Waking up sweating and irritated from a bad night’s sleep in the heat is far from the ‘hot girl summer’ many of us had in mind. 

And the situation is only made worse when you arrive at your destination overheated, sweaty and uncomfortable. But alas, such is the nature of the great British summertime, though many of its residents will no doubt dispute the use of the word ‘great’ on days like this.

If there’s one thing we Brits know how to do, it’s moan about the weather, and when a heatwave takes hold, that moaning cranks up a notch. After all, there’s getting dressed in the morning in all our puffy-eyed and under-caffeinated glory, and there’s getting dressed in the morning in all our puffy-eyed and under-caffeinated glory in the sweltering heat.

The short takeaway is that it’s too warm for most items of clothing but, aside from becoming a nudist, how does anybody keep the warm weather at bay in actual clothes?

Which is where we come in, with this warm-weather wardrobe guide. A foolproof list of fashion formulas for riding out the heatwave in style (you’re welcome). 

Forget relying on the same stable of pieces you’ve worn before. In case you’ve missed the news, the world is getting hotter with each passing year, which means you, in turn, need to stay cooler. The remedy lies in embracing breezy, barely-there fabrics. Think natural fibres such as linen and cotton, which are breathable for the skin and enable it to keep cool and, more importantly, keep the sweat at bay.

The humble trapeze dress – a sort of souped-up, glorified, wearable tent – is the ultimate heatwave hero piece. Loose enough to keep you cool when the wind decides to blow a little to cool us all down, the trapeze dress is the sort of wardrobe foundation you’ll want to stockpile for every time you’re ever hot for the rest of your life. A true warm-weather wardrobe saviour.

Denim shorts were relegated several summers ago in a flurry of negative headlines that aligned them with being cheugy before anybody knew what cheugy was. In the midst of a sweltering heatwave such as the one the UK is currently experiencing, however, they deserve a space in your wardrobe. Pair with T-shirts, boxy blazers and chunky sandals for a seamless summer ensemble. 

Come rain or shine, few style staples endure as relentlessly as the crisp cotton shirt. However, in case you’ve coasted your way through this article without actually reading its contents, here we’re referring to its virtues in terms of withstanding the very, very hot weather. Our favourite way to wear it is to throw it on nonchalantly over the top of a fitted white tank (for reference, see Julia Roberts in every 90s romcom she ever starred in), but it also works as a cool, calm and collected accoutrement to slip dresses too. A piece nobody has ever regretted snapping up.

No, that doesn’t mean ensconcing your body in a toasty long-sleeved and long-legged jumpsuit, but, instead, embracing breezy silhouettes or dungarees and short-legged jumpsuits, which make getting dressed while it’s hot a walk in the park. The breezier, the better (there’s a theme appearing here), so reach for slightly oversized fits and breathable fabrics to allow your skin to stay cool. 

Images: Getty