How to dress for work in hot weather

[Sosomego]

I am soon going to be spending a week in a very hot country for work. I'll need to look smart and professional but all of my current summer clothes are casual. I'm struggling to think of outfits I could wear that look smart enough but not melt in.

My usual style would be to wear a skirt and suit jacket, sometimes a dress. I will be on my feet most of the day so I prefer to wear flats or a low heel. I'm a curvy size 16.

Any recommendations? Does anyone have experience of what women wear to work in hot countries? Thanks!

Lightweight tailored trousers and a lightweight thin shirt (cotton)

Depends how formal / informal but chinos and a polo shirt can be a reasonable compromise. Most of my shirts are from oasis / warehouse and they’re thin enough to be breathable and not form fitting.

Wear what you work wear in the summer here but take a light cardigan. In hot countries office air con is absolutely awesome so I wouldn't be surprised if your actually a little chilly!

I always wear a plain linen shift and smart flats then it’s easy enough to chuck a jacket or smart cardi on if the ac’s too fierce or for meetings

Good point about the AC, hadn't considered that. Although I won't be in an office much as I'll be out seeing customers most of the time. Linen shift dress sounds just the ticket...

Be wary of tights-even the thinnest ones are 100000x worse than wearing trousers. I would either go bare legged or wear flared lightweight linen trousers. You may be better off waiting until you get there to buy clothes as fabrics in the UK are usually very thick.

I used to live - and work - somewhere very hot and humid and found the easiest thing to wear was dresses. Black or dark prints are good Yes I know this goes against all advice about wearing black when it's hot but if you're on the go, you need to avoid showing sweat marks. Light floaty fabrics or silk jersey (which hangs really well and doesn't crease). Avoid linen as it creases badly. Take a cardigan or jacket or large scarf for wearing inside when the aircon is fierce.

Have you thought about footwear? In London it's generally quite acceptable to wear (smart) sandals to work but where I worked in Asia, showing feet/toes was a really no-no and 99% of women wore court shoes. Bare-legged was acceptable but sandals were really pushing the envelope.

I was planning on having bare legs, I don't think I could stand tights in the heat! Should be acceptable I think, the country is pretty Western in culture, I've been there before (although not in summer) and business people tend to dress similar to Europe.

I've got a pair of smart sandals but I will also take a pair of closed toe sling backs ars a back up.

I hadn't considered humidity, I'll have to check on that one as my hair easily gets frizzy!

Having lived and worked in a tropical country I would say:

Avoid polyester clothes - silk, cotton and linen mix are much less sweaty
Deffo to a cardigan in the AC office - it can get really cold
Sunglasses and a hat help outside
Take two cool showers a day
And walk slowly rather than rushing around! Makes a real difference!