In a Georgia summer, what you wear can make the difference between a pleasant afternoon and a miserable one. Some fabrics breathe, absorb and dry. Others trap heat and cling. Generations of Southerners, long before air conditioning, learned which materials made the heat easier to bear, and three of them still stand out: seersucker, linen and cotton.
Seersucker: milk and sugar
The name seersucker comes from the Persian phrase shir o shakar, meaning milk and sugar, a reference to its alternating stripes of smooth and puckered texture. The fabric is woven so that some threads bunch together, creating that crinkled surface. Those puckers help hold the cloth away from the skin, letting air circulate, and they mean seersucker rarely needs ironing.
The fabric reached Britain through trade with India and later crossed to the United States, where it was first a practical, inexpensive cloth for workwear. In the early twentieth century, a New Orleans clothier is often credited with turning it into a lightweight summer suit, and seersucker became a Southern warm-weather classic, especially in pale blue and white.
Linen: one of the oldest fabrics
Linen is made from the fibers of the flax plant and is among the oldest textiles known. The ancient Egyptians wove fine linen and used it for clothing and for wrapping the dead. Linen is prized in hot climates because it is highly breathable, absorbs moisture readily and dries quickly. It feels cool to the touch, and it softens beautifully with every wash.
Its one drawback is wrinkling, which many linen lovers simply embrace as part of its relaxed, lived-in character. In a humid Southern July, a slightly rumpled linen shirt is a sign of good sense, not carelessness.
Cotton: the everyday workhorse
Cotton is soft, breathable and absorbent, which is why it remains the backbone of most summer wardrobes. Lightweight weaves such as voile, lawn and chambray are especially comfortable in heat, as is madras, a light cotton named for the Indian city once called Madras, now Chennai. The one thing to know is that cotton holds on to moisture once it is soaked, so a heavy cotton shirt can stay damp after a sweaty afternoon.
Modern synthetic performance fabrics are designed to pull moisture away from the skin, and many people find them useful for exercise. For everyday wear, though, plenty of people still prefer the feel of natural fibers.
Simple tips for staying comfortable
- Choose loose fits over tight ones. Air moving between fabric and skin does much of the cooling.
- Light colors reflect more sunlight and tend to feel cooler in direct sun.
- Pick lightweight fabrics for everyday wear; for long hours in the sun, a tighter weave or sun-protective clothing covers you better.
- Change out of damp clothes after yard work or exercise rather than letting them dry on you.
- Carry a light layer for chilly offices, restaurants and stores.
Dressing for the heat is a small act of self-care that pays off every hour of a summer day. The old Southern wardrobe of seersucker, linen and cotton was never only about style. It was about comfort, and that wisdom still holds.