What to Wear in Buenos Aires in December

Pack for the sun, not the sweat. SMN's figures for the Buenos Aires Observatorio put December at 29.0°C / 84°F by day and 18.5°C at night, with 8.6 hours of sun a day and 62.8% humidity, the lowest of the year. Rain totals 122.8mm over about 7 days, and SMN counts 6.1 thunderstorm days, so it arrives as storms rather than drizzle. The city government tells you to keep out of the sun from 10 to 17h. Then the calendar breaks twice. Monday 7 December, a non-working day for tourism, joins the Tuesday 8 holiday for a four-day weekend, and Christmas falls on Friday 25. So: linen and long sleeves by day, one white dress for Nochebuena, a parasol and a black straw hat.

The capsule

1. 
   01

   Soft pink fine-stripe button-down, band collar, white cuffs

   Wear it with the sleeves down between ten and five, the hours the city government tells you to keep out of the sun. A long-sleeved fine stripe covers your forearms through 8.6 hours of December sun without trapping heat, and the band collar sits flat under a hat brim. Roll the white cuffs back once the sun drops, which after mid-month is past eight.

2. 
   02

   Cream linen square-neck tank

   Linen, because December has the lowest humidity in SMN's year, 62.8%, and in drier air a damp linen tank dries between one café and the next. Wear it under the open pink shirt at noon and alone once the sun is down on a 19°C / 66°F evening. Wide straps and a square neck look finished enough for dinner in Palermo with the cream trousers.

3. 
   03

   White sleeveless tiered fringe midi dress

   Christmas Eve falls on Thursday 24 December, the night before the Friday holiday, and the sun sets just after eight, so the evening starts in daylight and runs into a 19°C / 66°F night. Tiers of white fringe move in the evening air and read as dressed without a jacket. Sleeveless suits that temperature, and white is what the city's summer advice asks for anyway.

4. 
   04

   Cream high-waisted wide-leg trousers, pleated front

   Loose and pale is what the city government asks for in summer: "Usar ropa liviana, holgada y de colores claros", light, loose, light-coloured clothes. Pleated wide legs let air move at 29°C / 84°F and keep your shins out of the sun. With the pink shirt they carry the 5 to 8 December long weekend; with the linen tank, a dinner in Palermo.

5. 
   05

   Tan leather two-strap sandals, buckled ankle, low block heel

   Buckle the ankle strap and the sandal stays on over the broken pavement of San Telmo and Recoleta, where a slide or a flip-flop slips off. A low block heel is enough lift for the white dress on Nochebuena and still walks the Paseo de Navidad in Plaza Sicilia, 17 to 20 December. Tan leather matches the crossbody, so shoes and bag read as one.

6. 
   06

   Tan structured leather saddle crossbody, flap front

   Worn across the body, it leaves one hand for the parasol and one for a glass at the Paseo de Navidad. The flap closes over a phone, a card and a tube of SPF 30, the minimum factor the city government recommends for summer. A structured tan saddle keeps its shape against the white fringe on Christmas Eve, and it matches the sandals.

7. 
   07

   Natural beige compact UV parasol

   SMN gives December 8.6 hours of sun a day, and the city tells you to stay out of it from 10 to 17h. A compact parasol makes that window walkable: open it on the way to MALBA, fold it at the door. On one of the 6.1 thunderstorm days it is also the only cover you carry, which is why it beats a rain jacket at 29°C / 84°F.

8. 
   08

   Black woven straw bucket-brim hat, natural whipstitch edge

   The city government's summer advice asks for a cap or a hat; take the hat, because a brim that runs all the way round shades your ears and neck. Black straw, not black cloth: the weave lets heat out of the crown, and it is the one dark line in a capsule of pink, cream, white and tan. On Christmas Eve, carry it once the sun is down.

A suggested look — pink fine-striped shirt, cream square-neck linen tank, cream pleated wide-leg trousers, tan leather sandals.

What to avoid

• A rain jacket — at 29°C / 84°F it turns into a sweat layer before the storm arrives
• Jeans — tight and heavy, the opposite of the city's light, loose, pale advice
• A walking tour between ten and five — the city says to keep out of the sun from 10 to 17h
• A cap as your only sun cover — ears and neck stay bare through 8.6 hours of sun
• Flip-flops on Christmas Eve — Buenos Aires dresses a step up, and the pavement is broken