Summer (Survival) Wear
While some areas of the USA are getting storms and floods, the West (Washington, Oregon, and California) had record-breaking heat last week. To give an example, June 8th’s weather broke a Spokane, WA record of 91 degrees that was made back in 1931. I live just north of there and it was miserable. Miserable enough that I pulled out one of my two summer survival outfits to stop the annual, “hide from the sun, hide from the sun” antics while running from shady spot to shady spot when without a parasol.
One thing that people may think on occasion is that I’m brave or stupid for doing is pulling off black in summer. Little tip, I may actually be more comfortable than ye who wear bright colors. How? To summarize, it’s two fabric materials and two products. Still scratching your head? Here are the details on how I go through hot months wearing only two kinds of fabric in the lovely color of black.
A few years ago I saw on Tumblr a review for Dharma’s rayon sundresses and normal rayon line. Tired of wearing jeans all year round, I thought to give it a try and bought a few. End result is that I gladly part with pants during the summer. Also, it’s a dress that doesn’t demand I wear a slip during eighty and ninety plus degree weather.
Rayon, a light and naturally cool fabric, feels like a cool sheet on the skin. If you wear a lot of sports wear, you might have a specific percentage of your clothes made out of this. Many clothes that are thermo-regulated have a percentage of rayon in them but having 100% rayon is a luxury that makes summer somewhat enjoyable for the anti-summer person like me.
Dharma specifically makes clothing items that can be altered and/or dyed. It’s one size fits most and the few fit-to-your size modifications either takes a pin or a few knots for a no sew method or just a running stich. I’d say that the modifications are easy and simple, plus can make for a personalized statement outfit.
Bamboo cloth (Boody)
This is a new find for me. I had heard of bamboo cloth online but never tried it until I saw the local market selling items from the Boody brand last month. Here’s what I found from wearing their tank tops:
Bamboo cloth is soft. The Boody tank top was incredibly soft and did not make me sweat at all. I actually was able to skip having a nighttime shower after being outside with it on during the heatwave. Also, huge plus, it is a hypoallergenic which is a godsend for we who are allergic to different fibers in fabric.
To quote Boody directly, their products are “breathable, hypoallergenic, antibacterial and antifungal, anti-static, and thermo-regulating.”
Definitely worth trying it out as a method to escape heat and sweat. Tip for buying Boody is that it runs a bit large, so if you want to try the miracle product I suggest getting it a size down.
Those are my clothing recommendations for summer. Hope it helps.
