Hand-Held Electric Fans Are a Must-Have as Temperatures Rise

At “Wine For Me,” a monthly party for natural wine enthusiasts in Brooklyn, attendees were packed inside Public Records, a cafe and music venue in Gowanus, sipping red, white, orange and rosé wines on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon in July.

Dancing right in front of the D.J., whose mix of R&B and hip-hop electrified the crowd, was Adrienne Black, 32, a social strategist who lives in Crown Heights. With each sway, she waved one hand toward the ceiling, while her other hand held a mini, battery-powered pink fan that was blowing cool air into her face.

A decade ago, a portable fan wouldn’t have been a typical accessory you’d spot at a party, bar or club, but as summer weather continues to hit record-breaking temperatures, people aren’t just reaching for their keys, lip gloss and sunglasses before heading out of the house.

“I definitely have it on me all the time, because even in the subway, just waiting for the train, it’s very stuffy down there,” Ms. Black said of her fan.

Small electric fans have been a trendy accessory in the United States in recent years, with many people on social media saying the devices first took hold in Asian countries. According to Google Trends, there was a mid-summer pickup in shopping interest in “hand-held fans,” many of them battery-powered. Now they can be spotted everywhere from bars to outdoor festivals to conferences and even the post office as a summer necessity for those looking to avoid excessive sweating and overheating and a sign that the changing climate is affecting how we accessorize.

Last July, Drake drew laughs for borrowing one of the devices from a fan while performing. And advertisements for the fans — many of which are rechargeable and double as flashlights or phone chargers — can hardly be avoided online, with popular videos on TikTok showcasing various options.

One night last year, at a restaurant in Downtown Brooklyn, I witnessed a woman complaining to her friend that she was very hot. Over loud music blaring through the speakers, she continued expressing her discomfort while fanning herself — until she was interrupted by a bartender.

“I got you,” the barkeep said before spinning around and pulling a small electric fan from her bag.

“It’s a very communal mind-set to have, like let me take care of you,” said Makia Jones, who works in communications for a non-profit and lives in Crown Heights. Ms. Jones, 27, has about three fans that she uses in rotation, including one that’s discreetly shaped like a perfume bottle.

“I’ve literally been sitting out at bars before where it’s starting to get hot and sticky and, without even asking, the stranger next to me will just fan me off for a little bit,” she added.

Ms. Jones purchased her first fan in 2022. After moving to New York City from Denver in 2021, and no longer having access to a car with air conditioning, she realized how essential a fan could be to a city commuter. She’s now in search of fans with batteries that last longer.

“I need to prepare for a world where it is always going to be hot,” she said. “So it’s changing my wardrobe, it’s changing my skin care and, of course, the fan too.”

Shardéa Walker, a nanny living in Brooklyn, frequently uses a light pink mini fan that she was gifted last summer on a bachelorette trip to Houston. She had purchased a different style in 2018 — square-shaped and able to hang from her neck — but she had reserved that one only for vacations. Today, Ms. Walker, 32, said such devices have become a necessity for her, especially when she’s going to an event.

“I’m wearing a full face of makeup and I’m sitting outside,” she said. “So, honestly, my aim, obviously outside of being cool, is my makeup not just completely melting off.”

“If I see the sun is beaming and the humidity is high, I’m throwing it in my bag,” she added.

Ms. Black said she prefers using fans with a case around the blades, rather than options where there is no protection. “I don’t want to get caught on someone’s hair or outfit,” Ms. Black said.

Ms. Walker said she understood those incidents on a personal level. She admitted that she had to replace an uncased fan that she was gifted by a friend after the original got tangled in her hair extensions last summer while at a bar.

“I had it going around my face and then my hair got stuck in the fan,” she said. “And then obviously it didn’t turned the same way anymore and I had to get a new one.”

She said she was able to remove most of her weave from the fan but there were still some strands stuck inside it. When asked why that didn’t deter her from using the case-less variety, she said she wasn’t concerned it would happen again.

“I was drunk and just had it too close to my face,” she said.