Dear reader,
When you think of summer, you think of t-shirts and polo shirts…
… unless you’re me…
I use short sleeves if I want to be comfortable at home, when I exercise, or for sleeping (sometimes).
It would be stupid for me to wear short sleeves under the scorching sun. I would have to constantly cover my skin with sun cream. And I don’t believe the chemicals in sun creams are too good for our health.
Therefore, I try to use sun cream only when I really have to — for mountain sports, or for water sports mostly.
What I do instead in summer, is that I wear long-sleeved shirts and roll the sleeves whenever I can (in the car, sitting in the shade, or walking in a forest).
Otherwise, I roll down my sleeves and even raise my shirt collar if I want to protect my neck. As you can imagine, I favour thin shirts, in cotton or linen (even better).
What colors?
I avoid dark colors that gather the heat. Pastel colors are the best. They’re joyfull, yet classy, and incredibly versatile (i.e. easy to pair with other clothes).
The other benefit of long sleeves in the summer
There’s another benefit to wearing long sleeves in the summer: dealing with aggressive air-conditioning.
Air-conditioning precision has improved over the years, but it still happens to me that I am freezing in July in a store, hotel or restaurant.
At my office, for instance, the air-conditioning is way too strong, and no-one seems to be able to do anything about it. Therefore, in the summer, I can roll up my sleeves when I go outside for lunch, and roll them down when I am freezing in the office.
Regards,
Edward