What to wear on a hot windy day

Knowing what to wear on a hot day that is also windy can be a challenge. The following is my list of recommendations:

#1. A knitted hat or knitted hair net.

Why? Because it will keep your hair from flying all over the place, its stylish, not uncomfortably hot, and unlike broad brim hats it won't fly away in the gusts.

I would argue it even looks good on men. (Muslim wear a Kufi hat that is basically a knitted hair net.)

#2. Loose fitting shirt or blouse.

Depending on how hot it is you might even want to go topless (cause hey, its Canada and its legal), but going topless isn't FASHION (unless you count tattoos...) so instead I am recommending the loose fitting shirt.

Some of you might even want to go RETRO and get an 80s style tank top, but that is really your choice.

I am however going to recommend that the shirt be so loose that you can pull it over one shoulder and leave one shoulder exposed. Why? Because it was hot in the 1980s and its still freaking hot today.

In the wind a loose shirt will blow around a lot, but at least it will have a cooling effect on you.

#3. Shorts or Mini Skirt

Or even a Skort. It doesn't really matter. I try to find something with lots of tiny pockets because you can never have too many pockets in your shorts.

The shorts shown here are from Ralph Lauren.

#4. Sandals

I hate sandals. They hurt my feet. But they're still better than going barefoot in the summer. (And again, this is a fashion blog.)

My advice is to BORROW sandals from friends and try to find a pair you like that don't hurt your feet. Trying sandals on in a store you won't really know whether they hurt your feet unless you walk a proverbial mile in them.

It doesn't really matter what brand the sandals are (but please avoid flip flops and Crocs), comfort should come first when choosing a sandal that is right for you because otherwise they can dig into your feet and hurt. (Its basically the same reason I don't like high heels.)

#5. Sunblock that is sweat resistant. Remember to reapply every 2 or 3 hours.

#6. If traveling through mosquito infested regions I recommend "Muskol" mosquito repellent.

Cage Shoes

FASHION - Cage shoes may be popular right now, but how comfortable are they?

Cage shoes may be the rage this season, starting at the spring/summer 2009 Yves Saint Laurent collection shown in Paris last October followed by designer Stefano Pilati sending his models down the runway with their feet encased in a shoe featuring thin strips of leather that form a grid-like pattern and perched on a metal cage-inspired heel.

And ever since these cage shoes have been imprisoning the feet of models and supermodels all over the blogosphere, setting people a-twitter.

I can't help but admit they look kewl, and indeed I wouldn't mind having a pair or two... but I've also tried them on several times at Holt Renfrew... and was very disappointed.

They pinch your feet, your toes and your ankles. They are HORRIBLY uncomfortable. I have yet to find a pair that fit properly and are comfortable.

I am soooooo glad I didn't buy them either, because I found out later they leave horrible waffle tan lines on your feet. So they're definitely more for partly cloudy days.

Socks and Sandals?

FASHION - Long derided as the ultimate menswear misstep, wearing socks with sandals is being elevated to the status of fashion trend.

The S&S look, commonly worn by nerdy tourists, aging hippies, grunge musicians and outdoorsy types, was trotted out unabashedly during the spring menswear collections of designers like Miuccia Prada, Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent and Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga.

For fashionistas, this odd coupling of socks and sandals constitutes a particularly egregious type of male fashion crime and belongs in a category that includes flood pants, too-tight clothing, pinkie rings and fanny packs.

Nevertheless, a handful of truly directional fashion designers feels they have the clout to turn what's considered by many to be a lapse in judgment into something that approaches avant garde.

The look is loathed, particularly by women.

Check sandalandsoxer.co.uk for examples of men who have been captured on film in heavy work socks with Birkenstocks or black dress socks with Tevas.

Look up "socks and sandals" in the Urban Dictionary for a definition that's blunt.

"A footwear combination worn only by the fashion-challenged."

"If it's hot enough for sandals, it's too hot to wear socks. If it's cold enough to wear socks, it's too cold for sandals."

The socks-and-sandals trend is part of the larger nerd movement that may go back as early as the 1950s, when teens wore jeans with turned-up hems and horn-rimmed glasses.

In the decades since, the dork-as-fashion icon has surfaced periodically in men's and women's attire.

According to the experts, the movement reached its geeky zenith in the '90s when members of the burgeoning computer-savvy generation soared to financial success – creatively turning geek into chic.

Its sex appeal would come later. Remember the bumper sticker "Talk Nerdy to Me"?

In his new book American Nerd: The Story of My People, Benjamin Nugent suggests the Saturday Night Live characters Lisa Loopner (Gilda Radner) and boyfriend Todd (Bill Murray) may have parented subsequent generations of nerds, including such famous dorks as the characters in Revenge of the Nerds and the socially awkward Napoleon Dynamite.

Today, the TV show Beauty and the Geek keeps the spirit alive that being tragically un-hip is decidedly cool.

Consider the cool and un-cool boyfriend of Juno in the film of the same name. The character played by Brampton's Michael Cera walks a fine line. At one point, Juno tells the young father of her yet-unborn child that she loves him because he's so effortlessly cool. He responds by admitting that he works really hard at looking effortless.

Though he doesn't wear socks and sandals in the film, he represents the cool power of not chasing cool.

To pull the look off with panache, there has to be irony. David Beckham and Jake Gyllenhaal have been photographed in sandals and socks. And while they have retained their sex symbol status, they have been judged harshly by style watchers.

So, be warned, this sudden burst of interest in socks and sandals on the runways of Europe does not give regular Joes permission to engage with the look. Anyone considering it should approach with extreme caution.

Wearing socks and sandals is still the sartorial equivalent of pulling the waistband of your pants up to your armpits Urkel-style. Put a foot wrong in these new designer versions and you could be mistaken for a backpacking tourist from Dusseldorf.

That's the challenge associated with all geek-chic trends – making sure the viewer knows you know better, but you're doing it anyway.