Please give suggestions as to what clothes I can buy to wear to work.
DO NOT TELL ME TO LAYER. That’s like telling a woman with morning sickness to eat crackers. I am aware of the concept of layering. I’m talking about the first layer, because I am not putting on a second layer.
I live in Ohio where we are going through a cold winter. Instead of people just going inside and being thankful that they have heat, they feel they must turn their heat up even higher. Or people are just way way way way colder than me. I do not want to be in a place that is more than 68 degrees and, please believe me, most places are significantly above that.
I spent Thanksgiving in a home where the thermostat was set on 76-HOLD. I thought I was going to die. I can’t take off that many clothes.
Is there a website or store that sells clothes, primarily tops, that look attractive on a person who is a bit overweight and extremely miserable? It is consistently 70 degrees in my building and I can’t change that. I have a fan at my desk already.
That made it look like I’m miserable because it’s up 2 degrees from what I want (68-70). Well, at my house it’s 65 during the day and 60 at night. That is what I am used to.
Is your main concern that you don’t like revealing your arms, or that you find most fabrics too uncomfortable? If arms are not the problem, there are plenty of really cute embellished tanks around in every size and budget. If you’re finding fabrics too heavy, try 100% cotton, or cotton and silk blends. Stay away from the cotton/spandex blends, which can feel warmer.
Lane Bryant has some short sleeve tops in their career section that look cool and appropriate for work with no additional layers.
My arms are kinda-sorta okay-looking. I’ve been exercising a ton the past 3-4 years so I’m looking pretty good from the outer edges in. It’s around my middle that I look like a big donut.
I haven’t shopped with them recently, but Travelsmith used to carry lots of business-appropriate clothes you could wear in the tropics. Lemme go look… huh. Well, they don’t seem to let you sort for that feature these days. But I have found their designs to be generally flattering (though occasionally kind of preppy-type dowdy), usually well-made, and usually on the large side of the stated size. It looks like they’re either phasing out their “Tropical Microfiber” line or restricting it to menswear, and not as much CoolMax as they used to have, but it is offseason for that stuff, I guess.
I see you’re most interested in tops, but if you don’t mind revealing your legs, I’d suggest flowy skirts. When I lived in Austin, I pretty much lived in long silk or cotton skirts – broomstick type – and tank tops with built-in shelf bras. If I’m feeling sweaty, the last thing I want to deal with is straps and underwires. But if you’re well-endowed you might want built-in underwires; there’s quite a few of those available these days.
I also recommend linen for that layer you don’t want to wear but that you might need from time to time. I always had a nice loose linen big-shirt ready to hand in Austin for meetings and crap like that. If you get one a size larger than you actually wear, you can run it through the washer and dryer and pretend that slightly rumpled texture it gets is on purpose. “Washed linen” is, like, a look. It doesn’t work as well with skirts or slacks because you get those pronounced butt-creases. IMHO.
redhotmamas.com has some basic tops in a special fabric. Bit pricey but very basic in short sleeve and 3/4 length sleeve. You might also check out haralee.com under the lifestyle tab. Most of the hot flash clothing seems to be sleepwear, though. Not fair that I am older than you and haven’t had my first symptom yet!
Jjill.com and coldwatercreek.com are the first two that spring to mind… I think they both have a lot of lightweight and/or sleeveless tops available year round.
That point in my life was when I started drinking ice water (with lemon or orange slices, sometimes) constantly. And sometimes dipping a paper towel in the cold water to put on the back of my neck. I sympathize. It can be very trying to focus when your inner child is playing with matches, as my previous principal used to say.
That last thing you say reminds me of this nice water bladder that you can wear around your neck. With the right clothes, it might be inconspicuous. Just use cold water.
It also makes me wonder about a method I was told about a long time ago: keeping your clothes in a fridge or cooler. If you could do it discreetly, coming in with cooled clothes, and then changing them halfway through the day might help.
The only other thing I can recommend is a squirt-bottle fan. My mom loved those when she was going through this. With cold water, you can get by with light sprays.
As for clothing: all I can recommend is loose breathable fabrics. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific.
Lots of good advice in this thread. I just want to add that most polyesters are not your friend, especially for someone who’s carrying a few extra pounds: they don’t “breathe” well enough. I didn’t find silk comfortable either if I were feeling really boiling hot. Cotton and linen were the two most comfortable fabrics.
Good luck!
Consider travel clothing made by Ex Officio. Their Next-to-Nothing line is lightweight, breathable and attractive. You are probably perspiring a lot and the polyester/cotton blend is designed to wick to keep your skin dry. That’s key. If you sweat in cotton, it will trap the moisture and allow your skin to stay moist, making you feel sticky and hotter. Cotton also breathes like crap when it’s soaked, whereas a synthetic blend woven for breathability will still breathe and evaporate sweat efficiently.
Personally, I’ve found merino wool to offer the best performance for wicking and thermo-regulation. Yes, you can wear merino wool in a warm environment. A microweight is going to breathe and wick like nothing else, without making you feel like you’re wearing a sweater. The same shirt is going to insulate effectively if it gets cold. Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s long-lasting, quality, functional apparel. Merino wool is hypo-allergenic and if you get quality merino, it’s pretreated to significantly reduce the itchiness caused by the scales on the fiber and prevent shrinkage.
Notice: I work at REI and outfit for outdoor activities as my job. Since I’m off the clock, the above represents my opinions and advice. It does not represent REI and is not intended to represent authorized REI communication. This notice is a required disclaimer.
Yep, I learned while pregnant this last time that “wicking”/sports fabrics were my friend. (40? Perimenopausal? Pregnant AND having hot flashes, with a nice soupcon - I don’t know how to add that little curlicue at the bottom of the c - of morning sickness? Check, check, and check.) I survived by borrowing my husband’s Underarmor Ts that he wears under his body armor. Yeah, for work I’d top with a light cotton or cotton/silk cardigan, but the t-shirt fabric moved the sweat away from my body and kept me from feeling like I was locked in a sauna. (Did I mention that I live in SE Georgia? AKA “Heat and Humidity Central?”)
I swear that, had I not already been pretty well convinced, that the whole experience would have made me laugh at the notion of a benevolent God!
Oh, you don’t have a Spanish keyboard and probably don’t want to set it to behave as one… Use the character map. Depending on your version of Windows, it’s under Start / Programs / Accesories / System tools or thereabouts; in a Mac it’s even easier to find.
For the clothes I can’t help, since my mother has been in favor of the onion look since way before perimenopause kicked in. Sorry.
As for dealing with the hot ‘n’ sweaties at work, I fabricated a little cardboard holder for a simple stick-handled paper fan (that I bought at a Japanese knick-knack store), and taped it up under my desk in a hidden spot. I could use the fan discreetly when necessary when no one was looking.
Another woman had a little plastic electric fan at her desk, but I thought it unnecessarily called attention to her condition. It was a bit like a big sign saying “PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMAN HERE! OLD BITCH ALERT!”, so I was trying to come up with a more subtle solution.
I want you to know that I got a much-needed laugh out of this. I’m sorry you’re miserably, but it seems to have left your sense of humor intact.
That said, Mr. Horseshoe works at Whole Earth and has been going a little nuts with his employee discount. I can wholeheartedly endorse every word and link that Brown Eyed Girl so helpfully provided, esp. the Ex Oficio line. Worth every penny.
