Q: I am going to a wedding in June that will be held outside in Fresno, CA. Fresno is extremely hot so I was wondering what I could wear that would be appropriate and comfortable.

A: Wow, you haven't left yourself much time to shop, have you? And you don't say what time this wedding is, or how formal, either of which could make a big difference. But here are a few possibilities: The Travelsmith catalog has a new line of separates made of CoolMax, a Dupont fiber that's pretty much the state of the art in coolth. It wicks moisture away from the skin to cool you off.

These things aren't exactly visually thrilling, but there's a tank-top jumper you could wear as a dress, and a matching cardigan you could tie around your shoulders -- or a T and matching skirt you could wear with the cardigan. Even for a relatively informal wedding, you'd want to dress them up with some pearls, or maybe some frosty glass beads to look extra cool, and how about a straw hat? (Travelsmith has CoolMax bras and panties, too. Not a bad idea.)

For an evening wedding, you could wear the dress in black, and toss an airy irridescent shawl over your shoulders. (My friend Janet picked up a couple of yards of fabulous iridescent organza at a fabric outlet this weekend for exactly that purpose. It weighs nothing and, if you can cut the ends straight and fringe them, doesn't even involve any sewing.)

Your second best bet, cool-wise, is linen, which nature has engineered to wick moisture away from the skin. (Each fiber is a teensy tube, perfect for perspiration transportation.) Find something simple, loose, unlined, in a great color. (Place to look for linen: J.Jill.) Wear it with beaded sandals in another great color -- there are zillions of cool colored shoes out there this summer. And no stockings -- a look that's hot with the fashion cognoscenti at the moment, and also blessedly cool.

Patricia McLaughlin is a nationally syndicated fashion columnist.
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