Silk is not a summer fabric

[wompwomp]

I keep hearing and reading that silk is this wonder fabric as it 'keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer'

It apparently keeps you warm in winter because silk is a thermal insulator. In other words it helps retain your body temperature when it's cold outside. Thus it is used in outdoor gear like hiking.

Then it is mysteriously able to forgo this attribute and be cool in summer because it 'breathes'

Breathes my arse. Currently sitting her with a silk scarf around my neck. My body is comfortable but my heck is dripping.

It can't be an insulator trapping body heat in winter but but in summer.

The only time I could see it keeping anyone cool in summer is if you are in a country where the ambient temperature is above body temperature as it will keep that temperature out

I think it maybe depends on the quality of the silk.

I live in oversized/ men's silk shirts in the summer

It also rots in sunlight.

I live in silk dresses in summer. I am very fat and sweaty and they are extremely cooling and comfortable. I think you're wearing polyester.

Real silk knickers are cool; l have several pairs. But they still have a cotton gusset.

I agree with PP's about the quality of the silk.
Rayon is great in Summer.It"s a "wafty "fabric.

That depends on the style and brand.

Real silk is super breathable and amazing in any temperature outside...cold or hot. A 6yard silk sari is absolutely comfortable in any weather. However, I find that in the UK, what people consider silk is actually silky-feeling polyester (including satin), which is one of the worst fabrics you could wear on even a warm day.

I think that's a bit of a stretch. "Your experience isn't the same as mine therefore you must be wrong about the facts".

I can definitely read a label, (and indeed as a keen charity shopper, I can easily tell silk satin from polyester satin by touch) and I assume the OP can as well.

The problem is the weave. Silk satin gets sweaty. Raw Thai silk or light sari silk don't.

I have several silk items with different finishes…. A silk crepe shirt which I would not say is particularly cool to wear. I have a much lighter silk jumpsuit from Cos which is about the coolest items I own and still be reasonably smart.

I have a polyester top (which l admit, l quite like and often wear) and the label proclaims “100% silky”! Classic! 😀

But no doubt lots of silk worms would think it’s better.

I did. But it just made me ponder the heat issue

@Mysticfalls 100% sure. I dint think Hermes makes polyester scarves 😹

The scarf is Hermes. It's not poly

Silk is referred to as an 'insulator' That means it traps heat. How can it be cool to wear if it traps heat?

https://yorkshirefabricshop.com/post/is-silk-cooler-than-cotton

https://icefabrics.com/blogs/news/in-which-season-do-we-wear-silk

Seems in hot weather silk wicks moisture away and being hydrophobic and anti bacterial so it doesn't stay damp and whiff.

I suspect the weave and style play a role as well as any other fiber mixes in with it.

Surely insulators work both ways?

And there lies the misconception.silk satin is still synthetic. There is such thing as sari silk. Saris can be made out of cotton, polyester, satin, Georgette, silk. Weave of the silk is irrelevant its breathability. Heave weaves like Kanjwevaram are just as breathable as super light Banarasi weaves.

By silk satin I mean a satin fabric made out of silk. Satin did exist before the invention of polyester you know.

@Mercurial123 , I agree, cotton & silk is a really good mix for very hot places. M&S used to do it well. I don't get the appeal of linen
for real heat.

Sure. So like I said the only way I can see silk can keep you cool is if the outside temperature is above body temperature. So that would be nearly 40C which is much hotter than typical summer days in the UK not withstanding recent heatwaves.

I think it's just thin and doesn't trap sweat inside with you. So any breeze at all will make it flutter against your skin in a refreshing manner. And maybe sweat evaporates off it like it does off your skin, cooling you down? I confess that is a made up scientific explanation.

I agree. I have several silk dresses and I live in a hot country. Can't ever wear them in the summer. Way too sweaty

Silk fibre had a triangular shape. This is what makes it warm as it sits close to the skin.

It is also a lightweight and absorbent fibre that makes it cool to wear.

I find silk warm to wear. What will affect its warmth is the tightness of the weave. But as silk is so fragile it tends to need a tight weave for everyday stuff.

I think the point of this post was a humble brag by the OP that her £450 Hermes scarf is making her SO uncomfortable.