Undergarb Cooling Systems?

[GirlChris]

And thanks for the suggestions to stick with lighter material or sleeveless jerkins... but I'm going to be stubborn and pass on that. I don't do sleeveless. At least for now. One can never have too many clothing options, in my opinion, so something 'seasonal' may very well come later on anyhow. lol

A sleeveless jerkin doesn't actually mean you're sleeveless- basically, it would be a vest over a shirt. Your arms would remain covered, and the shirt would both wick the moisture away from your skin and keep your leather jerkin free of sweat, because leather doesn't launder well. Also, you can soak your sleeves with cool water and it feel so nice.

Admittedly, I'm from Canada. The weather here doesn't get quite as hot as down south But I have seen people try and use personal cooling systems and have their costumes destroyed when something goes wrong- a leak, or fabric (or skin!) catches in a motor. A side note- a pump has a motor, a motor has exhaust, exhaust is warm air. Also, how would you clean the outfit? I've heard that the Texas faires are really dusty, and even with the cooling system you're still going to sweat. With all the tubing and pipes you wouldn't really be able to throw the outfit in the washer.

That was kind of rambly, sorry.

[isabelladangelo]

http://www.wga.hu/art/v/valkenbo/lucas/l_summer.jpg

The painting shows a lot of various summer outfits.  It got hot in period too.   A shirt, pants, and socks was just as common then in the summer as it is now.  Actually, depending on the place - it looks like just a shirt and some sort of jerkin/doublet somewhat on is fine for the summer.   Of course, their shirts came down to right above the knee.

[Hoowil]

My own little two bits: You can make your own 'blue ice' by mixing the colored rubbing alcohol with water and put it in ziplocks and freeze. it won't get totally rock hard like ice, more a really stiff putty' but you can make it any size or shape you need by playing with what you put it in.
I was told to use the colored alcohol to make it obvious what it is, and mix it about 50-50 with the water, but I'm sure with a little experimentation you could make it more or less pliable as needed by changing the ratio.