Function & fashion: Clothing provides alternate protection

Whether students are looking for a more eco-friendly sun protection option, or are looking to avoid chemical sunscreen irritants, they can turn to UPF-protective clothing. From garish to glamorous, the market for wearable sun-protection continues to expand and refine itself. 

Coolibar 

Touting a colorful, modestly preppy array of “sun protection you can wear,” Coolibar’s online catalog is a leading purveyor of UPF 50+ fashion. While, for me at least, their bottoms tend to border on matronly (the shorts they offer hit me right above the knee) Coolibar beachwear undeniably has its merits — not just as wearable sunscreen, but as clothing, too. Granted, it’s the kind of stuff your mom picks out for you during her anti-paraben kick: stiff and patterned, more coverage than the bikinis and sternum-deep necklines you’d wear on spring break. But sometimes I love a good button-down, and if the moisture-wicking fabric and hidden ventilation-panels are any indication, maybe you will too. At $85 apiece, Coolibar’s Women’s Aricia Sun Shirt is no summer break haul-item, but I’ve owned mine since middle school, and, for what it’s worth, it’s kept my shoulders safe. 

L.L. Bean

If you’re looking for something less expensive, L.L. Bean’s $25 patterned rash guard might be on your wavelength. No matter your price range, UPF swimwear has to toe a delicate line — the happy medium between function and fashion — and if long sleeves aren’t your thing, you may be out of luck, here. That said, if you intend to while away your summer surfing or kayaking, you won’t look the least bit out of place. For now at least, wearable sun-protection tends to cater to a niche demographic: all-natural granolaheads, people with latex allergies who can’t afford to be aesthetically choosy, and so on. As the market expands, however, so too may the demand for more fashion-forward UPF-wear, ensuring everyone can shield the sun in style. 

U.V. Line

Neutral-toned and understated, U.V. Line’s Sun Hat catalog gives us a little more “boho chic” and a little less “Indiana Dunes park-ranger.” The Women’s Juerê, a flexible straw-finished model, comes in brown, black, heather and wheat, so you’ll have no issue matching with a favorite sundress or patterned Havana shirt. Like much of Coolibar’s selection, it’s far from cheap — $54.90 plus shipping and tax — but it’s not the sort of accessory you’ll grow out of any time soon. Like summer itself, straw sun hats are a perennial classic. Durable, style-able and maybe even worth your investment.