The reason why so many people escape the city in the summer is that it’s miserable to be here. Imagine Florida temperatures on asphalt. Lovin’ Spoonful got it right.
Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn’t it a pity
Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city.
All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head
My walks with my husband have gotten shortened to maybe twenty minutes due to heat and humidity and we were excited for gyms to open soon until…
…our gym collapsed. Literally, in a matter of seconds. I live about half a block away from what used to be my gym and heard what felt like an earthquake. It’s a bit of a story, which you can read about in just about every news outlet, including the New York Times. In this case, Coronavirus saved lives as it was closed with one person inside, who thankfully escaped with only minor injuries when it happened
Everyone who had a gym membership in my quiet little neighborhood in Brooklyn had a membership to this gym, so it’s a huge loss and not exactly helpful as I have the past few months solely relying on somewhat helpful outdoor walks to stay in some sort of shape. And with the recent spike in temperatures and humidity, these walks have become much shorter, if at all.
“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” is something that has been said for as long as humans have known what humidity is, and I have to agree. I have been outdoors in 109 degrees and humid-less Las Vegas weather. It’s not nearly as miserable as 85 degrees with 90% humidity.
Chic Summer: How to Look Polished in Humid Weather
Lest we forget wearing clothes in humid weather and that drowned rat feeling we all get after being outdoors in it. Totally gross. How do you not come home feeling like a crumpled mess?
I have put together five outfits that will help you look polished in humid weather. Certainly, our standards for polish and chicness go way down when it’s soupy outside, but nobody wants to look like they have taken a steam bath in their clothes even if they feel like have.
Outfit #1
Linen is tough in the summer. I know it’s the perfect fabric and that the wrinkling nature of the fabric is part of the appeal. Some people love it. My preference is to not look like a crumpled up piece of paper in a garbage can, so I avoid linen.
If I am going to wear linen, my preference is for a linen blend, like fabric of these J.Crew pants which are chic and breathable. I styled them with a cotton cap sleeve button-up shirt from Everlane, flat mules from Madewell, and finished the look with a pair of linear earrings from Karine Sultan and mini bucket bag from Mansur Gavriel.
Outfit #2
You will notice in all these looks that I avoided using unnecessary additions that will only make you hotter, like scarves. I don’t know about you, but I don’t even like a lot of jewelry around my neck when it is super humid, so I avoided necklaces and only used earrings. This makes pieces that can stand alone really helpful to have for the summer. It’s also important that they be easily layerable as nobody wants to freeze to death once they come indoors.
I styled this chic jumpsuit from LOFT with a pair of comfortable taupe sandals from Lucky Brand, a handbag from Reiss, and a pair of bold hoop earrings.
Outfit #3
Speaking of being able to stand alone. This printed skirt from Anthropologie not only makes a statement but it invites so many colors that can easily be worn with it. Pull one or more colors in the print and you’ve got a really finished look.
I styled the skirt with a summer top from Everlane in Mustard. I finished the look with coral sandals from Vince Camuto, blue bag from Vince and Kendra Scott drop earrings.
Outfit #4
This skirt set could be worn together or broken apart. Either way you style it, the pieces are eye-catching and chic for humid days. I styled these pieces with a pair of scarlet slides, a warm grey crossbody from Dagne Dover, and grey drop earrings.
Outfit #5
For a sportier chic look for humid days, this kicky white polo color shift dress will likely be the next best thing to being naked. It is a linen cotton blend so it might wrinkle a bit, but not nearly as bad is it would if it were pure linen. I styled the dress with hot pink sandals, white tassel earrings from J. Crew, and a fun clutch from Boden.
The saving grace about humidity in New York City is its temporary. It won’t be long before we’re bundled up wishing again for warmer weather. For other parts of the world, this isn’t the case, so I hope these ideas help you get through it for as long as it lasts where you live.
