Photo by Jarosław Kwoczała on Unsplash
Saturday I biked over to Dusty Groove, a local record store. Why? Because Dusty Groove was having its once-in-an-occasional record sale, with dozens of boxes of records ($1 each!) on its third floor.[fn1] I decided to bike rather than drive because it’s only like a mile and a half from my home and there’s limited street parking around the store. (It turned out to be a smart choice: there were dozens and dozens of people digging through cardboard boxes filled with records, all of whom had gotten there somehow.
Beyond the thousands of $1 records for sale, the store was giving out water to patrons. Why? Because Chicago, like much of the US, was in the middle of a massive heatwave.
How much of a heatwave? 92 degrees (felt like 105!) with 61% humidity. While we likely weren’t the hottest place in the country Saturday, 92 with 61% humidity isn’t nothing. Like, stepping outside quite literally felt like stepping into a sauna.
And it looks like we’ve passed our heat (though not our humidity) on to Utah. Today, Salt Lake is apparently looking at a high of 103 (albeit with a low, low 18% humidity).
So what does the current heatwave passing through the US have to do with Mormonism? Garments, of course.
See, ideally in hot humid weather, one should wear loose-fitting clothing that wicks moisture away from the body. (Why? Because it turns out that, when the humidity is high, sweat doesn’t just evaporate—it sits there, on your skin. And how do I know this? Because I took my son and his friend to the playground Saturday at about noon.)
In dry climates (like, say, Utah), this may not be as big a deal. Even in dry climates, though, the second layer of clothing helps hold in the heat and reduces your body’s ability to regulate its temperature.
So what’s the solution? I don’t know. But there is a problem, and, given our current temperature trajectory, it’s likely to get worse going forward. I’m bringing this up mostly to flag a problem for people who don’t understand that there is a problem.
And who might not understand the problem? Maybe folks who have never lived where it’s humid. But even if the problem is comparable in dry climates, it’s not going to hit you as much if you go from your air conditioned house to your air conditioned car to your air conditioned destination.
But for those of us who walk, bike, take public transit, and generally hang out outside, it’s worth considering a solution.
A couple preemptive responses to potential objections:
- I’m not suggesting that this is the only issue—or even the most important—that exists with garments. It just turns out to be a salient time to bring it up.
- I’m not suggesting that we eliminate garments. Sacred and covenantal clothing have a real, tangible way of reminding us of our relationship to the divine, and simply jettisoning our tangible symbols strikes me as a disservice to our religious practice.
- Yes, I know you served your mission in [unbearably hot and humid place] and you survived. So did I. Back when I was 19. And the longer I live in Chicago and see college students in the winter walking around without a coat, the more I’m convinced that you don’t start feeling temperatures until you hit some age, likely in your mid-20s.
Any good heatwave deserves a soundtrack, and this song should begin and end it:
Note: be respectful in the comments. I hope not to have to moderate, but I will if I need to.
[fn1] In case you’re interested, I ended up buying five records. Three I got mostly for family members (Monkees, “Peter and the Wolf” with the London Symphony Orchestra, and Harry Belafonte) and two mostly for me (Ray Charles and Cannonball Adderley with Nancy Wilson).
By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog 
Spent the weekend in Nauvoo. Came home with a case of prickly heat so bad it’s bleeding from at least 40 distinct places. There’s this stuff I used to use while doing triathlons called “Anti Monkey-Butt Powder”. Might have to look into finding some more. I don’t anticipate any relief in the form of fabric options in the near future.
There is no good quick-drying non-cotton wicking option right now. The dri-lux is the closest thing, but it’s still got some cotton in it, and it doesn’t dry quickly.
Making the buy-your-own-shirts-and-get-the-marks-silk-screened-on-the inside option available to everyone, like it is to military/police/fire personnel, would eliminate the extra layer on top and would allow us to find our own fabrics that work best for us. That would be my ideal solution.
1. Mormon farmers in infernally hot places like the Moapa Valley in Nevada and the Gila Valley in Arizona (the latter of which can, on top of its routine triple-digit temperatures, be horrifyingly humid during Arizona’s annual monsoons off the Gulf of California) traditionally wore denim or canvas overalls with their garment tops sticking out. There are worse ways to dress, I suppose.
2. Having lived in the South and now living in the heat of inland Southern California: once the mercury hits 100, it scarcely matters whether it’s a dry or wet heat. The difference is that the air holds that heat overnight in the humid places, so attics can’t dump it overnight and air conditioners have to run all night.
3. People lose the ability to sense temperature on their skin and in their extremities in old age. (Remember that Seinfeld episode where Jerry’s parents had the thermostat in their South Florida condo set at something like 85, to the misery of their guests?) This is why elderly men in particular drop dead on the golf course all the time in places like Vegas, Phoenix, and Palm Springs.
4. Anyone who would cast a judgmental eye on a person who eschews garments in situations of heat index above 100F is a whited sepulchre and should be ignored. Perhaps they should be made to listen to Fela Kuti’s “Gentleman,” which concerns this very issue.
Oh man, I joke with my wife all the time about garments being the first thing to go were I ever in charge (and I never will be). Sam, I acknowledge your thoughts on sacred clothing, but I simply don’t share them when it comes to temple garments. They’ve never felt like sacred clothing to me because, functionally, they are underwear, and not particularly good underwear at that. Combine that with my ingrained discomfort with high church traditions and the result is that the washing and anointing and endowment ceremonies felt very off (others might use stronger language to describe the feeling) to 19-year old Not a Cougar (and I still struggle with my lack of enthusiasm over the temple today). Throw in the strongly Masonic roots of the ceremonies (which I only found out about long after I had experienced them), and I feel that the temple ceremony was something created for a very specific purpose, time, and group of people. I also feel certain that that time has passed, the purpose has been fulfilled, and that that group of people have long since passed onto glory.
Sorry to get a bit far afield from your very functional post, but I sincerely hope garments go the way of three hour church, at least on a day-to-day basis.
Ok, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that even people who aren’t judgmental should be made to listen to “Gentleman,” if only because it’s an amazing song.
It does not seem doctrinally or historically required to wear garments at all times. Specifically regarding garments, there was a time when women were told that they must wear them under their bras (not over). Now that is left to personal preference. Taking that change as a precedent, My humble suggestion would be to allow members the freedom, prerogative, or personal choice of deciding for themselves when and wear it makes the most sense to wear garments.
*where it makes the most sense to wear*
I completely agree with response #3. I served my mission near the equator, and sure, I complained about the heat, but I never had any major problems. I think I am a very different person now, because lately just an hour outside in the sun on a hot day will make me literally sick. I tell people that I used up all my heat tolerance as a missionary.
+1 to Not A Cougar
I’m very much in favor of replacing garments with another wearable item (e.g., a ring or necklace) that might better serve as a reminder of my covenants. It’s difficult to view the garment as sacred or holy when it is constantly all up in my business in my nether regions.
I was in Chicago the week before the heatwave (at Loyola, actually; I shoulda looked you up, Brunson!), but even before it hit hard, I quickly realized that “missionary me” and “40-something me” experienced heat and humidity very differently. The heat with humidity is a thang.
I don’t know what the solution is with garments, either. Maybe calling more General Authorities who come from hot & humid areas??
Hunter, I think that would help (unless, of course, they go from home to car to work, all in air conditioning, in which case maybe not?).
And totally look me up next time you’re in town!
I wonder what studies the Church has done on endowed members dealing with heat and/or humidity. We in the US may only get to complain each summer, but there certainly are worse places.
It always feel wierd to me about some of the few things we’re asked, simple as they are, when we complain (even to ourselves) that this little thing is “just too hard”. Yes, it’ll all continue to change and what we’re comfortable with will also change. And yes, Church changes go both ways.
It just feels wierd.
Frank, I don’t think we are asked to do just a few things, and I don’t think they are simple. The three people in my family have eight callings between us, not counting “ministering”. I get called away from work by priesthood leaders on a regular basis to do things as crazy as co-sign loans. I’ve had unplanned days with over 200 miles of driving solely for church purposes. I’ve been told by stake leadership that “it is expected that members will take vacation time to meet our temple attendance goals”.
I would love to return to a ward where I’m only asked to do a few simple things. And I don’t imagine for even a second that the Church will do a study about health issues related to heat and humidity. The solution, as it has always been, will be “pray, pay, obey”. A church that deliberately risks the lives of members to re-create handcart conditions just so kids will have a testimony that “I know that Trek is true” will never give a rat’s tail about a blood-soaked waistband. Instead, we will just be told “You must not understand your covenants well enough.”
I can appreciate sacred things in their appropriate time and place, but I’m not a fan of garments and never have been. I’ve also casually observed that younger generations of endowed members (millennial, gen z) are more willing to forego garments in public for practical reasons (heat, athletics, fashion, etc.).
I’m holding out hope that Pres. Nelson will make an announcement this fall putting an end to garments for good. He’s already demonstrated willingness to slaughter sacred cows, regardless of sunk cost.
Ah, I wish I had given myself the permission to be more practical about garments in the past, like when I was 7 months pregnant in Phoenix summer and walking to take public transportation. Honestly, in that context the extra layer was flat out unsafe, as I got dangerously overheated on multiple occasions. Now I’m like “the instructions not to remove the garments to do yard work is clearly not coming from a place that reaches 120 degrees.”
And I don’t imagine for even a second that the Church will do a study about health issues related to heat and humidity.
No? As recently as 2015, the Church conducted a heavily publicized survey on issues related to garments, including the opportunity to review specific styles and fabrics. Most response options were boxes in which we could have entered anything, and I don’t doubt that heat and humidity concerns were stated. Many women, including me, responded in minute detail about issues of women’s health and comfort. I suppose men did, too, but I wasn’t privy to those discussions like I was with women’s. The redesign of a few months ago incorporated several features as a result of that survey. “Abandoning garments” was clearly not one of the acceptable elements of the redesign.
Cath:
Frank: I too am curious about the members in places like Mindanao, Kinshasa, and Manaus. I can’t imagine too many of them wear their garments anything resembling 24/7.
“A church that deliberately risks the lives of members to re-create handcart conditions…” It’s this kind of hyperbole that makes it difficult to take a lot of complaints about the Church seriously.
A thin extra layer of cotton does not pose a physical threat to anybody. It’s a legitimate question of comfort, but people don’t get heat stroke or heat exhaustion because of this. Decide your comfort level, make your own decisions, and drink plenty of water. You’ll be fine.
Having lived in both Houston and Finland, I assure you that your comparison of the humid 90 oF weather to a sauna is erroneous. A “cold” sauna is about 60 oC (140 oF), while a proper Finnish sauna is at least 80 oC, preferably a bit hotter. I’ve been in many saunas that are over 90 oC.
I was in Oklahoma for work this last week, standing outside in 98 oF, 65% humidity, wearing fire-protective clothing, right next to a furnace firing in excess of 1500 oF. I was a bit soggy, but my mesh garments (which I learned were the secret to hit/humid environs while living in Houston) dried out within 10-15 minutes of getting inside.
We’ve talked about a lot of things, lately, that influence changes in Church practice or lead to Revelation. The role climate change may play in future Church decisions hasn’t been one of them (though there are surely ties with past droughts or floods that we can look to). Interesting to think through some of the possibilities, of which temple garment practices may be one. Of course, that would entail a recognition that climate change is actually a thing, which many continue to deny.
There have been rumors about making garments for temple attendance only, although I get the sense that nothing like that is imminent. For my part, I believe in self-medication. So if I wear shorts, I skip the garments and wear civilian briefs under the shorts. Nobody has ever said a word to me about this practice. If you’re willing to take the responsibility yourself to make your own decisions, you can do whatever feels right to you.
Ah, a preemptive response that I meant to write, then forgot (so it’s not longer preemptive):
4. But mesh garments! Response: no. Not a chance.
Dsc: It’s not hyperbole; people have died on trek. Just this summer one trek expedition had to have emergency personnel come attend to them because of heat illnesses. And an extra layer of clothing on a hot day will absolutely contribute to heat exhaustion.
Heptaparaparshinokh: I literally have that pinned to my Instagram under “evergreen”
Cath;
Absolutely everything you do in life carries some risk. Where I live someone recently went to the hospital for heat exhaustion from watching TV in her house. Pulling a handcart across a dirt road in a controlled situation is far from deliberately placing people in danger.
And no, a layer of cotton does not contribute to heat exhaustion in most situations. In fact, a cotton undershirt can actually help cool you down by aiding the evaporation process. The “danger” factor of that extra layer (in situations where it works against cooling you down) is negligible compared to things like finding shade and drinking plenty of water.
Again, the hyperbole makes it hard to take some people seriously.
Dsc, speaking of hyperbolic …
Sam, I’m not sure how language like “most situations” is hyperbole, but sure.
I was watching the Tour de France on TV, they are also having a heat wave . Temperatures around 40c. The extreme temperatures are atributed to climate changes, but the riders still ride 150k at average speeds around 40k.
I live in Australia at a latitude similar to the tip of Florida. We have much of the country drought declared for 5 years plus, and with summer temperatures in the 40s centigrade. It is mid winter and the temp today was 27. But summer temps are usually under 30c, except during heat waves when it goes to 40.
We wear our garments, but in hot weather try to go from house to car. We have one old chapel in our stake that has an air conditioner with no thermostat it just gets colder as the day goes on.
I hope those Tour de France riders are wearing a thin layer of cotton under their suits. Just might save a life.
Currently experiencing the humid heatwave here in Britain, where air-conditioning is absolutely not the norm in most homes and work-places. We don’t have air-conditioning. A very warm and uncomfortable night requiring freezer packs in an old t-shirt to keep cool. I stepped out of the shower this morning and by the time I was dressed was slick with sweat, and have been for most the day. Its horrible. We’re at 30’C today with a relative humidity of 52%. That’s going to rise to 87% overnight with temperatures not dropping below 20’C. And tomorrow we’re forecast 36’C in this part of the country with relative humidity at 32%. I’m finding it unbearable. I spend most of the day damp. The new design women’s garments available in this country only this year are an improvement on what I wore before, but I mostly do not get to dry out all day.
To some extent its what one is acclimated to however. Japan gets higher temperatures with higher accompanying humidity, and my husband is quite enjoying the current climate!
But yes, with the new designs of garment (and about time too – I’ve been asking for stretch cotton for the last 25 years – my sister raised it as a suggestion back when she was RS president in the Britannia singles ward all those years ago – apparently then it was too expensive, but by golly that patent expired earlier than just last year surely…) now available for men and women I can’t see them removing the obligation to wear them any time soon.
Turtle comin’ with the heat! (I’ll see myself out).
My husband and I agree that garment arrn’t meant to be a hair shirt. So if we are doing activities where all you can think about is how miserable they are making you (nursing, theme parks, hiking, yes, even yard work!), they come off. Honestly, it made me resent garments so much less once we decided that we can say enough is enough.
I view garments like I do my wedding ring: it’s symbolic of something very important to me, but the ring itself does not make me more or less married, nor does that band of gold actually signify much about my marriage other than the fact that I am married. For reasons of safety or practicality, there are times when either my husband or myself remove our rings (like when working on some types of machinery, or when I have an eczema outbreak between my fingers, for example). Similarly, garments themselves are NOT my actual relationship with God, and for reasons of safety and practicality, there are times I eschew wearing them, but certainly believe that my relationship and covenants with God continue to be honoured.
Well said Allison. I’m noticing the shift as generational; not that long ago, it would have been unthinkable for devout members to avoid wearing garments, no matter the discomfort or inconvenience.
Interested to hear why Sam won’t wear mesh garments. As someone who lived in the South for a decade, seems like a no-brainer to me.
jimbob, plenty of reasons, the principal one being this: they itch something crazy. Like, they’re tremendously uncomfortable. (The also look absurd if the sleeve is too long and hangs out of your regular sleeve, or if you’re wearing a light-colored shirt and get caught in the rain–ask me how I know.)
Again, they were fine for a 19-year-old missionary, but I’m not that anymore.
Good gravy. This comment section is a nightmare.
Yes, the garment could be made more functional for certain extreme situations. I have spent my fair share of indescribably hot, otherworldly humid days wishing in my heart of hearts I could run free in the buff instead of garments and full clothing, but alas. ‘Tis the price I pay for a life of clean criminal records and the inner reassurance that I am upholding my covenants to Heavenly Father. Temporary discomfort (NOBODY is CONSTANTLY exerting him or herself in extreme conditions) is more than satisfactory to me to show the One who gave me life that I am committed to Him.
(And let’s all give some credit to the Church for making significant strides towards improving fit and comfort over the years. They could be better, yes, but they’re definitely working on it.)
Keanu, the thing is, the point behind garments—their symbolism, their raison d’etre—has nothing to do with discomfort. I mean. cool that that’s satisfactory to you, but it’s also completely unnecessary.
And that’s kind of the point here: there’s no reason at all that our covenants should require physical discomfort; there’s no reason that makes our covenant-keeping somehow more holy, somehow more sacred. If discomfort were the reason for garments (and again, it’s not!), we should all be wearing the old one-piece garments that went to wearers’ wrists and ankles. But we’re not, because that’s not the point.
Good gravy, Keanu. Why settle for inner reassurance that you’re upholding your covenants, when you can instead come here and tell everyone about it?
In my professional life I’ve helped develop safety procedures for work done in warm, confined spaces. Regardless of what the REI website says, OSHA standards focus primarily on hydration, frequent breaks, and limiting exposure. In extreme cases they recommend actively cooled clothing (e.g. with a built-in air conditioner), reflective clothing, and/or freezing your undergarments before starting work. REI’s advice to wear loose, light, moisture-wicking clothing is probably sound but it’s a secondary concern at best.
For whatever it’s worth:
“Elder John Taylor confirmed the saying that Joseph and Hyrum and himself were without their robes in the jail at Carthage, while Doctor Richards had his on, but corrected the idea that some had, that they had taken them off through fear. W. W. Phelps said Joseph told him one day about that time, that he had laid aside his garment on account of the hot weather.”
William Clayton and George D. Smith (editor), An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1995), 222.
I’m not sure who seemed to be “taking the issue of covenants with God lightly.” Last time I paid attention the temple recommend interview questions included a question about wearing garments as instructed and there was no covenant in the temple to do so. There are times, e.g. swimming, BYU ballroom dance team, etc., when the Church clearly approves of not wearing them. Why hot weather should be a legitimate exception for Joseph, Hyrum, and John Taylor, but not for Joe Blow in the 21st century, I don’t know. Perhaps only because the temple recommend process was different and Joe Blow wants to go back — still nothing to do with his keeping his covenants
Confusion about covenants is nothing new. Similarly, there was once a “lecture at the veil” included in the endowment ceremony. I’m old enough to have heard at least one official version of it more than once. It purported that there was a covenant not to speak outside the temple of anything that occurred in the temple. At the same time, as that “lecture at the veil” was still current, there was in fact no such covenant. I suspect that the old lecture at the veil may have been the source of some church leaders’ claim that there was such a covenant when in fact the non-disclosure covenants were/are much more narrow and specific.
It may be nice to think the temple recommend interview question might be changed to conform to Joseph’s alleged practice, but I won’t be holding my breath waiting for any such change.
I will be taking this up with Him when I croak. But I imagine he’ll say “Hey, I just wanted folks to remember that they made covenants. Making things unbearable wasn’t the idea. Some people missed the point, I guess.” But that will probably be His answer to most of my other questions, as well.
Note that JR is responding to a comment I moderated. While I’m fine with discussion and disagreement, accusations of apostasy (like in the now-missing comment) are unacceptable.
J. Reuben Clark tried to get the First Presidency to allow members in hot, humid places like Washington, DC to forgo garments in the summer. He was turned down. Not a new issue.
My wife spent some time in Taiwan long ago and met some members who had avoided receiving their endowments specifically over concerns about garments. I understood why after my own recent travels to tropical locales. This brought me to the realization that in hot parts of the world the members’ willingness to go to the temple could well correlate with social class. If you are fortunate enough to live and work in air-conditioned spaces, garments aren’t a big deal, but that’s a pretty small fraction of the population in the global south.
I was also thinking along the lines of Quentin. We are a global church and many are poor in hot humid areas that don’t have air conditioning. Also garments are much more expensive than other undergarments and it seems like cost and availability would be a big issue.
Jimbob and Sam,
FWIW, I find the mesh to be a pretty bad solution. The open weave seems like it would be breathable, but the nylon material is much less breathable than other fabrics, in my experience, so I’ve found them to be worse than the dri-lux fabric. If I do anything active wearing the mesh I get bad heat rashes. I don’t have that problem with any other fabric.
Sally, it probably doesn’t help that mission presidents and non-local GAs assigned to places like Congo or the southern Philippines tend to live in air-conditioned dwellings that, while often quite modest by developed-world standards, are palatial relative to those of locals.
When I bought a house last year, I went from a 2004 house with properly sized 13 SEER air conditioners and R-38 attic insulation to one built in 1999 with undersized 10 SEER air conditioners and R-20 attic insulation. If I didn’t change my behavior considerably, including setting thermostats much higher, wearing much lighter clothing, keeping blinds tightly drawn, etc., my electric bill would be $500/month in the summer. Now imagine the behavior changes I would have made if I’d gone to a house in the same climate zone without air conditioning altogether. (It’d be a much smaller house, for one, because two-story houses in hot places without A/C are insane.)
We left the church almost a year ago. This week I threw out all my old garments (though I quit wearing them a couple years ago.) It was liberating. Definitely a thing I do not miss about Mormonism.
When garments are at their most physically uncomfortable for me (this time of year), I try to recall the discomfort of chafed inner thighs. I’m currently pregnant and when I have an OB appt, I go without them. I was reminded of pre-endowment chafe earlier this week at one of those appointments and was happy to put my silkies back on (for the first time in any summer since being endowed eleven years ago.) I have found, however, that the newly redesigned bottoms that came out a few years ago are miserable to wear while pregnant, so I’ve favored my older and well-worn sets in the last few months. Any opinions on maternity garment choices? Or on the even more recently redesigned ones from a few months ago?
It’s taken me a few days to realize this post was about garments and not global warming :)
I been wearing garments since I married in 1983. I have never gotten used to wearing them. Living in Southern California they’re hot. They are incredibly uncomfortable. I’ve tried the new stretch cotton. It’s the same cheap cotton fabric as before but with stretch. I had a rash within three days. I bought some new drilsilk and discovered the tops are sized differently. They now come up very high on my chest and back. I might as well put a crew neck t-shirt on! I returned them and continue to wear my old stretched out tops. And what is the purpose/point of those crazy “wing” sleeves? Why not make it more like a camisole? My friend said she now buys maternity tops since apparently the have a wider/longer neckline. Ridiculous! Don’t even get me started on the quality control going on at wherever they make these! It has never made sense to me that these are “sacred” yet we wear them like underwear. It seems to me that if they are sacred, why would we wear them outside the temple? What’s the point? I don’t need to be uncomfortable to remember my covenants. Also if you pay attention you don’t make any covenant for the garment. It’s an instruction. I’ve been very tempted to make my own garments. There are some wonderful underwear options with high quality fabric and I could just take a white sharpie to it. What’s the difference? Beehive clothing isn’t making some special consecrated fabric. I think it was up until the 1960’s we were allowed to make our own. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out some General Authority’s family/relatives own Beehive Clothing. Bottom line is save the garment for the Temple.
Speaking of garments..
Make coats of skins to cover their nakedness.
Then make other coats of skins to cover their coats of skins, which covers their nakedness.
Then make other coats… Wait, those last two never happened.
The purpose of the garment is to remind us of Christ covering our weakness through sacrifice, to remind us of our covenants, and functionally lead to some degree of modest dress.
The purpose of the garment of the holy priesthood is to cover our nakedness — not to cover the thing which covers us.
I’ve personally never figured out why some people obsess over seeing flashes of garment here or there.
Also related the new stretch cotton ones are awesome. I wear them skin tight, sized down, with athletic apparel when working in hot humid weather and they are great.
Next step is to make them from a Lycra/elastane material and they’ll be fully moisture wicking and drying.
I’ve thought about asking a sports factory I work with to mock me up some… Once upon a time garments were bought on the open market, right?
I’ve lived in some of the most humid and hot places you can imagine: tropics in SE Asia, Japan, and coastal Saudi Arabia. It’s a real problem and I don’t understand the one size fits all mentality with garments (or other issues) sometimes. It’s a real struggle.
Climate change, the cause of these heat waves, is also affecting Greenland, where there is sufficient ice that if it melted it would raise sea levels by 7 meters. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-27/europe-hit-by-heatwave-and-hailstorms/11352766
We must vote for governments that will address this problem.
Hedgehog, really enjoyed the womens ashes.
All without any human help this planet has had period with NO ice sheets at the poles at all (at which point garments should be abandoned entirely and/or look something like swimwear), and had periods when the entire surface was covered in snow/ice (at which point garments better be available from 2 inch animal hide with hair still attached!!). To think humans, or human government (generally the least adept among us), are capable of addressing this problem or stopping the planet from swinging between these two extremes is arrogant beyond belief. You must have an unbelievably overinflated sense of our capabilities as a species in order to believe that.
I’m in HOT Southern California. I’m using a Sharpie to put markings on my skin and then wearing sleeveless T-shirts and short shorts.
When it cools down again I’ll dress differently but for now it’s hard to be reminded of anything other than how miserable it is.
I can’t read all the comments but Sam, you unknowingly quoted me twice. Incidentally I spent 18 years in Baton Rouge, LA. I died every summer and eventually got to the point where I didn’t wear them from June to September unless I was in situation #1.
1) not a problem when you go from AC home to AC car to AC destination.
2) the second layer traps the sweat or something like that. I’ve called evaporation “Heavenly Father’s natural AC system for the human body.” And the garments ruins it.
About members in hot, hot Third World countries—I’ve never been there but their fashion choices seem very different from ours. Very often loose, long clothing and no bras for women, so two layers of loose clothing allows for air circulation. I can think of cultures where that’s not the case though.
I’m about to turn 65 next month. I’ve not worn garments at all in 10 years even while attending and leading music from the stand for 9 ½ of those years. (My reasons were doctrinal, not fashion or comfort related). Even without garments, with loose clothing—I wear dresses almost exclusively now in the summer—I’m the reddest faced, sweatiest woman in a group when out of doors. I was that way 30 years ago but didn’t realize it was an individual issue until recently.
I agree with many of the comments that garments aren’t necessary and are, for most members, just underwear, and underwear they didn’t get to choose. i used to refer to the Distribution Center as the Communist Underwear DC. One style, one color. “Different” styles are not really different.
There is no known “temperature trajectory,” and what the author is observing and experiencing here is the weather, nothing more.
You had me at $1 records.