you and what you’re wearing. What’s more, its natural moisture-wicking properties will actually help to draw moisture away from your body.
IT’S SOFT AND LIGHTWEIGHT. Cotton fabrics start out as tiny puffs which look as though they’d feel like a cloud if you touched them. Luckily – when they’ve been woven beyond recognition into tees, shorts and blazers – that same soft handle lives on.
Linen
Everybody knows linen, but do they really? Like cotton, linen is a natural fibre and equally adept at keeping you cool in hot weather. In short, it’s way too useful for you to ignore.
IT DOESN’T GET MUCH COOLER THAN LINEN. Linen is old – at least 4,000 years, give or take. Which means its heat-beating credentials are pretty much unbeatable. It’s main benefit is its low thread count – considerably lower (at 80-150) than cotton (typically 200+), which means fewer fibers and more of that essential breathability you’ll need when temperatures rise. It’s the closest you’ll get to being naked.
Silk
A by-word for pure, exquisite luxury, silk probably isn’t high up on most women’s lists of practical summer fabrics, but – worn sparingly – it’s just the stuff to add some much-needed cool when the mercury rises.
It’s biggest benefit? YOU’LL COMPLETELY FORGET YOU’RE WEARING IT. We’re not going to try hoodwinking you into thinking silk is herculean in its practicality. It’s really not. But sometimes, silk just looks good. And while it’s far from utilitarian, this fine fabric has its advantages, like being pretty much weightless. And, it’s well, pretty!
