#5 clothing essentials for a heatwave

Hi everyone! If you’re living in England then yesterday you would’ve been in the heatwave. Yes, super hot. For the UK anyways.

As Brit’s are definitely NOT ready for the heat we have been experiencing, we all kind of didn’t know what to do? Me anyways, at night I felt wayyyyy too hot, even with a fan on and that says something.

I was also thinking when this happens again in the future, what will we all need? We should be extra prepared next time. This mini heatwave kind of just came about one day, it wasn’t really planned and it was mid-week, so everyone’s been working. But anyhow, if this happens again this year or whatnot, we can be ready for the heat.

(All photo’s included in this post are NOT my own – they are all sourced from Pinterest).

#5 clothing essentials for heatwaves

#1 Hat – cap / bucket hat

I’m a lover of a hat. I really like to style them if it’s chucking it down – then your hair gets less wet – or to keep the sun out of my eyes in sunny weather. For this heatwave, it was too hot to wear a hat 24/7. But it’s essential to keep your scalp covered, as direct sunlight can burn your scalp / skin. So I was taking off and on my bucket hat.

I would choose a bucket hat over other caps or hats because they’re super light weight, have a rim to shade your eyes and is wide enough to cover a lot of your head.

#2 – sliders, flip flops or sandals

I wear my pink sliders a lot depending on the weather. They’re not the most stylish shoes, however they do keep my feet cool and aired out in hot weather.

I do own a few pastel / neutral coloured sandals as well, so they’re great for more put together outfits. If you’re just chilling around in the heat, then sliders are great. But if you’ve planned to go on a day out or travel to an event, then sandals are a great go-to.

#3 – shorts shorts shorts or flowy garments

Shorts are fabulous for men, women & all included. They’re mostly worn casual, however if the heatwave has suddenly popped out of nowhere and you’re already at an important event or work situation, then shorts can definitely be worn professionally. Long or short shorts are great purchases for the summer & hot weather. They keep you cool whilst also allowing yourself to really get a good tan.

Men – long & slightly baggy shorts are your best bet if you want to keep cool during a heatwave. It’s essential to keep your body temperature cool during hot seasons / days. When talking to friends and family, guys seem to enjoy wearing lightweight sports shorts, which are quite baggy and loose fitting – this allows air to blow around more freely on the legs. If you’re a man who doesn’t enjoy the lightweight sports shorts, then try going for possibly shorts that aren’t so tight on the legs / thigh area. Especially in a heatwave, the more air you can get on the bottom half of your body, the cooler the rest of your body will get.

Ladies, I’d suggest shorts which aren’t super tight to the waist / bum area. I love my shorts, but you can definitely get some shorts that are definitely shorter – but they still allow a bit of material to not touch your thighs so much – again, allowing air to pass through nicely. We don’t want sticky situations down there let’s face it, it’s super uncomfortable and quite frankly, nasty feeling. Otherwise, I love wearing my sporty short shorts! They’re super short which allow my thighs to be completely out in the sun, however not too short that my bum is on show – not my thing.

Dresses are amazingggg when it comes to wanting to stay more chilled out. Shorter dresses are easier to deal with as you can freely move your legs and not worry too much. Whereas longer skirts or dresses allow you to be covered up if you don’t want the sun touching your skin – but be careful on the material as some dresses can be sticky / scratchy to the skin.

#4 – white tops – crop tops – baggy shirts

If you can, I’d definitely suggest wearing lightweight, white tops or shirts during the heatwaves. Ladies & all included, crop tops are great for allowing your stomach & under boob area to cool down and not get sticky. Also, don’t wear bras girls. I hate wearing a bra anyways, but during extremely hot weather, bras will be your worst nightmare.

Men, wearing anything lightweight will benefit your temperatures in heatwaves. I’d also suggest wearing colours that don’t soak up the sun – i.e whites, light neutrals and pastels. If you wear black clothing in this weather then GOODLUCK lol. Wearing your shirt loose and open is also a nice change! Allows your stomach area to breathe from the heat – but then not walking around shirtless because that’s NOT a look.

For everyone – my go-to outfit would be a large oversized top of a lighter colour. Matched with some blue Levi’s vintage shorts which are baggy – then paired nicely with some small circular sunglasses and pink sliders / neutral sliders.

#5 – sunglasses – protect those eyes !!!

Our eyes are incredibly important to us. Why damage them for the sake of not liking sunglasses?

Men & women – you’d look great in some raybans or the aviators that you can buy from literally any high street or designer store. Aviators are a classic, in hot weather or cold – so grab yourself some of those & they’ll make your looks striking. If you don’t wish to simply follow the crowd, go to a vintage store and find some really different shaped sunnies – BUT, make sure that they are safe for the eyes if you’re going on holiday / want to wear them in a heatwave. Small round / circular sunglasses are really different at the moment so they’re my vintage go-to’s.

With sunglasses, be careful of the material of them as if you wear metal sunglasses in a heatwave – the chances are that you could damage your skin ie sides of your face if the rims get too hot. Plastic sunglasses are a better option in a heatwave.

Skincare & health wise – the essentials are:

• Moisturiser – with SPF
• Suncream – with high SPF 30+
• Sun cream for lips – to protect our lips from burning – it’s amazing I promise
• Less jewellery – don’t want the jewellery to burn your skin / get too hot
• Wear a hat & protect your eyes with sunnies
• Don’t stay in the heatwave for long – take breaks out of the sun!!
• DRINK PLENTY OF WATER – stay hydrated !!!
• Also, be aware of your dogs / animals safety during a heatwave! – don’t leave them out in it & keep them inside if possible during extreme weather conditions.
• Be happy xoxo

Enjoy the hot weather! – if another heatwave occurs then just remember the essentials.

Love, Sophie Eleanor x