How to Battle Summer Heat if You’re Big & Tall
Summer can be a challenging season for many people: it’s hot, humid, sweaty, and, ultimately, can be uncomfortable. It’s hard to stay cool, especially when you’re a big and tall person. But, if you know what to wear and have set cool-down activities, you’ll be all ready to have a not-too-hot summer.
Here’s how to deal with the summer heat when you’re big and tall.
Wear Light Colors
It’s no secret that dark colors attract the sun. In fact, “dark colors absorb a lot more heat than lighter ones because they absorb more light energy. In fact, the closer to black a color is, the more heat it absorbs from light sources,” according to Sciencing.
To keep cool this summer, you should gravitate toward lighter colors when it comes to your wardrobe. That means big and tall T-shirts in white, cream, or other pale colors and breezy khaki shorts. Save your navy and black outfits for the fall and winter months: you don’t want to attract the sun on an already hot day.
Pick Your Fabrics Thoughtfully
There’s a reason fleece and wool aren’t anywhere in summer wardrobes. Heavy fabrics trap your body heat and keep your body warm—and who wants that in the summer? For the summer months, opt for fabrics that allow easy airflow.
Fabrics like linen, which, according to Elle “is a loosely woven, natural [fiber] which allows heat to escape from the body, [and] absorbs moisture and dries quickly.” So, you can swap some linen suits in for your heavy winter suits during the year’s warm months. You can even get yourself some linen button-down shirts to weather with a pair of chinos or khakis.
While you may not already have linen items in your closet, you likely have plenty of cotton to choose from, which, according to Elle, is another good fabric for summer because it “allows air to circulate and move freely through the fabric, ensuring airflow that dries out damp areas of the body.” So, your cotton big and tall pajamas are the perfect nighttime remedy for combating the summer heat. During the day? Try a cotton tee.
Prepare for Sweat Stains
There’s no shame in sweating—we all do it, and we all get sweat marks on our shirts. But, if you’re hoping to avoid sweat marks for certain gatherings this summer, try wearing heathered fabrics that disguise sweat better than plain t-shirts. Heathered shirts are naturally two-toned, so a bit of sweat won’t stick out too much.
You can also invest in loose-fitting clothing that won’t be as likely to stick to your body. Order a few loose-fitting big and tall button-down shirts —plus, they’re loose-fitting nature has another bonus: they’re breezier than their tight-fitting alternative.
Get a Reliable Hat
By wearing a hat, you can create instant shade for your face, and keeping the hot sun off of your face is one way to stay cool this summer. Try a baseball hat or get yourself an even more sun-shading bucket hat. The choice is yours! Either will help block your face from the hot sun.
Go For a Swim
Whether you live near a beach, pool, river, or lake, make time for a dip this summer. It’ll help you keep cool and will give you something fun to look forward to. For this, you’ll just need a pair of big and tall swim trunks, a pair of sunglasses, and lots of sunblock in your beach tote bag. Jumping into a cold pool, ocean, river, or lake will cool your body down almost instantly. People have been flocking to bodies of water during the summer months for this exact reason.
If All Else Fails, Find Some Air Conditioning
Summer is hot, and sometimes, no matter what you do, you can’t cool down. In those instances, find yourself some reliable air conditioning, whether that’s in your own home (with your linen sheets!), at a chilly sports bar, or your local movie theater. There’s no shame in resorting to some indoor time during the summer months; plus, your skin will have a break from the sun’s strong UV rays.
Between beach and pool days, later sunsets, and sunny days, summer can be a great season. But, that heat can also be unbearable at times. If you plan your outfits ahead of time and make time for cooling activities, you can be all set to have a not-too-hot summer.