Professional men and women in top-level racing often struggle during the summer months over how to look polished and authoritative, yet stay cool and cool when temperatures top 80 degrees. I can tell you that professionals dress very differently depending on where they live in the United States. In the Northeast and Midwest, there is a greater tendency to dress more traditionally in professional settings, regardless of the heat. If you live in the western or southern states, you already know that we tend to dress more on the business-casual side of the spectrum due to weather challenges. Wherever you live, it’s important to know a few things about how to dress to look flawless and polished, no matter how high the mercury rises. In today’s corporate America, we’re lucky to have air-conditioned offices, so often when we’re outside in the heat calling a client, attending a function, or leaving work, the heat dilemma presents itself. .

Remember that your dress sends silent messages to others. It is your visual image that people tend to notice first when they form an impression of you. Make sure your summer look is believable and polished to attract more clients and gain further career growth. Both men and women can follow these tips to look professional yet cool in the summer heat:

Women’s Summer Picks

• Wear a solid-color professional dress with an open-knit sweater as a jacket, or opt for a sleek cotton blouse and a work skirt that’s worn to the knee area. You will always naturally be cooler in a dress or skirt than in a pantsuit. Remember that a light to medium color is always more professional than a dress or skirt with a bold and wild print.
• Select blouses made from natural fabrics such as cotton, silk, or linen. Looser-fitting fabrics also allow air to circulate and are cooler than tight-fitting fabrics. When you also add a lower, sleeker neckline, such as a V-neck, scoop neckline, or square neckline, you’ll avoid having anything on your neck, allowing for more airflow. However, be careful not to show too much skin or cleavage.
• For a jacket, choose a great modern jacket or a blazer in a linen blend or a silk blend to look more summery, yet elegant.
• If your dress code allows you to go bare-legged and your legs are flawless, you’re fine, but remember that you’ll lose a bit of credibility here. If you decide to show off your beautiful legs, be sure to self-tan them with a product like Jergens® Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer or Clarins® Radiance-Plus Self Tanning Body Lotion to look like you’re wearing tights.
• Here are some shortcuts to staying cool if your dress code at work calls for hosiery. Try wearing dress pants with knee-highs, or select a dress or skirt that, when worn with socks, will be cooler than a pantsuit.
• In footwear, choose peep-toe pumps that, although cut at the toe, are still suitable for the office. Other shoe styles such as small heels, mules, sling backs, or dressy sandals are also an option. However, if you wear these styles, make sure you are bare-legged. For any shoes that expose your toe cleavage or heels, be sure to keep up with your pedicures regularly to look well-groomed.
• For suits and basic wardrobe pieces, stay away from dark colors and black, which absorb heat. Select lighter colored fabrics like eggshell, camel, tan, taupe, or light gray. Another tip is to look for wristband sleeves in suits that expose the lower arms.
• If you love to wear your hair long, you will want to wear it up in a sleek and elegant hairstyle to look professional and take it off your neck in hot weather. Consider wearing a classic ponytail or the front part pulled up and out of your face. However, make sure that your hairstyle is not too casual. If you wear a weekend look like a messy bun, it doesn’t blend in with the professional message your clothes are sending. Try some pearl, silver or tortoiseshell clips or ponytail holders to add a great vintage look to your hairstyle.

Men’s Summer Picks

• Hang those dark corporate colors of midnight navy, charcoal gray, and chocolate brown through the end of September. Men’s suits and sport coats in light to medium shades still have a professional look, but he also says he has some fashion savvy, knowing that lighter colors are worn in the summer months. Lighter colors will not absorb heat like darker colors. He looks for lightweight natural fabrics like a silk blend, linen blend, or a lightweight wool jacket or suit that breathes the summer heat. Select colors in lighter shades of tan, medium brown, or medium gray. These shades look professional and on-trend for summer, but still believable. That doesn’t mean you have to go around looking like Matlock in your pastel blue suit all summer. One of my favorites that I recommend to all my male clients is a tan British suit that looks traditional and can be worn with various colors of shirts and ties.
• For dress pants, select a linen blend, which looks fashionable and stylish. Pair these pants with a silk-blend blazer and shirt for a great summer look. A more business casual dress code may allow you to wear khakis. If you do, select a wrinkle-free type that will look sharp at the end of the day.
• Nothing looks fresher and cleaner than a white or light blue dress shirt. Select oxford cloth or open-weave cotton that is cooler. You can also try exploring wearing dress shirts in pastel colors, such as yellow, pink, or lavender, with your softer colored suits and sports jackets. Remember to wear a t-shirt under all your shirts in the summer. The shirt will absorb sweat and protect your shirt from underarm stains.
• The only accessory a man wears close to his face is his tie. During warmer weather, he will choose a tie-color background that is yellow, light blue, pink, or purple. This is a great eye-catching way to mix and match your lighter-toned outfits with a pop of summer color.
• In the summer months, feel free to wear shoes in lighter shades like camel, tan, or brown with more earth-colored suits or dress pants. With dress pants, wear a light-colored slip-on in a leather fabric that looks very appropriate in the summer months. Leave aside the dark or black Cordoba shoes, which are better coordinated with darker colored suits.

I hope you found the tips in this article realistic and easy to incorporate into your professional wardrobe. When dressing in a corporate setting, there’s a fine line between dressing professionally and dressing too casually during the summer months. Follow these tips for wearing business-style attire in hot weather, but stay credible, powerful, and authoritative.