How I Beat the UAE Heat All Summer: What I Wear

How I Beat the UAE Heat All Summer: What I Wear - TAL by The Abaya Lab

I'm not going anywhere this summer, and the way I dress had to change because of it. To beat the UAE heat, I stopped chasing one clever piece. I started rethinking the whole closet instead: linen over polyester, light colors over dark, loose over fitted. These are the pieces I actually reach for on the days the car door handle is too hot to touch. Here's why each one earns its spot.

Linen Over Everything

The Lina Drawstring Modest Dress (AED 220) is the piece I wear more than anything else in July and August. It's linen through and through. The mini length means less fabric sitting against my legs on the walk from a parking lot to a front door. The drawstring waist means I can adjust it looser on the hottest days without it looking undone. It's the first thing I reach for when the forecast says anything over 45.

The Lina Drawstring Modest Dress - The Abaya LabFeatured Product: The Lina Drawstring Modest Dress

The Piece I Reach for on the Hottest Days

The Noor Chikan Cotton Modest Dress (AED 320) is soft cotton with a distinct embroidered texture that keeps it from sitting flat against my skin. I wear it with the sleeves pushed up on the days I'm out longer than I planned. It's the one dress I've never once regretted putting on before stepping outside at two in the afternoon. The texture in the embroidery does more than it looks like it should. It holds the fabric slightly away from my skin instead of sticking to it the way a smoother cotton would.

The Noor Chikan Cotton Modest Dress - The Abaya LabFeatured Product: The Noor Chikan Cotton Modest Dress

Full Sleeves That Don't Feel Like a Layer

The Serena Brown Modest Wrap Dress (AED 350) proves full-length sleeves don't have to mean extra heat. It's 100 percent linen, lightweight enough that the sleeves move air instead of trapping it, and the wrap silhouette doesn't sit tight anywhere. I wear it on days I want coverage without feeling like I added a layer. It's held up through more than one summer of actual daily wear, not just occasional outings.

The Serena Brown Modest Wrap Dress - The Abaya LabFeatured Product: The Serena Brown Modest Wrap Dress

Light Colors Do Half the Work

The Ruby Cream Bow-Tie Modest Set (AED 460) is cotton and linen in a color that doesn't pull in heat the way a dark tone does. I noticed the difference the first time I wore it against a black abaya on the same afternoon. If you're only changing one thing this summer, changing the color of what you reach for first is the easiest place to start. That's before you even think about swapping fabric or fit.

The Ruby Cream Bow - Tie Modest Set - The Abaya LabFeatured Product : The Ruby Cream Bow-Tie Modest Set

The Same Fabric Rule Works When I'm Packing a Suitcase

I check the fabric before I check the cut, and I do it whether I'm getting dressed at home or packing a bag. Every piece here is one I'd throw in a suitcase for a hot-weather trip without a second thought, because the UAE summer and a beach destination in July ask for the exact same thing from your clothes. Linen and cotton breathe. Polyester and heavy crepe don't, no matter how loose the silhouette is cut. Once I started shopping by fabric label first, I stopped ending up with pieces that looked breathable but weren't, at home or in a suitcase.

Whatever you're reaching for this summer, TAL's Travel Wear collection has the linen and cotton pieces that got me through last summer, and they'll get you through this one too, wherever you end up wearing them.

Related reading

Back to TAL Journal

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.