Staying Professional In the Heat of Florida

By Ferial Youakim AICI Image & Color Specialist Makeup Artist

Your image is always on the line in any professional environment, and at any temperature. What is the answer to looking professional while living in the heat of Florida? How does a professional dress appropriately while staying cool and in style?

The relentless tropical climate is no excuse for you to lose your credibility by bearing it all, and dissolving your professional image. Looking cool and professional means finding ways to achieve image and comfort while looking polished and professional. Your image is already being sabotaged, to some degree, by the current trend of "business casual."

Bare shoulders, low cut tops, naked upper arms and legs will never be perceived as professional. A sleeveless dress works well in the office, with a jacket to throw on for a more polished look. Professional for men often means taking their jackets off and rolling their sleeves up just above the elbow in the office. Again, the polished look is to add the jacket for meetings or presentations. Investing in appropriate office wear with good quality, loose fit, and cool fabric will give you the ability to layer, and will certainly enhance a cool attitude.

Summer is the time when you should reassess the way you dress. Lean more toward a suit with an A-line or flip skirt. Remember that blouses may be worn as jackets and pants should have a slightly loose fit and unlined. While in fashion, at the moment, figure hugging tops and body suits are not as cool as garments which allow air to flow freely past your skin.

Beating the heat means choosing clothing styles that reduce bulk and maximize your professional appearance. That translates into single-breasted jackets, short sleeve blouses, medium-low necklines, less structured garments, sheer hosiery and minimal accessories. In very hot/tropical climates I suggest wearing jackets that are short sleeved and either unlined or partially lined to reduce heat. Even if the outer fabric is cool, when the lining is synthetic, it will be hot and uncomfortable to wear. Be sure to always buy the best quality you can afford, as high quality, non lined jackets have specially finished seams and will not ravel.

Fabrics

Cotton, wool, linen and silk are just a few natural fibres that promote comfort in extreme temperatures. Garments made from these fibres breath, which acts as a natural form of climate control, relieving your body of accumulated heat and reducing the risk of excessive perspiration. Of course, the weight of any material has to be taken into consideration, which means that any of the fabrics mentioned above as "cool" need to be light weight and loose fitted, if they are to be comfortable in hot weather.

Cool fabrics: linen, wool, silk, cotton, rayon (not good in humid conditions)…

Hot fabrics: Polyester, nylon, triacetate, acetate…

Colors

Wearing lighter colors in summer will definitely give you a cool and summery feeling, but did you know that they will also physically make you feel cooler? Well they will. Scientists have proven that dark colors absorb light rays and convert them to heat while light colors reflect the light and therefore are much cooler to wear.

When choosing light colors for business wear, you need to consider not only the color for its cooling effect, but also for its emotional affect on your image. When choosing a color without consideration of how it will be perceived, we run the risk of sending massages which may detract from our overall image.

Some colors are unconsciously associated with a particular group e.g. the dusty pinks with older women (associated with menopausal colors)

“Life is 10% the circumstances you find yourself in and 90% your reaction to those circumstances”

It is our attitude toward the heat that will eventually win or lose our professional image. We can choose to let the heat get to us and become irritable and short tempered with everyone around us, or we can choose to be positive and cheerful, using proven techniques to keep our cool and infect everyone around us with our good nature.