6 Fabrics That Will Keep You Fashionably Cool in the Summer Heat
How do cooling clothes work?
Your body temperature going down is what gives you the sensation of feeling cool. For clothing to be effectively cooling, the fabric must have properties that work together with the body to help dissipate heat and promote airflow.
Air permeability
Ventilated, flowy and breathable clothing allows for more air to pass through, and helps prevent heat or perspiration from being trapped against the skin. Less breathable fabrics like polyester or wool, on the other hand, can keep body heat confined between your body and the material and make you feel even more sweaty.
Moisture-wicking
Perspiration can be annoying but it's our body's way of regulating temperature. Moisture-wicking fabrics quickly absorb your body's sweat and then help it evaporate away. The secret is in hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers. Hydrophilic fibers absorb sweat from the skin, evenly dispersing it across the fabric. Hydrophobic fibers keep out moisture and help fabric quickly dry.
Temperature regulation
Thermoregulation is how humans maintain their body temperature, and there are four different ways to transfer heat. If the fabric of your clothes is effective at any of these four methods, it can help keep you cooler.
Thermal conductivity relates to the measure of how well materials transfer heat from one side to the other. Every material has a thermal conductivity, and the higher it is, the more cooling the material will be.
relates to the measure of how well materials transfer heat from one side to the other. Every material has a thermal conductivity, and the higher it is, the more cooling the material will be. Thermal convection : Heat moves from the material with the highest temperature to the one with the lowest temp. This explains why you feel cooler when you put on silk or bamboo; your warm body heat transfers to the cooler fabric and this process helps you feel more cool.
: Heat moves from the material with the highest temperature to the one with the lowest temp. This explains why you feel cooler when you put on silk or bamboo; your warm body heat transfers to the cooler fabric and this process helps you feel more cool. Radiation : Solar radiation is a major contributor to feeling hot, especially if you have to be outdoors during high temperatures. Clothing that protects you from the sun and harmful UV rays will help you stay cooler, and maintain healthier skin.
: Solar radiation is a major contributor to feeling hot, especially if you have to be outdoors during high temperatures. Clothing that protects you from the sun and harmful UV rays will help you stay cooler, and maintain healthier skin. Evaporation: The best cooling clothing allows sweat to evaporate and quickly dry, keeping you feeling cooler in hot temperatures. Fabrics with poor evaporation abilities can remain damp, making you feel sticky.
Cooling clothing recommendations
Innovation in cooling clothes
Everyone knows what it feels like to be muggy and hot in their clothes. As each summer seems to break the previous year's high-temperature record, researchers are exploring different ways to produce effective cooling clothing.
Clothing and other garments can utilize non-electric cooling techniques such as ice, phase-change and radiation cooling. Early cooling clothing looked like actual ice vests that absorbed a person's body heat as ice melted, causing a physically cool feel. A lot of modern cooling clothing, like those from LifeLabs, has infrared heat-blocking abilities that offer protection from the sun's harmful rays.
But experts are even working out the kinks on smart cooling clothing powered by electricity. As we continue to experience high temperatures, it's fair to expect more improvements and development to come from cooling garments.
The best fabrics for cooling clothing
Cotton
Cotton is good for dry heat because it's lightweight and breathable.
mikroman6/ Getty Images
Cotton is a natural fiber that's breathable, lightweight and widely accessible. Air easily passes through cotton fabric, allowing you to feel breezy and cool. It's best for dry heat, since it's absorbent but not moisture-wicking.
Bamboo
Bamboo is a premium natural fiber that's good at wicking away moisture. It's also even more breathable than cotton because of the "micro gaps" within bamboo fabric that promotes increased airflow.
Silk
Silk is a good material for summer because it's flowy, breathable and a natural thermoregulator.
HUIZENG HU/ Getty Images
Silk is a thermoregulator that helps you keep a comfortable body temperature. It's ultra-lightweight, soft and tends to come in flowy silhouettes.
Rayon
Sourced from processed wood pulp, rayon is made up of thin fibers that make it feel light and breathable. It doesn't trap heat between the fabric and your body, allowing sweat to evaporate and heat to dissipate.
Viscose
A type of rayon, viscose is a soft and comfortable fabric that can also help keep you cool during summer.
Dmitri Kalvan/ Getty Images
Viscose is a type of rayon that's considered an artificial silk. As such, it's a smooth, highly absorbent and soft fabric that's great for cooling clothing.
Linen
Linen is derived from the flax plant and is a well-known fabric for summer because of its lightweight and breathable feel. It has a loose weave, allowing air to easily pass through.
The worst fabrics for cooling clothing
Polyester and nylon
Polyester and nylon are made from petroleum, essentially making them a type of plastic. They retain heat and even bad odor, and they don't absorb moisture. This means your sweat sits on their surface, trapped between your skin and the fabric.
Denim
We all love our jeans, but they aren't the best clothes for hot weather. The material is heavy, not very breathable and can retain moisture. If you have to wear jeans, try a looser fit and a light wash to reflect the sun.
Leather
Made from thick cowhide, leather is a good insulator during the winter. It's also often dyed black, a color that absorbs heat. Unless you want to be real warm, avoid leather jackets in the summer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
23 minutes ago
- CBS News
How urban planners are working to reduce heat. Thermal imaging shows how hot surfaces get.
With temperatures soaring this week, residents in Cambridge, Massachusetts are doing whatever they can to beat the heat. For many, that means less time outside. "I'm out in this for 10 minutes to walk the dog and then I go home and it's shower time," a Cambridge resident said. Amid the heat wave, public parks with splash pads have been a reprieve for families seeking relief. "I'm here Monday through Friday," said Emily Ortiz, a young woman enjoying the splash pad at Dana Park. As climate change continues to push urban temperatures higher, experts are exploring long-term strategies to make city living more tolerable. Kishore Varanasi is a principal designer at CBT, a firm focused on creating cooler public environments. Using thermal imaging, Varanasi demonstrates just how hot urban surfaces can become. "You can see here the surface is measuring 136 degrees Fahrenheit, but the air temperature is 88 degrees," he said. "So, if I bring it to the shade, you see that it matches the air temperature." Varanasi said that the excessive heat is due to the way cities have been historically designed. "What makes cities hotter is everything that we've built. The air conditioners spitting out heat, the materials that we've used, the asphalt, cars," Varanasi said. "All of it makes cities 10 to 15 degrees hotter." To combat the urban heat island effect, Varanasi and his team are working with urban planners to redesign spaces by introducing more shade and using materials like special concrete mixes that retain less heat. "We also have other alternatives to create shade," he said. For example, you can use structures, like the one at Cambridge Crossing. "It is a part of the park, but it is shaded so on days like this you can be in this space and feel comfortable," he said. It is an effect that can be felt, with temperatures decreasing up to 40 degrees under his shaded structures. As extreme heat becomes more common, Cambridge's push for cooler, shaded spaces may serve as a model for other urban areas grappling with rising temperatures.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Extreme rain events are becoming more common in the Chicago area as the climate warms
Extreme rainfall events in Chicago, including two observed this summer, are becoming more common as the climate warms. Very small, localized thunderstorms brought intense rains to parts of Chicago on both July 8 and July 25. While data analysis of the more recent July rainfall event is ongoing, National Weather Service Senior Service Hydrologist Scott Lincoln tells CBS News Chicago that the 5 inches of rain that fell in less than three hours July 8 only has a 0.2% chance of happening in a given year. This would once have been referred to as a 1-in-500 year rainfall event, but the NWS now avoids that phrasing since there is no guarantee it will be another 500 years before it happens again. Late in the evening on July 8, a very localized, torrential thunderstorm sat over portions of central Cook County west of the Loop on the Eisenhower Expressway. Parts of the Near West Side, North Lawndale, the United Center, West Garfield Park and East Garfield Park experienced extreme rainfall, with one unofficial rain gauge tallying 5.39 inches in just two hours. "Comparing this event to our record of extreme rainfall events impacting the Chicago area since 1950 indicates that this is among the smallest recorded extreme rainfall events over that period, covering only an approximately three square mile area," Lincoln said. As global climate change warms Chicago area temperatures, it is leading to heavier rainfall events. For every one degree of warming, the atmosphere holds 4% more moisture. The heaviest rain events in the Great Lakes region have gotten 45% heavier since 1958, according to Climate Central. This is impacting Chicago's water infrastructure and flooding basements more often. "As of July 8, 2025, the 2020s decade has had four extreme rainfall events in central Cook County," Lincoln said. "Compared to the the 1950s, 2000s, and 2010s which each had two known extreme rainfall events within that same area." Lincoln noted rain gauge observations were not as widespread prior to the 1990s, potentially affecting historical data collection. "Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the threshold for 'extreme rainfall' in the Chicago area is changing," Lincoln said. "Analysis of daily rainfall in Chicago indicated that 'extreme' 1-day rainfall early in Chicago's history (1871-1930) was approximately 6 inches, while this value increased to just over 8 inches in more recent times (1961-2020)." More detailed studies of rainfall frequency indicate a heavy rain event that has a 1% chance of occurring in a given year — once called a 1-in-100 year event — has gotten heavier. A NOAA publication indicated a 100-year event was 5.6 inches of rain in the late 1950s. An Illinois State Water Survey publication shows it has increased to 8.6 inches as of the late 2010s.
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Associated Press
California city that experienced deadly tsunami in 1964 warns people to stay off beaches
CRESCENT CITY, Calif. (AP) — Officials warned people to stay away from beaches and waterways Wednesday in a small California coastal city near the border with Oregon that has been hit by dozens of tsunamis, including one that turned deadly more than 60 years ago. No injuries were reported Wednesday in Crescent City, a town of 6,600 people, but a dock at the city's harbor was damaged, officials said. A surge of water lifted the dock off its pilings around 2:40 a.m., and it was eventually submerged, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker said at the briefing. The dock was engineered as a wave and current attenuator to disrupt the waves' force before they reach the inner harbor, so it appears to have functioned as intended, he said. It was a long night with a lot of uncertainty, but the city didn't see flooding, City Manager Eric Wier said. The downtown is high enough that it was open Wednesday morning, he said. The 1964 event, considered the worst tsunami disaster recorded in the United States, began with a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Alaska, according to the Crescent City website. Three small waves caused little damage, but then a big wave — nearly 21 feet — devastated 29 city blocks. The quake caused 15 deaths, and the ensuing tsunami caused 124 deaths: 106 in Alaska, 13 in California and 5 in Oregon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information. The city's downtown was mostly rebuilt, and today a walking tour highlights high-water marks posted on surviving buildings, objects pushed by waves and memorials to those who died. The city's website warns that a tsunami could happen anytime and since most of downtown is in the tsunami run-up zone, if there were a near-shore earthquake, people would only have minutes to reach safety. Thirty-two tsunamis have been observed in the city since 1933, including five that caused damage. The greatest impact from the tsunami event along the coast Wednesday morning was around Crescent City with strong tidal swings, including up to 4-foot waves, according to James White, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Eureka office. The city is one of the areas along the West Coast most vulnerable to tsunamis, he said. The shape of the coastline and seafloor influences how tsunamis manifest, and a lot of the wave energy gets funneled into Crescent City, increasing the impact, White said. Crescent City's Weir and other officials stressed that conditions may be improving, but it wasn't yet safe to head to the beach on Wednesday. There were still dramatic tide fluctuations that must carry high currents, Wier said. 'It seems like whenever we have these events, it's also time that we lose someone just because they're in the wrong place and they get caught off-guard, and then they're swept out,' he said.
