Summer Field Outfits
Pictured: Levi’s 311 stretch jeans, Uniqlo airism tank, Old Navy cardigan, Cat & Jack class of 160,000,000 BC dino tee.
When you’re on site in the summer, your outfit needs to be safe, keep you cool, and be easy to clean. Bonus points if your outfit can transition back to the office. Here are four example outfits modeled by my Bitmoji to give you some inspiration of what you can wear to your next hot-weather site visit.
Before we get into the outfits, let’s talk about the base layer. All summer outfits should start with a layer of deodorant. Don’t be known as the person who stinks. I also recommend wearing a sports bra or bralette. The padding of a regular bra will insulate your body heat and fill with boob sweat. A sports bra/bralette will be faster to dry out and easier to just throw in the wash.
Outfit 1: How may I help you?
This outfit consists of a polo shirt and a pair of khakis. Not shown on the bitmoji is the safety vest you’ll wear. You’re going to look like Jake from State Farm or an employee of Target. If you go with a blue polo, you may look like you work at Best Buy. While it is not my cup of tea, it is one you’re going to see all the time. It’s basic, durable, and easy.
Outfit 2: Site Classic
In this outfit, you’ll look like everyone else on site. You layer a tank under a high visibility T-shirt and pull on a pair of light weight jeans. When you return to the office, you can switch the T-shirt with a cardigan for a quick business casual wardrobe change. Your tank should be made of breathable fabric, there are lots of athletic, sweat-wicking tech fabrics on the market that can keep you cool. Note that if your safety vest is too large for you, a high visibility T-shirt can be a safer option as loose fabric may get caught in moving parts.
Outfit 3: White Collar
One of my bosses required us to dress “professionally” even when in the field. In this case, you’ll want to pick clothes that are durable and machine washable. A short sleeve button down and black jeans or a blouse and dark linen pants are some good options. Note that linen pants are definitely more breezy in hotter temperatures. Also note that you’ll want your top to have sleeves for safety reasons and be dark enough in color to disguise stains from the field.
Outfit 4: Superman
This outfit is really going to give you a Clark-Kent-to-Superman-level wardrobe change. Your base layer consists of a blouse and bicycle shorts. In the field, you can throw on a pair of overalls. When you’re ready for your meetings back at the office, you can pull off the overalls and throw on a breezy skirt. The bicycle shorts allow you to do a no-fuss wardrobe change you can easily do in your car.
