It's airy-looking, blows in the wind, yet blocks the hot Texas western exposure sun and blowing rain.  The fabric texture is nice, grommets ample sized, and white color is not too bright as I had feared.  It is instead more of a "winter white"--not at all ivory, but not paper white either.  I bought 5 sets of these to replace Pottery Barn striped curtains which were much heavier, but had begun to get really dirty.  These make our large roofed outdoor patio brighter without allowing it to become too bright in the hot afternoon sun.  Great outdoor curtains!