you always hear that lighter colors, especially white, are cooler for summer. i always refer to white clothing as summery whites. i even have a white tee that i wear constantly during summer because it's too hot and humid to put on anything else. why, then, am i still miserably hot? i have heard mentions of black being cooler, but how can that be if it absorbs heat?
so i wanted to know, which color clothing keeps you cooler in warm temperatures...black or white?
answer: black.
while there are many factors that contribute to this explanation, the jist of it is this: white reflects sunlight, but also reflects internal heat back to your body. black clothing absorbs sunlight and heat from your body, but wind, if present, can convect heat away faster than it is absorbed.
so given the exact same conditions...a loose-fitting, black tee would keep you cooler on a breezy summer day.
read the full scientific mumbo jumbo here.
