Once a year during the summer session before they recess for July 4th, all the members of the U.S. Senate participate in Seersucker Thursday, which happens to be today.

If you aren’t familiar with seersucker, there’s no time like the present to learn about it. This wonderful cool fabric was invented in India but first made into suits and apparel down in New Orleans. It is a dimpled cotton cloth in pastel (blue is standard but pink, gray and tan are also options) with white pinstripes, and it stands up extremely well to heat and humidity.

Before the advent of air conditioning, seersucker suits were a daily staple in the South, where the wearer can look crisp and cool while avoiding three pieces of wool.

And it isn’t just for men’s suits. Seersucker is available in all kinds of pieces for women, like this adorable pink strapless dress from Lilly Pulitzer. I have shorts, capris and skirts in seersucker.

(Now, be prepared to hunt; men can go to any haberdasher like Jos. A. Banks and pick up some seersucker, but ladies have to look around a little harder. That’s okay, because that means you won’t see yourself coming and going. When you find the perfect seersucker sundress, the odds are that you’ll be the only cool Southern belle at the pool party wearing one.)

Being in Texas, we have an especial birthright to wear seersucker, and I encourage all of you to investigate the fabric and get a couple of pieces in your closet. It’s a smart classic look, one that says, “I can’t be wrinkled or fazed, no matter what the temperature. I am cool and unflappable.”

And “unflappable” is definitely Savvy!