Ask the Strategist: Summer Hats and Soft Pants

In our advice column, “Ask the Strategist,” we answer your most burning shopping questions by surveying friends, calling up experts, and drawing on our own personal experience. Today, we’re answering reader questions about summer hats, office-appropriate linen, and Calvin Klein pajama-bottoms dupes. If you want a chance to get expert advice from our team, send us an email at strategist@nymag.com with the subject “Ask the Strategist.” We’re here to help — and you may see your question answered in a future newsletter. 

Who makes the best lightweight international-travel straightener? I love my Dyson but it is massive!

GHD’s Unplugged Styler would be my top pick: compact, cordless, and can be charged using a USB-C. The heat maxes out at 365 degrees to keep heat damage to a minimum. If you want something cheaper, then I’d go with the T3 SinglePass Compact Portable Flat Iron. It’s lightweight, dual-voltage, and comes with a travel cap. It also gets hotter than the GHD (at 410 degrees) if your hair type is thicker and needs a higher heat. And if you want something even cheaper, try the BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Mini Flat Iron, which is dual voltage, gets up to 430 degrees, and super affordable. —Dominique Pariso, writer

I really need your help in finding appropriate hats this summer. I’m facing Mohs surgery followed by plastic surgery on my nose. I’ll have to strictly avoid the sun, requiring a hat any time I’m outside. I’ll be on a boat for most of the summer. Can you suggest shore-and-dock-style hats for me that look chic and travel well? 

The idea of building a summer-hat wardrobe is exciting to me. And I do think functional and slightly nerdy sun hats are having a moment. That’s why my top pick for you is a cotton gardening hat from the brand Terrain. It has a generous, structured-but-not-stiff brim and an inner drawstring that will help keep it from flying away. It’s also packable and made to endure rugged use while still looking cute. And it’s got UPF 50 protection to calm any anxieties about sun exposure. I like the natural, dark gray, or olive color, all of which would fit in well with summer dresses or jean shorts.

If that’s too casual, there is also this raffia sun hat from Jenni Kayne or this Rachel Comey fisherman hat, both of which are much more expensive but most likely worth it. And just to give you more options, here is an on-sale bucket hat with lovely ties from J.Crew that is currently in my cart (I like it in green) and a punchy reversible bucket hat without ties I found on Etsy. —Liza Corsillo, senior writer

Help me, please! I am a short adult woman. (Think “still hems petite pants” short.) I wear kid-size shoes in a range from 2 to 3.5 youth, depending on the brand. Can you help me find genuinely supportive sneakers and casual shoes that don’t look too childish?

Superga’s kids’ section is full of miniatures of its tennis shoes — you can’t go wrong with the Jcots, a version of its famous 2750s for around $20 less. There’s the Feiyue Fe Lo 1920 (which goes up to a kids’ size 3 and starts at an adults’ size 4) — which is a favorite of martial-arts practitioners, Chinese schoolchildren, Shaolin monks, and our own fitness writer. Camper might have some of the coolest shoes for children — I would wear these mary janes (if they came in my size). —Ambar Pardilla, writer

I’m a 24-year-old masc queer woman in NYC, and I’m looking for a matching linen set. It can be a bit of a splurge but nothing too crazy. I go to a lot of dinners and events for work and I struggle with appropriate but cool clothing beyond sweaters and button-downs. Desperately in need of something for the summer. Bonus points for any color that isn’t black, white, or beige! 

Lucy & Yak is one of my favorite brands to shop for comfortable but cool clothes. I haven’t bought any of its linen pieces (yet), but I’ve been eyeing them for the past few summers. I think this matcha green pair of trousers and matching V-neck top are very fun, or if you wanted something even more playful, these embroidered shorts and matching button-up shirt. Depending on your industry, some of Lucy & Yak’s stuff could slide as professional, but they do tend toward a more whimsical vibe, so if you need something more corporate-appropriate, I’ve made a few good linen purchases from Quince recently. It has a ton of separates that could mix and match into a set — and the quality of the pieces I’ve bought seems good for the price. The Gap also has a matching linen set section with some good variety — I especially like the navy pinstripe pieces for a more professional look. —Amelia Jerden, sleep writer

A few years ago, I found the softest, thinnest, lightest pajama bottoms from Calvin Klein and now I can’t sleep in anything else no matter the season. They are 100 percent viscose but lighter than any other viscose pants I can find. They have a thin drawstring and straight legs. I was prescient enough to buy four pairs in four patterns, but now they are getting threadbare and I can’t find anything even close. Any help? Can you persuade Calvin Klein to bring them back?

I don’t know if I can persuade Calvin Klein to bring them back (if someone from Calvin Klein is reading this, well …), but I did find a few alternatives. I’m currently trying out a pair of Hanes that have been very soft so far — I write about pajamas so I should know — made with a blend of viscose, cotton, and spandex. You could also try something in modal, which is technically a type of rayon (or viscose), like these pocketed sweatpants from Avocado or printed pants from Intimissimi. —A.P.