What’s the best fabric for summer shirts?

Key findings:#

• Linen emerged as a strong overall summer fabric due to its breathability, low heat retention, and ability to maintain airflow around the body, making it a multi-factor “win.”

• However, merino wool was the most surprising performer, ranking higher for humidity management, odor resistance, softness and overall comfort.

• Certain cottons excelled at maintaining airflow and resisting cling in hot weather.

• Polyester ranked best in drying speed, but lagged behind other fibers in comfort-related categories.

• Flannel and cashmere consistently ranked last due to their insulating properties.

In summertime, your choice of shirt makes the difference between feeling comfortable or spending the day feeling hot and sweaty.

Determining the best summer shirt fabric, however, requires one additional question first. Comfort depends on:

1. Breathability

2. Moisture management

3. Drying speed

4. Heat release

5. Resistance to cling

6. Humidity performance

7. Odor resistance

8. UV protection

9. And airflow

With these specific and measurable factors in mind, Icewear studied the most common shirt materials to provide you with absolute confidence in your choice of shirt materials this summer.

Best summer fabrics for shirts, by category#

Below is the list of the shirt fabrics studied and the top-ranked fabric for each. The list of fabrics was chosen based on what’s most common in designs. You’ll have your own personal priorities in terms of which features (“categories”) are most important to you.

Review this list, but be sure to learn more about the performance of each fabric by category in the Icewear study below.

The fabrics included in Icewear’s study#

Can you name more than four or five fabrics used in summer shirts?

It’s important to review which fabric is which. For starters, some fabrics are made from plant fibers, while others come from animal fibers. Then, some are manufactured using synthetic or semi-synthetic materials. This natural fiber/synthetic fiber divide is one to keep in mind.

The following fabrics are the most common materials you’ll find when shopping for summer shirts.

Cotton#

Cotton is one of the most widely used shirt fabrics in the world. The fiber itself is the same everywhere, but the weave can dramatically influence how cotton shirts perform during summer. That’s where you start to see words like “poplin” or “seersucker” cotton: these names refer to weaves.

The most common summer cotton shirt weaves include:

• Poplin: A lightweight and smooth weave commonly used in dress shirts.

• Seersucker: A puckered weave that lifts portions of the fabric away from your skin.

• Oxford Cloth: A slightly heavier basket weave often used in button-down shirts.

• Chambray: A lightweight woven fabric often mistaken for denim.

• Voile: An extremely lightweight and airy weave.

Icewear sells 100% cotton articles and cotton blend garments in some collections, but it’s important to know its strengths and weaknesses are. Cotton is a remarkable material and is especially helpful in articles with a specific style or shape, but it can also hold 25 times its weight in moisture, making it extremely uncomfortable in the rain or with heavy transpiration.

Cotton: Summer pros and cons#

Linen#

Made from flax fibers, linen has been associated with warm-weather clothing for centuries, and rightly so. Its most popular benefits include exceptional airflow and cooling properties.

Linen: Summer pros and cons#

Wool#

Yes, wool.

Usually associated with cold weather, lightweight merino wool is also used in performance apparel and in temperate or warmer climates. That includes summer shirts for time in town as well as using merino wool as a layer during outdoor and summer activities. (Just look at this article about summer sweaters and wool hiking socks.)

Wool’s unique qualities come in part from its fiber structure and “crimp,” or the airy space created between fibers and threads. In an environment like Iceland’s, wool sweaters and other wool-based clothing are especially useful in summer because they can keep you cool (due to their airy breathability) and, when the weather shifts (which it often does in Iceland), then it holds your body’s warmth closer to keep your temperature steady.

Wool’s dual ability to regulate temperature—in cold and in warm climates—is what makes wool one of the most thermoregulatory materials you can find.

Wool: Summer pros and cons#

Silk#

Silk is a natural fiber known for being lightweight and offering a smooth, luxurious texture historically considered luxurious.

Silk: Summer pros and cons#

Satin#

Satin is a weave rather than a fiber, and can be produced from silk, polyester, and other materials. It’s a popular material used in other summer clothing like dresses, though you’ll find it in shirts, too.

Satin: Summer pros and cons#

Cashmere#

Cashmere comes from the soft undercoat of cashmere goats and is prized for its softness. But does that mean it’s made for summer?

Cashmere: Summer pros and cons#

Hemp#

Hemp has gained popularity as more people seek sustainable natural fibers. Recent changes in legislation around the world have helped open doors for more hemp farming and production, too, which has consistently brought prices down.

Hemp: Summer pros and cons#

Bamboo Viscose#

Bamboo viscose is a regenerated cellulose fiber derived from bamboo pulp. Not sure what that means? You can think of it as another smooth, soft material (instead of something stiff like the plant itself).

Bamboo viscose: Summer pros and cons#

Flannel#

Flannel is a brushed fabric construction usually made from cotton or wool. Though it’s more associated with winter, it’s important to include flannel in a study of summer shirt fabrics since its production does not retain the same pros (or cons) as cotton or wool do individually.

Flannel: Summer pros and cons#

With all the major shirt fabrics now established, continue to learn how each material performs across measurable criteria used in Icewear’s summer fabric study.

The Icewear summer fabric study: Which shirt material is best for summer?#

When people ask for the best summer shirt fabric, they want a simple answer.

Don’t you?

And though there is no one answer, there are absolutely “best shirt fabrics” to be picked once you establish how you’re measuring the “best.”

For example, a fabric that dries quickly might still trap heat. Or a fabric that breathes well may wrinkle easily. Therefore, real summer comfort is the result of several different performance characteristics working together. This study gives you the best, then the best of the best, so you can make the decision that’s right for you based on your criteria.

The ten factors Icewear measured are:

1. Breathability

2. Moisture absorption

3. Drying speed

4. Heat retention

5. Fabric-to-skin cling

6. Humidity performance

7. Fabric weight

8. Air gap retention

9. Odor resistance

10. UV protection

Next, you’ll see why each characteristic matters, how it’s measured, and how the top shirt fabrics compare when it comes to summer performance.

Breathability#

Why it matters:

Breathability determines how easily air can move through a fabric, and better airflow allows your body heat to escape more effectively.

How it’s measured:

Air permeability measures the amount of air that can pass through a fabric. Higher airflow usually means better cooling potential.

Moisture absorption#

Why it matters:

Absorbent fabrics pull perspiration away from the skin and help reduce the sensation of dampness.

How it’s measured:

“Moisture regain” measures how much water vapor each fabric can absorb (relative to its dry weight).

Drying Speed#

Why it matters:

Once a shirt becomes damp from perspiration or summer rain showers, its drying speed affects how quickly your comfort returns. A wet shirt will cling to you and retain more heat.

How it’s measured:

Drying speed is measured by saturating fabrics and evaluating how quickly they return to their original dry weight.

Heat retention#

Why it matters:

The less heat a fabric traps, the cooler it feels during warm weather. So, of course, you want a summer fabric to have the lowest possible heat retention.

How it’s measured:

Thermal resistance (which Icewear studied in detail by identifying the “thermal coefficient” of different materials) evaluates how effectively a fabric insulates against heat transfer.

Fabric-to-skin cling#

Why it matters:

A shirt that sticks to your skin feels hotter than one that allows air to circulate around your body.

How it’s measured:

“Cling resistance” is evaluated based on the fabric’s moisture behavior and its drape characteristics (the tendency of wet fabric to collapse against the body).

Humidity performance#

Why it matters:

Many fabrics behave differently in humid environments than they do in dry heat. This is especially important if you live or plan on traveling in places with high humidity levels.

How it’s measured:

Humidity performance evaluates comfort, moisture management and drying behavior under high-moisture conditions.

Fabric weight#

Why it matters:

Lighter fabrics generally place less thermal burden on the wearer. That means you feel less heat in your shoulders where your shirt hangs, and have an increased feeling of airiness between the garment and your skin.

How it’s measured:

Fabric weight is measured in GSM (grams per square meter), and lower GSM fabrics are lighter and cooler.

A final note on thickness#

You won’t find an extra table for this factor because it’s relative to each garment, but the thickness of shirt materials has a lot to do with how cool (or warm) it keeps you. Each of the materials in this study might come in different thicknesses, so you’ll want to try things on and take note of how they feel.

Some materials trend on the thinner side, too, which you can see in the weight section above. But, for example, three different cotton shirts might have different thicknesses between them. And a merino wool sweater won’t be as thick as an Icelandic wool one. Ultimately, the thicker the fabric, the more likely it is that it will retain extra heat in the summer.

Air gap retention#

Why it matters:

Fabrics that maintain structure instead of collapsing against your body create natural ventilation channels that you’ll be grateful for come summer.

How it’s measured:

Performance is evaluated by a combination of the fabric’s structure, drape, and ability to maintain space between the fabric and your skin.

Odor resistance#

Why it matters:

Odor resistance becomes increasingly important during hot weather and extended wear. Odors won’t change how warm you feel, but they will absolutely affect your comfort (and everyone else’s).

How it’s measured:

Performance is evaluated based on a combination of moisture management and natural resistance to odor-causing bacteria.

UV protection#

Why it matters:

Fabrics that block ultraviolet radiation help reduce sun exposure and solar heat gain, too. This is the most forgotten factor when shopping for summer shirts.

How it’s measured:

UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) testing measures how much UV radiation penetrates the fabric.

And how about adjustable clothing?#

Once again, you won’t find a table for this factor, because it depends on the design of each article of clothing. But, come summer, adjustable clothing is highly practical for staying cool. If you’re on a hike in 55ºF and you feel comfortable in your favorite pair of hiking pants, that’s great until you reach midday and the temperature climbs to 75ºF. Zip-off pants can make a huge difference in cases like this one. Shirts with zippers or button openings can also give you needed ventilation when the time comes.

Backpacks with a suspended mesh back are also popular in the summer. Jackets with mesh panels over the shoulders are popular for the same reason. And the right items for sun protection, including a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen, also come into play.

Category winners#

Collectively evaluating all ten categories, several clear leaders emerged in Icewear’s study:

The next step for you is to combine these findings into an overall “best summer fabric” based on the environment you’ll be in and the activities you’ll be doing. Balance moisture absorption and odor resistance for summer hiking, for example. Favor breathability and resistance to cling for nighttime summer outings.

And don’t forget, you can find a huge collection of summer shirts in cotton and merino wool in the Icewear catalog.

Methodology#

To elect the performance factors included in this study as well and to document the performance of each material in those categories, Icewear coordinated with the internal design team after compiling a body of research from various sources.

For each performance factor, Icewear denoted the material rankings based on an average thickness and make-up of each material, due to the fact that individual garments can vary.

Once each material was ranked in each performance category, the composite of factors were ranked as a sum for overall performance, providing a superior look into what fabrics keep wearers cool beyond singular claims limited to one factor.

This approach allowed Icewear to systematically quantify fabric performance and to provide a purpose-driven matrix of factors for wearers to consider when purchasing summer shirts or other warm-weather garments.