The International Schools Review Forum

So I always assumed materials like polyster were the best for humid weather. The ones they advertise that dry quickly. But I was reading that some people say cotton b/c it breathes better. (You know Cotton, nicknamed death cloth because it doesn't dry out) What do people prefer? My wife tells me I should just go with the techy materials and that I will have to resign myself to being hot and sweaty all the time no matter what I do.

L.L. Bean sells great tropic weight chinos, cargo pants, and shorts. I wore the chinos as work pants - they look very good - in VERY humid southern China and Kuala Lumpur.

Having spent a lot of time in hot places, I can say that the techy stuff REALLY stinks quickly, because it doesn't breathe. I would rather be a bit humid and not smell like a dirty sock.

Cotton.
Or cotton.
On other days, cotton.
All right, silk and linen are also nice if you can handle the price and maintenance.

Uniqlo sells business casual clothes made from breathable/dry fabrics (polyester). Definitely breathe better than cotton and very comfortable in tropical humidity & heat. Slacks, shirts, jackets - everything. Haven't noticed any stinkiness and I've worn some of these clothes for over a year, washing once a week.

Id rather be wet than be smelly, and thats what the synthetic fibers do a lot of. Linen and Silk are my top hits for natural fibers which dry and breath well, but they require a lot of maintenance, and you will be ironing those linens and steaming the silks a lot (and their pricey). Otherwise go with tropical, light weight cotton. Cotton stays wet a long time but not nearly as long as wool. Just get used to having a stack of under shirts at work if you stick with a largely all cotton wardrobe.

If you're somewhere that you can hire a maid, then my vote is linen and have her do the ironing. I seriously had ironing clothes.

Most of my shirts are cotton though I have a decent number of linen shirts and pants.

I have loads of undershirts to soak up the majority of the sweat. But in places where the weather is like this you just get used to sweating and everyone does. I import my deodorant because the local options are terrible here (China) if you can even find them.

Now, where I'm at the winters can be damp and cool for a bit. Most places don't have dryers here, but they're great when I do want to speed along the drying of cotton from December to March.

If you sweat heavily, locals will ask you if you are alright very often upon seeing your perspiration, Asians dont seem to sweat, especially when they grew up in the hot and tropical south.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Sounds like choose your poison. Wet or stinky. I don't think I can handle the linens. Maybe I'll try a bit of both and see what works for me.

Linen is the way to go......