Topic: Costuming for extreme heat..

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Posted by: Comedy Writer (Jul 27, 2006 1:38pm)

Its hot here; 80-100 degrees. And yet, there are still events, fairs and picnics going on outside...with entertainment. Any thoughts on how to dress for the heat and still look magical?

CW

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Posted by: Darkwing (Jul 27, 2006 2:37pm)

I wish I could tell you CW. I am still looking for a look that is cool in the summer heat but still very magical. I've tried a t-shirt under an opened Hawaiian shirt with a pair of nice khakki slacks and I really don't like the look because I think I don't look very magical. I've even thought about consulting a stylist if I could find one. I usually wear a white shiney shirt with a nice blue satin vest and a black pair of slacks and sweat my butt off.

Hopfully someone else has some suggestions.

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Posted by: Al Angello (Jul 27, 2006 3:43pm)

Darkwing
You have the right idea, but if you add some cool sun glasses, and a straw hat you will set yourself apart enough to look like a magician. If that look doesn't work for you sometimes I wear dress pants, short sleeve dress shirt, and a vest which also can hide imbarrasing perspiration marks.
HAVE FUN
Al Angello

PS- What's the deal with the t-shirt? I think it is both too much clothing, and a tacky old f**t idea. Let them see your neck grandpa.

PS- If you think you have problems try juggling for four hours in the sun.

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Posted by: Alan Munro (Jul 27, 2006 4:43pm)

I'd love to find some off-the-rack jackets that look like what Mick and Keith wear on their tours. Their stuff is probably tailor made.

I'd love to find light vests that already have pockets in them, inside and out, with ribbing to keep the clothes from clinging from the sweat. I'm thinking that a photographer's vest might be the way to go.

Some of the Jamaican guys I've worked with wear undershirts that are made of netting. Seems like it would be great to wear under my shirt, if only I could find some.

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Posted by: Darkwing (Jul 27, 2006 5:35pm)

Al A, you crack me up with your post. Fortunally for me, I don't juggle (yet) so I haven't had the pleasure.

Ahhh, I'll just keeping looking. Ya know that Fantasy Island look is looking better all the time.

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Posted by: Darkwing (Jul 27, 2006 5:39pm)

Alan,

For the t-shirts made of netting, try International Male. I believe they have whatyou are looking for.

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Posted by: Al Angello (Jul 27, 2006 6:46pm)

Darkwing
I'm so glad you think I'm funny. There are some members here at the Café who are insulted by my stand up comedian sense of humor. Please feel free to wear an undershirt if you so desire, I'm no authority on fashion. One quick story about the undershirt, if I may reminisce a little. In 1960 the year JFK was elected president I was 15 years old, and I made my poor old mom throw out all of my white undershirts because none of my friends wore them, and I havent wore one since, so that's my undershirt story. I am also Italian American, and we love to show off our gold chains, so you see my friend this undershirt phobia is in my genes, not even my 90 year old father wears that obsolete garmet, but he's Italian too.
HAVE FUN
Al Angello

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Posted by: CJRichard (Jul 27, 2006 6:50pm)

One thing that important in all hot-weather clothing is NATURAL FIBER. The fabric is the key to your comfort.

Today, about 85 and very humid, I had two historical events in period clothing.

This morning was a 90-minute tour I guided through the center of my town in a 19th century outfit, primarily from Wild West Mercantile, long pants, heavy cotton, long sleeved pullover shirt, satin puff tie and a pretty heavy vest. Topped off with a derby.

This afternoon I spent 3 hours in the sun at a historical fort. For that I wore 18th-century clothing, actually, exactly what you see in my avatar. This was by the waterfront and it was breezy, but there was no shade.

The thing is, these outfits are all cotton and linen. The fabric breathes very well and doesn't feel as hot as one would think, even with several layers. At Plimoth Plantation, about 45 minutes from here, the "Pilgrims" are outside in WOOL from head to toe at this time of year.

A synthetic T-shirt can feel hotter than a long sleeved cotton shirt. Try to stick to light colors and to cotton and linen.

Sure, I lost a lot of moisture today and I'm exhausted as heck right now, but I survived. I've done this a few times a week from June through September for nearly a decade now. After a while, you just don't notice the heat as much.

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Posted by: gsidhe (Jul 27, 2006 11:28pm)

Ah the horrors of being a Gothy Bizarrist and Ren Faire Sideshow Performer...
Either all black stuff, or layers upon layers of clothing.
All I can contribute is keep Hydrated.

And buy good deodorant.

Gwyd

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Posted by: Darkwing (Jul 28, 2006 2:23am)

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On 2006-07-27 18:46, Al Angello wrote:
Darkwing
I'm so glad I make you laugh. There are some members here at the Café who are insulted by my blunt honest style. Please wear an undershirt if you so desire, I'm no authority on fashion. One quick story about the undershirt if I may reminisce a little. In 1960 the year JFK was elected president I was 15 years old, and I made my poor old mom throw out all of my white undershirts because none of my friends wore them, and I havent wore one since, so that's my undershirt story. I am also Italian American, and we love to show off our gold chains, so you see my friend this undershirt phobia thing is in my genes, not even my 90 year old father wears that obsolete garmet, but he's Italian too.
HAVE FUN
Al Angello

Al, don't change anything about your style and the way you write. As a Southern Gentleman, I admire and defend your honesty. As a side note, I guess I don't have to tell you to change your undershirt though. LOL

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Posted by: boppies2 (Jul 28, 2006 3:48pm)

I just cannot afford to perfrom outside. Even inside some places are not that comfortable. Natural fiber is a great way to go. I am having a difficult time finding long sleeve bright cotton shirt (navy blue, red, etc) that have the formal look. International male has mainly silk and poly - that's a killer here in Phoenix.
Max

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Posted by: JackScratch (Jul 29, 2006 9:44am)

Sorry, can't do this any other way. Suck it up. There is no art without pain. If you happen to stumble onto something that is comfortable, you got lucky, enjoy it. Odds are, however, you will either sacrifice "look" or "comfort". It's just the way it is. I live and perform in Houston, Texas. I own and often wear a poly tux. You deal with it. You make the customer happy. If it's a huge discomfort, you charge enough to make it worth your while. Be ever so careful you do not spend too much time on the path towards comfort. You may quickly find you have long since lost the path to customer service.

If you have health issues, you address them any way you can. I'm not talking about that, though if you are unable to remain healthy, and satisfy the customer, perhaps it's time for a change of occupation.

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Posted by: Al Angello (Jul 29, 2006 10:41am)

Jack is right we get large sums of money to work for short periods of time, so as the man said "it's time to make the doughnuts", of course the other option is to get a 40 hour per week day job. I live in Pennsylvania where it is only going to be in the middle 90's today, thank God it isn't Phoenix, or Houston. Juggling for 2 hours today, and 3 hours tomorrow will be a piece of cake.
Al Angello

PS- be sure to wear sun screen

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Posted by: boppies2 (Jul 30, 2006 11:46am)

Thanks Al,
Enjoy your coool weather. When our temps get above 110 I prefer to work inside. I blame it on my bunnies. Most people want to be kinder to a cute bunny than to an old Magician. I still would like to find a source of cotton material stage type shirts. International male has the polys and silks.
Max

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Posted by: boppies2 (Jul 30, 2006 11:50am)

Hey Jack,
You are right 'suck it up'. But at the same time, I want to be as comfortable as possible. In our desert heat that is important for anyone's health.
Max

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Posted by: Mozart (Jul 31, 2006 6:34am)

Wear the tee shirt. It acts as an insulating layer that keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Even better, visit a police supply store like www.galls.com and look for the ribbed undershirts that cops wear under their bulletproof vests. The raised channels create a layer of air between your inner and outer garment that helps you stay cool.

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Posted by: bsears (Aug 22, 2006 1:54pm)

I picked up a nice, black suit vest from Bachrachs made specifically to be worn in the heat. It is made of a very light cotton with a thin liner. The tag inside calls it a "performance fabric." Keeps me cool and looking professional.

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Posted by: boppies2 (Aug 23, 2006 11:06am)

Bsears,
Thank you for the information. Howevewr, I did a seasrch and couldn't find the performance fabric vest.
Max

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Posted by: Skip Way (Aug 23, 2006 1:05pm)

I just received my Texas Cool Vest ( http://www.texascoolvest.com/cvl.html ). This white cotton vest fits comfortably under my wardrobe, adding about a half-inch of bulk to my torso. For my cop buddies out there, it looks and fits about the way the old Second Chance body armor vests fit.

The bonus is the chemical cool pack that comes with the vest. THe vest comes with four. I ordered four more as back-ups. On moderately hot days, insert two. On very hot days, use all four. The packs are designed to maintain a comfortable 67 degrees F body temp for up to two hours. They don't freeze or drop to temps that could cause harm with body contact. The packs recharge to temp in an hour on being placed in a refrigerator or adjacent to a frozen ice pack in a cooler.

I wore mine for the first time with two cool packs during a two-hour pre-game appearance for a local ball team. Outdoor temp was 90+ with a slight breeze and bright sun. For the first time, I came away with barely a sweat. I was very comfortable and far less worn out at the conclusion of the gig.

I was skeptical...but I'm sold. This vest is my lifesaver for the remaining years's hot day gigs and future events. Highly recommended if you spend any time at all outdoors on hot summer days.

Skip

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Posted by: Alan Munro (Aug 29, 2006 4:11pm)

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On 2006-07-27 17:39, Darkwing wrote:
Alan,

For the t-shirts made of netting, try International Male. I believe they have whatyou are looking for.

Nothing like that there. Hopefully, there's a store, outside of Jamaica, that sells them.

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Posted by: abrell (Sep 14, 2006 3:00pm)

So hot? No problem - load your inner vest pockets with some cooling pads. This is no joke, I can highly recommend this!

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Posted by: Destiny (Sep 14, 2006 7:23pm)

Spent 10 years performing outdoor shows here in tropical Cairns - natural fibres are the way to go - long sleeves, long pants - wide brimmed hat is a must and it should have ventilation to keep your head cool - no solid blocks of leather on your head - and sunscreen Gentlemen - we want to be healthy old magicians.

A THOUGHT - arabs live in the hottest climes and wear loose flowing clothes of natural fibres - and can look very magical.

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Posted by: Jerrine (Sep 15, 2006 12:11am)

I'm going to have to pass on that whole Arab thing, what with...

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Posted by: Darkwing (Sep 16, 2006 3:04am)

Did a church BBQ last week and the first thing someone that knew me from another gig said "David aren't you hot in those cloths"? Yes I was pouring sweat. But I told them its the price that an artist suffers for his art. He looked at me and gave me this BS look. Yes we new we were both kidding.

I'm still thinking about that "Fantasy Island" look.

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Posted by: SeaDawg (Sep 16, 2006 7:14am)

I cant stress enough to protect your eyes. Sometimes we forget just how harmful the suns rays are. I gig as a magic Pirate and I bought two tricorn "Captain Jack" Hats at the start of April. One is reserved for "Booked" gigs, the other my street warrior busker outfit....

A few months later, one looks a 100 years older. The sun damage has been incredible.

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Posted by: Kris 62 (Oct 16, 2007 11:02pm)

Hi folks

When I worked in the theatre. We would place small pockets inside thick heavy costumes. You know,fat suits. (I really hate that term) anyway we would put those little pockets in the underarms and in the front and back. Then we would place gel ice packs inside the pockets. NOT right next to the sick because that can cause frost bite but near enough that the skin would be kept cool under all the layers. We did that just for regular shows because sometimes those stage lights plus the heavy costume would be too much. Maybe something like that would work for you. Just a little pocket under your arms and if you have a hat of some kind and little pack up on top of your head. Only you will know its there and it might help you from getting heat stroke. Oh and drink LOTS of fluids.Not anything with caffine. I was stupid enough to wear a vinyl costume at a SCI FI con and I didn't drink enough water. I'll never do THAT again. Just a thought

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Posted by: Mysterion The Mind reader (Oct 19, 2007 2:00am)

Lab coat and slacks!! Real cool for mentalism outside in 100degree weather

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Posted by: Magic Roman (Jun 10, 2011 8:49am)

Nike has a moisture wicking fabric that I have found helps tremendously in keeping me cool, but I soooo wish I could find this material and have a suit jacket, vest and pants made out of it. Does anyone know where I can find this material?

Roman

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Posted by: Alan Munro (Jun 13, 2011 6:54pm)

Lately, I've found that a certain polyester weave doesn't stick to me like cotton will, yet it breathes quite well. I've tried some of the cotton and poly/cotton blends that are supposed to wick moisture, but they still stick to me in extreme heat.

Recently, I wore a cotton camp shirt under a worsted wool sport coat, in the blazing sun on a 90+ degree day at noon, during a gig. I was flinging sweat everywhere! I felt sorry for the audience of school kids, because they started migrating to the shade during the show to escape the sun. I had a drink handy to help me to keep from passing out. Next time, it would be better to have the show in the school. It was just too hot to be outdoors.

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Posted by: ringmaster (Jun 13, 2011 7:21pm)

A Tee, scrub pants, and a Panama Hat.

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Posted by: rsylvester (Jun 30, 2011 11:14am)

It's 105 in Kansas today, and I'm getting ready to go to a friend's daughter's wedding next week in Austin, TX (talk about hot). I've found a couple of things:

I have lightweight cotton, unlined jacket (yes, it seems, the 80s have returned) and some white linen slacks. I picked them up off the bargain rack in a shop in NM. The jacket is the kind you can roll up the sleeves and look cool. Throw on a white or off-white v-necked t-shirt and it's surprisingly cool, yet a little dressy.

Also, a friend of mine asked me to do some magic at her party. That day, the air conditioning went out. I threw on a pair of white Polo shorts and a black-and-white patterned linen shirt. The shorts were the kind with all the pockets, so it had places to put everything. I did an evening of strolling magic without breaking a sweat. People liked the magic and no one complained that I didn't "look magic enough." The point is, look good and stylish. I like the idea of throwing on a hat if you want to stand out.

And when it doubt consult the pros: http://www.esquire.com/style/mens-summer-fashion-2011#fbIndex1

If you look at the pictures, you'll see all age groups represented and these are clothes made for the summer.

BTW, when reading Esquire or GQ, do NOT look at the prices. I am not the kind of guy who can afford these clothes. Instead pay attention to the look and kinds of fabric. You'd be surprised how you can put together a similar look with clothes you can find much more reasonably priced at some of the discount stores (I can find some killer stuff at Burlington Coat Factory or TJ Maxx if I look hard enough).

For summer, it's the kinds of fabrics, that matter. Pure cotton, linen, silk.

Also, if you live in a city, or now even rural areas, that is fortunate enough to have a family-owned Mexican clothing store nearby, take a look. Clothes there made for tropic weather. You'll find plain cotton shirts, some with some very cool stitched designs. Those will make you stand out, too. Got this tip from a friend of mine who leads a Cajun band and plays a lot outside in the summer. He picked up some great looks at our local mercado. Mostly reasonably priced, too.

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Posted by: Steve_Mollett (Jul 1, 2011 3:17pm)

I've noticed that some performers opt for the patterned "bowling shirts" (flames; dragons; casino motifs; etc.)

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Posted by: abrell (Jul 7, 2011 1:31pm)

Some years ago I regularly performed in summer outside. It was very hot and I was wearing black tails. The vest had additional pockets normally used for loads. I simply placed some cold cooler pads inside. So I stayed half an hour in bright sunlight and did not sweat. That enhanced the impression of being a real magician...

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Posted by: Magicray69 (Jul 16, 2011 12:02am)

It's me! The Great Magicray!

I live in a hot, humid climate (Florida)and usually wear a tee shirt and shorts. Anything heavier and you feel like you're in a sweat lodge. Wearing a conventional suit or sport jacket is out of the question. When my wife was in the hospital, I noticed that many of the doctors wore lab coats or consultation coats.

I needed a jacket for many of my effects so I went out to a medical supply house and found the perfect solution. It's a white, very light cotton consultation coat with 5 pockets outside and 4 pockets inside. Love it! Cost only 20 bucks. I throw it on, roll up the sleeves and I'm ready to show off. You can customize it in a variety of ways, fabric paint, tie-dye, etc. It's also opaque enough to accommodate pulls, a topit, body loads, etc.

Here's a link
http://www.mynursinguniforms.com/dickies-81404.html

Ray

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Posted by: Darkwing (Jul 18, 2011 5:30pm)

Had a stand up performance at a baseball stadium in Huntsville AL last weekend. It was hot and humid. I wore my standard white shiny shirt, blue satin vest, and black dress pants and sweated my butt off. Plenty of fluids and a hand towel helped but after loading my stuff the air conditioned van was sweet. I haven't found anything easier. Oh how we suffer for our art.

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Posted by: rjones683 (Aug 25, 2011 8:46pm)

We find golf shirts at the end of summer. The better ones are made to help with the heat.

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Posted by: bsears (Aug 30, 2011 1:36pm)

Bought some suit pants at Kohls designed to keep you cool. The brand is Hagar, the style is "cool 18." They are a cotton/polyester blend and definitely the most breathable pants I've ever worn. I'd highly recommend them, especially for those wanting to maintain a polished, professional look.

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Posted by: Ms. Merizing (Sep 23, 2011 6:02pm)

Two words to consider: linen, cotton.

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Posted by: Ekuth (Sep 30, 2011 7:19pm)

Ms. Merizing hit it.

For my part, I perform in full outfit. Always. (Black slacks, black vest, red/blue/white long sleeve shirt, top hat and cravat). If it's *really* beastly, I'll compromise with short sleeves, provided I don't have to pull or sleeve anything.

I also live in Phoenix.

Yes, I'm that dedicated. I also know how to deal with the desert heat.

Hydrate. Hydrate again. Hydrate some more.

Water is best in you, not sitting on your table or in your backpack.