What to wear in Pakistan in summer: heat and monsoon

Dry heat, humid heat and the cool north

Summer is not one kind of weather, and the month matters as much as the city.

• June on the plains: Lahore, Multan and inland Sindh are extremely hot and dry, with afternoons that regularly pass 40 degrees Celsius. Shade matters as much as coolness: covered arms, a dupatta for your head and loose cloth that keeps the sun off your skin.
• The monsoon, July to September: rain arrives in bursts, the air turns heavy and clothes stop drying on the body. Fabrics that absorb sweat and dry quickly earn their place, and anything close-cut clings.
• Karachi: humid for much of the summer, with a sea breeze. It is rarely as hot as the interior, but it feels damp.
• The mountains: Murree, Swat, Hunza and Skardu are where families go to escape the heat. Days are pleasant, and evenings are cool enough for a shawl or a light sweater.

Why lawn rules the season

Lawn is a fine, smooth cotton that lets air through and soaks up sweat, and Pakistan’s summer wardrobe is built on it. New collections arrive every spring, and by June it is what most women wear on most days. Our lawn guide explains the fabric, and the lawn season guide explains the yearly cycle.

If you find lawn too sheer, cambric has a little more body and is more opaque. Keep polyester chiffon and georgette suits for air-conditioned evenings, because they do not breathe in the midday heat.

Sleeves, linings and colours that cope

A few choices make the difference.

• Sleeves: three-quarter sleeves or loose full sleeves are more comfortable in direct sun than bare arms and suit almost every setting. Keep them easy at the upper arm.
• Cut: a relaxed straight or A-line kameez with real ease, over a shalwar or wide trousers, so that air can move. Close cuts show sweat first.
• Lining: pale lawn can be see-through. A separate cotton slip is the usual answer and is easy to wash daily; avoid polyester linings, which hold the heat. Our guide to lining for hot and cold climates compares the options.
• Colour and print: light colours reflect the sun, and a busy print hides damp patches far better than a plain mid-tone such as grey or tan.
• For the monsoon: hems that clear the ground, trousers that end at the ankle, sandals that can get wet and a suit whose dye will not run; the colour-fastness test takes a few minutes.

Power cuts and cold rooms

Two things catch visitors out. The first is that electricity cuts, known as load-shedding, still happen in many areas, so you cannot count on a fan or air-conditioning at every hour. Dress to be comfortable without them: cotton next to the skin, nothing tight, and a spare suit for the afternoon.

The second is the opposite problem. Restaurants, wedding halls, cars and shopping malls are often chilled hard, and stepping from the street into a cold room in damp lawn is unpleasant. A dupatta wide enough to wrap round your shoulders, or a light cotton shawl in your bag, solves it.

How much to pack, and ordering before you travel

Plan on more changes than you would at home: at least one suit a day, with washing that dries fast in June and slowly in the monsoon. Six to eight everyday lawn suits, two or three dressier outfits for dinners and a pair of sandals that can cope with rain cover a typical family visit. If you will be there on 14 August, Independence Day, an outfit in green and white joins in nicely.

We make outfits to measure in Pakistan and ship them to customers abroad, so clothes for a visit are ordered to your home address before you travel; the UK and USA pages explain how that works. With Fabric + Stitching we supply the agreed fabric, so tell us the month and the cities of your trip. Production takes 5 to 7 working days from approval and full payment, shipping time is extra, and you can ask for a quote as soon as your dates are fixed.