Cracking the hot-weather clothing comfort code!

DEEP GREEN house is my domicile, and the unofficial headquarters for Daytona Beach Permaculture Guild. And it’s a demonstration site for Degrowth, Deep Adaptation, and the 90% Reduction Challenge.

I am grateful to my two “civilian” housemates for choosing to dwell in this low-footprint-living lab. By renting the two big bedrooms, not only do they help me with the overhead expenses of a house, but also, they serve as a “reality check” to me, of the boundaries of what can be considered reasonable and practical for everyday humans.

A lot of my work day-to-day at DEEP GREEN house involves doing experiments, and sharing what works and what doesn’t. Various areas of experimentation include cooking, water conservation, electricity reduction, and clothing.

One of my ongoing pesky clothing challenges, as the heat and humidity seem to become increasingly severe with each passing summer, is to find types of garments and fabrics that are wearable by people living without air-conditioning.

Now, one might think there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Just look at what people were wearing in the tropics, before air-conditioning. And in many cases still are wearing.

Unfortunately, ready-made garments of extreme-heat-friendly fabrics are not that easy to find even in thrift shops and freeboxes. At least not in my part of the USA. You just don’t see that much of the oldtimey standbys like seersucker and gauze. A lot of things nowadays are made of polyester and nylon. And even the cotton isn’t a sure bet. A lot of cotton comes in the form of T-shirts, which I am finding to be almost unwearable as the summers get hotter. I’ve noticed it for the past couple of summers especially.

Even linen wasn’t seeming to do the trick. Maybe the piece of fabric I tried from my collection of remnants was woven too tightly, but whatever the case, something just wasn’t working. The top I improvised last night was maybe a step more comfortable than a T-shirt, but I still could not bear to have against my body.

Ditto with the top I tried putting together from an old scrap of rayon.

Interestingly, one garment that I have been finding sort of bearable is a pair of swim-shorts made of a polyester fabric. (As with almost all of my clothes, it was diverted from the waste stream.) I still get sweaty, but the fabric doesn’t hold a bunch of sweat, and dries quickly. It’s helpful to be able to take a dip in the ocean, or dump a bunch of rainwater over myself, and then run around doing yard tasks and voilá my shorts are dry in no time.

But this morning, I finally had a real success.

Well, it took me a while, but I finally got around to cutting up this old hippie-print curtain that I inherited a few years ago from a friend who was throwing it away.

For a while I was using the curtain as a breathable partition between kitchen and guest bedroom, but this summer I have been using it as a lightweight bed-sheet (for when the nighttime temperature goes below 79F, which seems to be the cutoff point where it’s cool enough that I want a sheet over me).

I can still use it as a bedsheet, but as of this morning it’s also a viable outfit for extreme heat & humidity without air conditioning. The feeling on my body as I’m sitting here typing this is like night and day from every other type of garment and fabric that I have tried.

I will probably cut the length of the dress part to be calf-length. I may cut the length of the tunic, or may leave it at its correct length, which is hip-length.

In case you can’t access the post on my Facebook page (DEEP GREEN book by jenny nazak) to see the pictures, it comprises a wrap around my chest that is then tied with a soft cord made of old T-shirt fabric. And, over that, a tunic made by cutting a hole in a rectangle of the same fabric. For riding a bicycle, I will additionally want to make some kind of bloomers/pedal-pushers out of the same type of fabric.

The challenge will be to source fabric. I try not to buy anything new. For many reasons, which I have often written about in here. So, I’m going to use that ancient skill of curbside goddess manifestation, which always brings blessings from the waste stream.

But, for now, I’m super content to just enjoy the success. I am sitting here typing, and I don’t feel excruciatingly uncomfortable. Sweat is not pooling all over my body. In fact, I am downright comfortable! Even more comfortable than I felt last night when I snagged a bit of coolness by fanning myself while not having any fabric against my body.

To be clear, it’s not like I suddenly just discovered the existence of gauze! But, it’s something I haven’t been seeing out and about for seven years. And when I do, it seems to only come in hippie prints which I don’t prefer. The one I’m wearing right now is tolerable because it’s a relatively low-key blue and white print. And, because it’s an initial success, which I can now build on by hopefully finding solid-colored gauze in the waste stream or thrift shop. My color preference will be a moss-green or similar.

Personally, I think it would be prudent to put attention onto retrofitting our homes and other buildings so that they are more habitable without air conditioning. There are many DIY retrofits, such as shades and awnings and curtains, as well as adding trees and trellises for shade and heat mitigation.

Also, a great way to economize and reduce dependency is to think of air conditioning as something you can get for free by going to a public building library or a shopping mall. And keep your home use to a minimum. This may help you acclimate to heat conditions. And, the heat will give you a reality check on what’s really viable as far as clothing and such.

I also want to talk about a low-tech, oldtimey type of “air-conditioning” known as a breezeway. If you can manage to add a breezeway to your home, or to the communal space in your neighborhood, etc., you will be adding a cooling feature while also helping to build community, as maybe more people will be willing to hang out outdoors together. If your city or other local government still has funds left over from Covid assistance or other federal programs, you could encourage them to invest it in durable cooling structures such as shaded pavilions, and breezeways.

PS. With anything related to reduction, be it living without a car or living without air-conditioning, some people can take it as an effort into shaming them to reduce their footprint. Rest assured, I am not trying to shame anyone.

Because of the way our “modern” buildings are made, and because of some less-than-optimal landscaping and city-planning practices, it can be virtually impossible to live without air-conditioning. Also because our modern clothing isn’t optimized for the ambient, non-climate-controlled temperature. And, because dress codes and social norms (largely rooted in colonialism) enforce some very uncomfortable and impractical types of clothing and fabrics. What I am trying to do here is help ordinary people escape crippling expenses and extreme vulnerability.

I keep seeing these horror stories on my social feeds, of how people of modest means are being forced to shell out thousands of dollars to repair or replace an air conditioner. I’m like, really, are you guys that much wealthier than I am? And I really doubt that so many of us are in such a cushy financial position as not to find that a struggle. Plus, being dependent on air conditioning makes us so psychologically vulnerable. People are constantly worried that the air conditioning might go out, let alone if it actually goes out.

I’m not trying to tell you to do without air conditioning if you don’t want to, but I hope that some of my posts and comments will encourage you to explore ways of reducing your dependency on AC (and other very energy-expensive and money-expensive conveniences).

Further Exploration:

• “What is Gauze?” https://thefabricofourlives.com/cotton-fabrics/gauze “You’re probably familiar with the cotton gauze bandages in your first-aid kit, but this thin, sheer fabric is also used to make loose, unstructured dresses and blouses, curtains and baby carriers. Because of its open, airy weave, this is the perfect fabric to wear during hot summer months.”