Hot stuff: Keeping cool in the inferno

Gracie Moore, Lifestyle Editor, gives her fashion tips for staying cool in the summer heat

KEEPING cool in the summer can be a near impossible feat, especially when the UK’s humidity is enough to cause anyone to rock up to campus looking like they’re fresh out of the Amazon Rainforest.

Dressing for the summer in Exeter is a fine art when considering the athletic workout of the hills along with the necessity to fit in and look absolutely flawless. There are many simple steps that can be taken to make surviving the scorching summer days just a tad easier.

Adding white clothes into your wardrobe is the first easy move to make when deciding what to wear. Scientifically, white reflects the light and heat much more than dark colours do and this can help to keep your skin cool when it’s not busy absorbing the the day's heat because you opted for a black sleeved t-shirt earlier that day. White trousers or blouses are my personal favourite way to keep the sun’s death rays from reaching me.

Perhaps just as obviously, loose clothes always come out on top against tight clothes (put the skinny jeans away for now.) As previously mentioned, loose blouses, shirts or trousers are perfect for this — and even better if they’re made of linen.

You may have already heard that the heat extremities we are exposed to drastically affects the way the rest of our body feels. So, leave your head, hands and feet uncovered as much as possible on those sunny days, provided you have slathered on the SPF! However, if you have a long walk to campus, it’s better to make sure your shoes are supportive rather than opting for flip flops just because they keep your feet cool. Be sure to wear arch-supported sandals or breathable/canvas trainers and flat shoes.

Finally, as much as skirts and shorts seem the obvious option for when it’s warm, they can also annoyingly cause thigh chafing which can be painful and itchy. The simplest way to overcome this is by wearing longer cycling shorts, under skirts (depending on the length) or using talcum powder to reduce the friction. And if you’d rather not use either of these methods but still want the breeze to get to your legs, culottes can be a good way to keep the same freedom of movement while not allowing your bare legs to rub together. Culottes are very wide legged trousers that are generally high waisted and elasticated (the dream) that are usually made of cotton or linen making them more breathable. They also don’t reach the floor, rather stopping around the lower shin, allowing for the breeze. They are my go-to choice for the warm days! And they are the optimum choice during a summer shower because they keep you covered but don’t cause over-heating.

There are so many ways as students to keep cool in the summer by adapting our wardrobes and many of these mentioned pieces are extremely affordable in places like New Look, H&M, Primark or online shops such as ASOS.

Lifestyle writers offer their thoughts on whether summer flings are really worth it To fling or not to fling?

WITH the days getting warmer and more people escaping to Exmouth by the minute, we can see that summer is getting closer. In recent years, the associations with summer tend to be that of the ‘hot girl’, living her life with her girls, free from the confines of a relationship. However, this ‘hot girl' trope doesn't have to be mutually exclusive in not engaging with romantic attachments, as long as they are of a ‘fling' type nature.

This generation seems to be obsessed with one of two things; a strictly exclusive relationship or a stream of people coming through your bedroom on a metaphorical conveyer belt. With this comes a very rigid polarisation when concerned with romantic relationships: to take things 100 per cent seriously or not to take things seriously at all. This poses some form of dilemma in itself, and so I would argue that ‘the fling’ is a happy medium on this spectrum.

The summer fling seems to be the embrace of romantic attachment, but an acceptance of its temporary nature. There's an acceptance that we, as young people, are still growing and are prone to change, and so can't really afford to be 100 per cent committed to someone or the promises they are making. The fling is a perfect idealisation of getting to know someone, enjoying their company, learning different things about yourself and moving on. It’s pretty perfect if you're asking me. A fling means you can focus on yourself, you don't get too consumed in someone else and that you can form attachments to people in a healthy manner.

It feels as though as a generation, we are so afraid of just getting to know people and appreciating the fleeting impact of relationships. My mum’s best friend has always given the best advice when it comes to relationships with others, and I think it comes useful in this context too:

“Friends are here for a reason, a season or a lifetime”, she always reminds me. She shows and shares an appreciation of people in your life coming in for varying purposes; there's nothing shameful about acknowledging the reasons for this. The fling may only be here for a season or reason, but that doesn't devalue it.

Scarlett Cracknell

SUMMER is every sane person's favourite season. How could you not love the ridiculously good weather, the lack of responsibilities and the hazy days outdoors? I’m not arguing about why summer is objectively the best season, but instead why you should avoid a particularly tempting summer past-time: the summer fling. Summer flings feel like such a good idea at the time. You feel like the main character and, due to the lack of anything else interesting going on in your life, that normally boring acquaintance turns into the Timothée Chalamet indie boy love-ofyour-life type. I have bad news, but the yellow haze of the season has a beautiful way of turning people’s red flags into a scrumptious peach colour…

Now for some further bad news that is totally not based on any hilariously tragic personal circumstances: that boy for whom you count down the days until their arrival back in Exeter? You’ll end up eating the Ben and Jerrys that you bought for the both of you to celebrate your new relationship status alone at 2am, after kicking him out of your house midway through Ratatouille because you decided that that was the best time to have the relationship talk. You will never think about it during your lovely summer hangouts but this season always has an end. Before you dive headfirst into a lil’ summer fun, just have a little think about how this person will fit into your life when the academic responsibilities come calling and life calms down again.

Now some of you will think I’m being silly.

“I honestly don’t even want anything serious” you scream.

“They’re great, outside of how bored I feel during summer”.

Okay okay, you’re telling me this person is worth being in your life for a couple months or weeks and they’re genuinely great but you somehow won’t develop any feelings for them?

Please go talk to ChatGPT for the summer so you can keep a fellow robot company. You’re a human. If you start having a fling with a lovely person who takes over your existence in the most carefree time of your young life, you will romanticise it. It’s not worth the pain come September. Do yourself a favour and have a great time with your friends this summer.

Ande McClintock