Surviving Summer Heat Waves:The Practical Stuff

From Cooling PJs To Summer Workwear And So Much More!

Photo by Alyssa Strohmann on Unsplash

Inspired by the weather this week, and various subscriber requests, it’s a reminder that sometimes we all just need the practical stuff. Yes trends are lovely, but they’re not going to keep us sane in a heat wave .. or in general if your an over heater in the Summer months.

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Cooling PJs:

When I was pregnant last year, I never experienced overheating like it. Honestly it was so bad I had to have a glass of ice beside my bed and keep getting cold towels throughout the night. Good cooling Pjs that didn’t cost a fortune became my mission! I tried to buy from regular non maternity brands too to avoid any waste and I truly found some gems that I’ve been loving in again this summer!

Modi Bodi - Dry T-shirt Sleep Set

Modi body is a really lovey brand. The fabric is so soft but also they wash so well too!

You can find them here* in sizes 6-26.

M&S Cool Comfort :

M&S do a really great cool comfort range ( even in bras! And tank tops!) but their PJs are wonderful. They have all different styles from short sets to chemises. I have two of their short nightdresses and whatever is in the technology.. is nothing short of wonderful! I did make a mistake on one occasion where I picked up a regular night dress in store and the difference was really noticeable. You just need to make sure that the tags 100% say “Cool Comfort” on the’ as it’s easy to miss. Of course you’re buying online from the cool Comfort section itself then you’re sorted.

You can find the full range here* in various sizes depending on the item in 6-24

Next Cooling Cotton Slips: Set of 2

These come in 3 different length options : regular, short and long. Depending on your preferences.

I’ve the short ones and honestly I’ve actually used them in the summer under dresses where nice removed the cami slip from that specific dress and just wore the Next ones underneath to keep cool. Works like a charm!

You can find them here* in sizes 8-24

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Workwear:

While wearing linens and light fabrics isn’t ground breaking news by any means, but one issue people come across time and time again is that fine line between clothing looking workwear appropriate and looking too casual due to the fabric. This is where leaning into your workwear accessories come into play.

Below could be that smart summer meeting look. The dress is a linen blend and something that would work with plenty of shoe styles depending on your workwear environment. I opted for a smart block heel below and an open toe style just for those extremely warm days if a closed toe just isn’t possible for the heat.

Dress: H&M Here sizes XS- 2XL here ( same style here with a short sleeve in the sale here* in sizes XS-2XL / Bag from Dune London here*/ Shoes : Dune London in regular and wide fit - in the sale too - here* / Sunglasses: Rayban here* / Earrings: Revolve here*

Outfit layering : Smart casual workwear

I wore this to a client meeting this week. The flat sandals of course dress is down. But depending on how formal your meeting is, just swapping it out for a sandal similar to the above will give that more polished look.

The key part to this outfit is having a tailored top have via a long line waistcoat ( if print isn’t your thing - block colours have the same impact).

The trousers are a linen blend with a stretch back; ideal if you tend to bloat in the heat!

Outfit details:

Trousers ( stretch back) sizes 8-18 River Island sale here * / Bodysuit - Primark ( they come in various colours) / Longline waistcoat sizes S-L ( size L would fit up to size 20 ) River Island here/ Bag : Sold out but similar here

An option with sleeves:

A gorgeous midi dress find ( other colours available too) sizes 8-22 from Friends Like These - here*

Remember the main golden rules for choosing summer clothing :

• Linen and cotton over anything synthetic

• Light colours reflect heat (black absorbs it!)

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The Summer Hat If You’ve A Large Head ( Believe me it’s a struggle ) haha!

Most places you’ll find do standard One Size. So if you struggle with hats being too small. The below brands tend to stock summer hats based on size Small, Medium & Large

• Lipsy London

• H&M

• New Look

• Zylioo ( for size XXL)

• Primark ( from time to time they have more generous fit sizes as seen in the photo above)

• (USA & Canada Specific - check out Wallaroo Hats )

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The Anti Sweat Go-Tos:

Megababe came to Europe last year. If you’re in the USA, you’ll probably know already how good it is!

You’ve got a combination of an anti friction stick and bust dust ( like a talc powder) but with better absorbency.

Best places to find it in the EU : Boots, Asos & Cult Beauty here*.

Best places to find it in the USA & Canada : Target & Ulta Beauty here.

For something different in for the underarm area :

Under arm “ Sweat liners” have come along way compared to years ago. So if you feel like you might be conscious of something for an event where you worry your deodorant just won’t cut it, there’s more and more options now specifically for women.

They sit neater under different clothing fabrics and sleeve styles so they look untraceable mostly too.

You’ll find them on the like of Amazon. These ones come in a pack of 30 you can find here.

Side note: You can also get “bra liner” styles too that stick under your bra wire to absorb sweat if you feel like a powder isn’t working for you. I haven’t tried it personally, but for the nature of this post I wanted to mention it.

The anti chaffing shorts:

Style 1) If you need to dash to a shops to buy something ASAP! Then M&S tend to have the shorter anti-chaffing shorts in various nude shades in sets of 2 up to size 22.

Style 2) If you want more variety, especially if you want to wear short dresses and perhaps match the colour to your dress ( just in case you happen to see the shorts in any way- at least it’s blended with your outfit). Then Snag tights have a huge selection that covers all sizes. They’re also adjustable to make the shorter too.

The Cooling Bra:

This is the Hanes wire free bra with cooling technology. They go up to a 3XL and currently for shopping worldwide, Amazon seems to have the best options overall for everyone in terms of shipping.

You can find this specific style here

If you’re in need of more bra ideas for the summer months, you can find my blog post from a few weeks ago here :)

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A Cooling Face Mist That’s Also An SPF

This is such a beautiful mist, and something that doesn’t interfere with your makeup either. Great to cool your face before applying your foundation… and throughout the day over your makeup to cool down or just an SPF top up.

You can find it here from Sculpted By Aimee.

Cooling Foot Spray:

This is something really great after a long day. Or you feel like you just need some instant cooling throughout the day!

This find from Carnation or the Scholl brand are great. While it might say foot deodorant- it is more of an instant cool refresh. Both brands are reasonably priced for 150ml at around £5 / €6 and easy to come across in most chemists / pharmacies.

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The mum must haves for little ones ( as recommended by you!)

As a new mum I’ve very much learning as I go along, but I’m very lucky to have a lot of wonderful people in this newsletter community who have a lot of experience in this area. The feedback when it game to surviving summer with a little one boiled down massively to these two items.

The stroller cooling pad:

There’s lots on the market ( so check first if the pram brand you have happens to have their own cooling liner for summer) but overall this particular one came in highly recommended by people as something universal and overall good value ( €25 ish ) from Little Life on Amazon here.

The Stroller Fan :

While yes this might sound obvious to have one, the key thing is those twisty adaptable octopus looking attachment arms Most of the fans I came across in stores just had your standard clip and it wasn’t overly practical for manuoevering. And for the same price you can get something like this that adjusts to every part of your pram/ stroller, a car seat, a chair ( even a golf bag I’m told by my other half!). It’s a good overall buy you’ll use again in the future and something everyone I asked said was their absolute essential. You can find lots on Amazon in various colour options - here

Of course it goes without saying, if anyone has any added things they can’t live without they’d love to share - let me know in the comments 🥰

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Posts you might have missed:

Festival Inspo - something for everyone here covering all fashion tastebuds.

One of my favourite topics! SPFs! Some great budget friendly options below

* some links in this post are affiliate links which are denoted by *