What to Wear in Bangkok

What works in Bangkok is set by two things: the weather you will actually be standing in, and how much of the day you spend around temples, palaces and markets, where covered shoulders and knees are expected. Bangkok is hot for most of the year and humid through a long rainy season, so breathable cotton and something that copes with a downpour matter more than warmth.

The traditional wear recorded for Bangkok is Thai silk. Thai silk is genuinely old and its modern industry is genuinely young: the craft was in steep decline until the 1950s, when Jim Thompson — an American ex-intelligence officer living in Bangkok — organised the weavers of Baan Krua into an export business and made the fabric famous. The tell of a real one is the irregularity: hand-reeled thread gives slubs and an uneven sheen that changes colour with the angle, where machine-made polyester is flat and perfectly even. Wearing a silk shirt or wrap is unremarkable here. Buying a full traditional Thai outfit and wearing it around the city is a costume-hire thing that Thais mostly find charming and slightly funny, which is worth knowing before you commit.

Colours that photograph well here: White, Straw, Pale blue and Olive. For everyday looks the Dressed for heat, then for a wall of rain and Songkran, and being soaked on purpose options are the easiest starting point.

On footwear — sandals you can walk in wet, and a dry pair back at the hotel. You will be taking shoes off at temples either way, so slip-ons save more time than they sound like they would.

Across the year: winter (Nov – Feb) — light, breathable clothes — a thin layer at most, for the air-conditioning · modest, covered dress, slip-off shoes (removed inside); summer (Mar – May) — light cottons, a hat & sunglasses · modest, covered dress, slip-off shoes (removed inside); monsoon (Jun – Oct) — a rain shell or umbrella + quick-dry clothes · modest, covered dress, waterproof, grippy shoes.