Summer workwear - any idea how NOT to overheat while commuting yet not show too much flesh?

[edam]

I am about to start A Proper Job. My first for many years. In June. I will be commuting 30 miles a day, on train and tube, so I will get hot and sweaty. What the hell do I wear to the office? (Have been freelance working from home so I have a few work dresses to wear to occasional meetings, but do not have the wardrobe for five days a week.)

Oh, and I am fat with bingo wings so no cap sleeves or sleeveless... (and generous bosom so need a v-neck). I like Phase 8, if that helps, but they don't seem to do anything that doesn't crackle with man-made fibres that will not be good in commuter conditions.

Layers I would say. I went into London yesterday, it was cold when I left home at 8am, raining when I arrived, cold and windy at lunchtime, then boiling hot on the tube at 6pm.

i have no idea as i don't commute but wanted to offer congrats on Proper Job . Hope it pays proper £££

Have just bought this and it's lovely.

Ah, well done!

This is where the cotton blouse comes into it's own. I'm just looking at tops on Phase Eight. Is there nothing you'd wear?

How smart do you need ot be?

I'm thinking a sweet little blouse tucked into a straightish skirt with a waistband. Or a pleated skirt like we used to wear at school., (Or at least that's the kind of thing I'm after)

this blouse

with a skirt with a waistband and a belt?

Not necessarily those colours....

You need a fan. Waft your face silently yet elegantly and then fold it up and tuck it in your bag.

love that dress tethers how do you accessorise it for work?

Tethersend that dress is indeed lovely but being 100% viscose will be boiling hot!

Edam try TKMaxx for linen blouses (do generous sizes & unusual styles) & pair with trousers, culottes or skirts that have high cottton mix so keep their shape but help you keep cool. Bare tanned legs

Layers with bottom layer thin silk top/blouse.Otherwise bottom layer cotton. Look on ebay/ in sales for affordability.

Cotton blouse/ tops here and I wear cotton lined long crinkle skirts (last year's Boden, but have been going on Ebay) or Jaeger linen trousers.

Linen mix trousers so don't get too creased with cotton blouse/shirt. Gap are very good for smart casual stuff.

Viscose isn't always boiling hot, especially if it's a more floaty design. I have a couple of summer dresses made from it and I never got too sweaty.

Congrats on the job BTW.

drink cold water and try to keep weight down?? Fruit ...veg etc.

Hmmm, think I might get one of these shirts myself.

firstly, i am not stylish, so take my advice with caution!

i have a few little cotton cardis...really short ones with sleeves just above the elbow. they are neat and tidy, and are great if you get some unexpected sweaty armpit patches that need to be covered. [sweatybird]

like these

they go well over longer tops and i am a curvy girl with huge bappage and they look really neat.

Ooh thank you so much everyone! Apologies for posting and running, I had to go and check on ds and ended up doing the washing up and going to bed.

Some great ideas here, hadn't thought of TK Maxx. And yes, Mumtoted, that's exactly the problem - I live in commutersville and the weather was just as changeable here yesterday but at least I could nip home and swap my top, and wasn't sweltering on First Capital Connect cattle wagons.

(Oh, and I need to look like The Boss but work in journalism so don't have to dress like a City lawyer.)

oh, and at jellyvodka - yes I DO know the theory, it's the practice that is rather more challenging!

wow, hadn't realised bravissimo do tops, that is brilliant.

I've got a couple of those little cotton cardigans and love them. Unfortunately I now have to wear a bloody jacket to work, which makes summer dressing much more difficult. :(

Primark do lots of these cotton cardigans for 6£

I have red, ivory and red stripe, black and ivory stripe, navy stripe with a red bow

Sizes are tiny, go up a couple of sizes at least

Thanks Kristina. Don't have a Primark handy, but can get to one - do they do larger sizes? (I am, um, not exactly skinny...)

Congrats on the job!

I have a lovely linen cotton mix trouser and jacket combo from m and s that I wear in summer. As much as I am no bodenite, I did find a v nice cotton work dress in their catalogue last year and must have worn it once a week throughout spring and summer. I also have LOADS of cotton cardigans - I am trying to remember where I got most of them from. Possibly uniqlo/m and s/gap/Zara. I tend to snap them up when I see them!

Cardigans important as your office will be like 18C and the train/tube 35C!

I think you need layers of cotton or linen to look good in the morning. But really, just resign yourself that you'll be sweaty, crumpled and grimy on the journey home. And never go anywhere on FCC without a bottle. Water mostly, but v tempting to have a different cold drink on the way back...

Lose weight? Sorry to be so blunt, but it really is the easiest way to keep cool.

That's helpful, Bonsoir.

I'm quite slim but I still get VERY hot at work in the summer.

Not easy, I know, but fat covering your body makes you very warm (that is what it is designed to do, after all!).