What to Wear to the Office During a Heat Wave
This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
There are exceedingly high temperatures across the U.S. right now, so I thought we should discuss what to wear to the office during a heat wave. What should you NOT wear? How much do things like wrinkles matter?
How to Know What to Wear to the Office During a Heat Wave
During a heat wave, the biggest concern is likely going to be your commute. If your office has air conditioning, the Powers That Be probably aren't going to expect your outfit to vary too much once you're in the office, so I think a lot of this equation is whether or not your bosses expect your commute to be bad, long, and/or extremely hot.
If you're a highly paid employee, the likely expectation is that you can or do take a car to work. On the flip side, if you're a lower level intern or work with a lot of young people for very little money (which was what I saw a lot of when I was still a journalist!) then the expectation may be different.
Even if you'd be forgiven for commuting in a bikini, though, the expectation is that you're going to “office up” pretty quickly once you get into the office. Let's take my EXTREME example of a bikini: Add a dress on top, with polished office shoes, and voilà, office appropriate.
To backtrack though, there are a lot of other things you can wear to look polished both inside (in A/C) and outside in sweltering heat, including linen, cotton pique, silk, and tech-y fabrics designed to wick moisture. We'll round up some of our latest favorites below.
What Not to Wear to the Office During a Heat Wave
For my own $.02 here, I'd avoid wearing fabrics that are going to retain moisture, because you want your clothes to dry quickly. With regard to polyester and the like, I'd avoid them unless they were advertised as moisture wicking. For example, Uniqlo's AirSense line is 100% polyester but advertised as being a “new lighter material… with DRY technology,” as well as UV protection.
Can I Wear Athleisure to Work If It's Really Hot?
This is very much a know-your-office situation. I'd also ask yourself how different the athleisure is from what you would wear to work normally — dark, wide-leg pants: yes. White tennis skort: maybe reconsider.
Can I Wear Sandals To Work If It's Really Hot?
Sandals are not appropriate for every office, and if they are appropriate, there is likely a preference for styles that feature more sandal, less foot. In my opinion it was easier to commute in a different sandal (flip flops, Birks, whatever) and then switch to work-appropriate flats or heels when I got to work.
Can I Wear Wet Hair to Work If It's Really Hot?
Again, know your office. Some of our favorite easy updos (like the inverted Chestnut roll or Gibson tuck) could be done with wet hair.
What About Wrinkles in Linen, Cotton, and Other Airy Fabrics?
This is yet another know-your-office situation, but I think a heat wave is exactly the kind of situation for wearing your linen work clothes … and superiors will appreciate the effort even if you're in a wrinkled linen suit. (Maybe not if you've got a court appearance or other VIP meeting, but for a regular workday, go for it.)
If you really want bonus points, you can always keep a small handheld steamer at the office, but that is really going above and beyond, IMHO.
How Can I Stay Cool on My Commute?
These are some interesting products to help you cool down or stay cool on your commute. See more clever products like this in our Amazon shop! (If you're suffering from hot flashes or feel like throwing money at the problem, do check out the Embr Wave cooling bracelet…)
The Best Work Clothes for a Heat Wave
We've rounded up a lot of clothes for what to wear to work in the summer. Here are some of our latest favorites. You may also want to check out our roundup of the easiest office up-dos!
Summer Work Pants
Some of our favorite summer work pants for women as of 2025 include options from Nic + Zoe, M.M.LaFleur, Uniqlo — and Banana Republic Factory sometimes has pants in their AirStretch line, also!
Linen Pants
Good options in 2025 for linen dress pants include Banana Republic Factory, Boden, Theory, NYDJ*, and J.Crew Factory.
Cotton Pique Pants
In 2025, good options for summer work pants in cotton pique include Krazy Larry, Ann Taylor, and Loft.
Other Lightweight Dress Pants and Suit Pants
If you're hunting for lightweight suiting, Brooks Brothers also occasionally has suiting in their BrooksCool line, and Uniqlo occasionally has Airism suiting. You may also want to check out our roundup of washable suits for women!
You wouldn't think that wool would be lightweight, but seasonless wool can be great year-round…
Lightweight Blazers
Hunting for lightweight blazers for summer in linen and other fabrics? As of 2025, there are a lot of great spots with a lot of options in linen, including J.Crew, Ann Taylor, J.Crew Factory, Boden, Frank & Eileen, Quince, Old Navy, Brooks Brothers, and Hobbs. Along related lines, check out Uniqlo's machine washable Airsense line, as well as M.M.LaFleur's new Breeze line.
Work Dresses for the Summer
Work Dresses We've Featured Recently
Work Dresses With Pockets
As of 2025, some of the best work dresses with pockets include M.M.LaFleur, J.Crew, Lands' End, Elie Tahari, and Boden… Some of our latest favorites are below! If you're on a budget, Quince has a great basic, this business casual Amazon dress has pockets, and Amazon seller VFShow has a number of dresses with pockets! Both Amazon and Etsy make it pretty easy to find dresses with pockets, as well.
Readers, over to you — what are your thoughts on what to wear to work during a heat wave?
Stock photo via Stencil.
It may not be the most environmentally friendly choice, but linen clothing with a teeny bit of Lycra holds it’s shape must better than all linen.
Is seersucker hopelessly old-fashioned? Or maybe too memorable to be an office staple piece? I think of it as the quintessential summer fabric — breezy and cool but doesn’t end up looking like a limp rag. I always remember the season of Project Runway where they had to design clothing for travel and wear it on a transatlantic flight, and the designer who used linen looked like a mess at the end. But the winning designer (Michael?) used seersucker and said, “it’s never going to look wrinkled because it already IS wrinkled.”
Long flowy pants with a button-up, collared sleeveless non-tuck-in shirt in a bright color or pattern, with block-heeled sandals. I’ve always viewed this as the business-appropriate in big city Brazil look: professional, polished, but appropriate for the weather outside.