Sweat and the City: A Guest Post by Melody Rowell

Hi everyone! This week is super busy with classes and going to Mikael's 10 year high school reunion and so for a little help I asked my good friend, Melody Rowell to write this today's post! Melody is a fantastic writer (check out her fabulous blog) and a divine dresser. I'm so lucky to have her writing for us today!

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It was 122 degrees the day we moved to Phoenix in June of 1990—still the hottest in Phoenix history. In 4^th grade, I wore shorts to the Christmas parade in Franklin, Tennessee. Last Labor Day, I enjoyed triple digits in Wichita, Kansas. Maybe it’s because I’m a June baby, but I’ve always preferred summer to the rest of the year—nothing makes me feel quite as claustrophobic as a sunny day spent indoors.

Until now.

I moved to Washington, DC last fall, just in time for crisp breezes, golden trees, and sweater weather. “Just wait,” people told me. “Summer is terrible. This place turns into a swamp.” I rolled my eyes and assured them that I know hot.

Now, mid-July, I’ve learned that maybe I knew hot, but I certainly didn’t know 94% humidity. Nothing could have prepared me for the swamp district, much less the sweaty perils of the walking commute. Like many in DC, I rely wholly on the Metro and my own two legs to get me places. Even though my former car’s A/C was somewhat unreliable, at least I always had four windows I could roll down while going 80 on the interstate.

In the past couple of months, I’ve learned (the hard way) some tricks for getting places without looking a complete hot mess. 

1. The cardinal rule: Accept the Sweat. Even on my walk to work at 8am I arrive dripping. There’s no way around it, but there are ways to cope.
2. Before you leave the house, drink a big glass of water. Preventative hydration keeps you from arriving at your destination gasping and panting like a winded hyena.
3. Leave early and walk slowly. When I’m not panicking to get to work on time, I sweat a tiny bit less. Plus, I get to work early enough that I can duck into the bathroom before anyone sees me and compose myself (e.g. patting dry with paper towels, applying more deodorant, changing clothes).
4. I had friends recommend walking to work in shorts and a t-shirt, with professional attire in tow. I finally gave in and adopted this strategy last week, and it makes such a difference—no longer do I have to sit in sweaty clothes all morning. It should go without saying, but make sure to pack your professional clothes neatly to avoid wrinkles.
5. Stash and hoard. Keep extra deodorant, perfume, and makeup in your desk, and get a travel-sized deodorant for your purse.
6. Forget blow-drying your hair in the morning. If you have a mane that must be tamed, wash and dry your hair at night, and spruce it up with dry shampoo in the morning. I feel cooler with my hair off my neck, so I opt for a top knot or volumized messy bun.
7. Even better, figure out the best styles for your wet hair after morning showers. My go-to is some kind of braid.
8. At all costs, avoid skirts with liners. A few weeks ago, before the days of my commuting outfits, I was trekking to work in a lined pencil skirt. The liner stuck to my legs, and the skirt twisted so that the slit was all the way in front. At every crosswalk I desperately tried to unstick it and spin it back around, but to no avail. I had to shuffle the remaining nine blocks, since the sticky lining had effectively made me knock-kneed.  J. Crew makes fantastic summer pencil skirts without liners and with pockets, so one of my new life goals is to get one in every color.
9. Layer tank tops. Not only does this provide a pretty texture, but it helps keep sweat stains at bay. Some office dress codes don’t allow for bare shoulders; in that case, keep a three-quarter length cardigan on the back of your chair to don when you arrive.
10. If you can, put your cross-body bag on the shelf for now. I work at a government building that has high tourist traffic. A few weeks ago I used my lunch break to walk to the post office. When I returned to work and went into the cafeteria to grab some food, a fanny-pack-and visor-wearing woman stopped me. “Well, it’s not that bad,” she said.“I’m sorry, what?” I said, totally clueless as to what she was referring. “It’s, well, it’s all down your back. Mostly where your bag strap is.” I reached over my shoulder, and sure enough, there was a damp spot between my shoulder blades. “Um, okay,” I said, refusing to thank her for unnecessarily making me self-conscious. If that weren’t punishment enough, I still had to endure her monologue about the sweat running down her legs. So unless you want the inside scoop on an overbearing tourist’s perspiratory tendencies, opt for a shoulder bag for the summer.

And just remember, if all else fails, you can google “celebrity sweat stains” and scroll through pages and pages of the world’s most beautiful people glistening just as much as you.