Happy claps! Derek submitted the following comment today,
Auntie PB –
Any special tips on this topic that might be relevant to us guys… Especially if we are visiting a city where we might be getting around on public transportation. I get paranoid about arriving at the interview looking greasey from warm weather perspiration, and my suit looking at all rumpled.
Dear Derek,
Yes, and thank you for asking!
1. Face and hair groomage!! Get a nice summer haircut and clip your facial hair so that it looks as neat as can be (something you all should be doing all year ’round, but is even more important in hot weather). Pack a hankie and use it to wipe your face throughout the day. If you can pick up some witch hazel packets, so much the better: they’re a light toner and great for getting rid of greasy face.
Not to gross you children out, but no one likes to kiss their dear colleagues hello and get a mouthful of oil!
Use a non-oily sunscreen. Neutrogena makes some great products that sink right into the skin and leave no greasy residue. Do like us girls do and just go spend some time investigating in the skin care aisle at the drugstore.
1a. Brush your tooth, please. More than once a day if possible. All that talking makes for dehydrated people, and dehydrated people get wicked bad breath.
2. Stay hydrated! It will save you from all manner of yuckiness (headaches, especially) and you can enjoy your cocktails at night if you’re a drinking man.
3. Try to pack clothes that aren’t 100% cotton or linen if you’re concerned about wrinkling like mad. A tiny percentage of spandex is a huge help. On the other hand, please don’t wear 100% poly if you want to be able to avoid Monster Sweats. It’s true that polyester ain’t what it used to be and it’s a downright respectable fabric nowadays, but it still doesn’t really breathe well. Look into poly/cotton blends.
If you start the day looking ironed up and neat don’t worry about wrinkling throughout the day. It’s an impossible dream to stay starchy and perfect at a conference! But DO start the day looking neat, please. If you begin the morning bedraggled you’re going to look like a hot mess by noon, and that’s not okay.
4. WEAR SHOES. 
They make all the difference! These feet belong to my totally fabulous colleague, Hank Peirce, who has amazing style. He’s wearing cool shorts (perfectly respectable madras walking shorts) and ACTUAL SHOES (his are Doc Marten brogues), which makes the outfit hip and acceptable for conference wear. Had he been wearing sandals of any kind I would have sent him back to his room to change. But Hank is a super cool guy who has a very distinct image and he would never do something like wear sandals in the first place.
Here are a few more of my male colleagues who wore ACTUAL SHOES and looked very appropriate to do the work of our denomination:
The Rev. Paul Langston-Daley.
The Revs. Tom Schade, Peter Boullata, Scott Wells, Hank Peirce, Roger Butts and Sam Schaal. Handsome dinner dates!
Scott Wells and Roger Butts: casual is fine if you’re not presenting. Slobby is not fine.
The Rev. Stefan Jonasson and Yours Truly, having just presented a workshop on ministry and social media. Look! He’s in a JACKET AND TIE! Because he’s our Unitarian Universalist Association staff consultant to large congregations, people, and he knows how to look like someone who takes the work of the church seriously. He’s warm and funny, relational and charismatic and he LOOKS SERIOUS. It’s a winning combination every time.
5. We’re not on an Outward Bound Adventure, guys. A messenger bag is fine. A fanny pack is NOT. EVER. A fanny pack and a backpack and a water bottle carrier is ridiculous. Good Lord of all mercies. If you need to pack that much gear, put it in a nice wheeling bag and don’t hang it off your body like a pack mule.
6. Professional people do not wear t-shirts to professional gatherings. There, I said it. No matter how worthy the slogan, they do not. Save it for the social witness gathering.
7. Febreze makes travel size bottles that are wonderful for airing out suits that are a bit sweaty or have restaurant smells clinging to them. Spritz them at night, hang them neatly, and presto! Fresh and new the next morning!
Blessings on your work and on your fellowship!
Kiss of peace, PB
A great hot-weather shirt for guys: the guayabera. In Central America and the Caribbean it’s perfectly-appropriate office wear, so it ought to be fine for your UU fun.
Short sleeves, pockets, usually with some nice embroidery, and available in office-appropriate colors, it looks relaxed, but not as “bring me a margarita” relaxed as an aloha shirt. Find it in a light poly-cotton blend, and Don’t Tuck It In. [This comment has not been approved by PeaceBang, who believes that guayaberas belong in tropical locales ONLY. – PB]
Lovin’ all those guapos! Handsome colleagues indeed!
Thanks for reminding me about the utillity of witch hazel packets. I hadn’t even thought of the stuff in years. But we used them way back in high school drama classes, to help with make-up removal, or to cut down the greasy adolescent shine under the spot lights. [All the way, babe.- PB]
Might I suggest boat shoes instead of brogues? With dress shoes and shorts it looks a bit like a guy who slipped on the first shoes he saw in the morning to pick up the paper in his skivies… [You have to know your own look. Boat shoes can also look like Daddy BBQ Day, so that’s not necessarily the answer. Play around. Find what works. This looks worked great for Hank, but he is rather an original. – PB]
Peacebang wrote:
-snip-
“This comment has not been approved by PeaceBang, who believes that guayaberas belong in tropical locales ONLY.”
With the global warming trend, pretty soon Boston will be “tropical.”
:^)
I have seen all the mistakes you describe committed at every American Library Association convention I have ever attended.
Sadly, it’s not just the men who make these blunders…