This is not my typical advice column, but I feel moved to share these
words. With global warming destroying the earth (not so) slowly, but
surely, and UV rays beating down on us harder and heavier than ever,
there are some measures we must take to stay and remain healthy,
comfortable, and fashionable in the summertime and thereafter. In a
nutshell, here they are.

Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen:
I
cannot say it enough. Skin cancer is more prevalent than ever and
people are getting it at younger and younger ages. I personally wear
sunscreen on my face every day of the year. I like Fallene Cotz for the face and they have different formulas for all facial skin types -- sensitive to oily.

If you have a fair complexion or not and are heading to the sun, please get a sunscreen with  30-70 SPF protection. I like Alba Botanica Lavender 30 SPF and Neutrogena 45 and 70 SPF Ultra Sheer Dry Touch.

Furthermore,
please don’t lie out in the sun with a silver reflector aimed at your
face and roast yourself at high noon or at any time for that matter,
besides in the midnight moonlight. I don’t care how you rationalize it
and how much you believe your skin can handle it or how olive or dark
your skin is. The sun is a ball of fire that will burn your skin like a
pig on a spit. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I know this may
sound like “obvious science” but seriously it makes me crazy when I see
people on the beach or in the park putting on SPF 4 tanning oil and
with no umbrella on top of it.

Flip flops:
Yes for
the beach or poolside. Yes if you are on a rocky beach or lake. Yes to
flip flops if you are running to the store, the mall, or to the
laundromat. Yes if you live in a beach town -- I know it can’t be
avoided. The most comfortable and cutest flip flops I have ever worn
are Havaianas.

Please,
I beg of you, don’t wear them out to dinner that is not on a beach,
patio, and porch or beach or waterfront restaurant and don’t wear them
in place of a  “sandal” or other footwear in any city and especially
NOT to a nightclub. You may get stepped on (brutally) by a high heel or
procure glass in your foot and find out the hard way, but whatever it
takes -- I told you so. Oh, and I will personally call the fashion
police if I see a flip flop worn in NYC when it is weather
inappropriate, aka 50 degrees and below.

Water:
Finally,
and importantly, drink lots of fluids, especially water. You sweat it
out in the heat and you’ve got to replenish.  If you are summer boozing
make sure to drink a glass of water for each glass of alcohol. I can’t
stress the fluid intake importance enough in general, and I am sure
many a 96-degree fainting on the street could be avoided if the person
had only drank some more water (maybe?). Our bodies are made up of mostly water; blood alone is 80 percent water. Let's try and keep it that way, shall we?

Theo Kogan is the MOLI View's contributing editor for Fashion & Design. Her THEOlogy column appears Tuesdays and Thursdays