Understanding how clothing impacts skin temperature is essential for improving thermal comfort and reducing the risk of skin-related issues during physical activity. This research introduces a two-dimensional mathematical model designed to optimize the selection of exercise clothing by analyzing its effects on skin layer temperatures during physical exercise. The model incorporates four distinct compartments: clothing, epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissues. The study examines different cloth materials by utilizing single jersey knitted fabric samples composed of various fiber types, including bamboo, cotton, and polyester microfiber. The model uses a two-dimensional bioheat equation with a clothing system to predict skin temperature variations when different fabric materials are worn during exercise. The model utilizes the FDM to solve the equation. This model accounts for various physiological parameters such as blood flow rate, metabolic heat generation rate, and sweat evaporation, as well as clothing-related parameters like density, specific heat, thermal conductivity, and thickness. The simulation has been performed on MATLAB R2023a. The results are applied to investigate how various fabric types influence the thermal stress experienced by the layers of human skin during physical exertion. The study reveals that clothing made of 100% bamboo fibers exhibits the lowest skin temperature, outperforming cotton, bamboo, and polyester microfiber yarns. Thus, 100% bamboo fabric emerges as a superior choice, as it minimizes thermal stress on the human body. These findings highlight the model’s potential as a valuable tool for designing exercise clothing that enhances comfort and mitigates thermal stress on the human body, addressing the specific needs of individuals engaged in physical activities. The model’s consideration of ambient temperature further underscores the importance of environmental factors in optimizing thermal comfort during exercise, promising insights for designing attire tailored to diverse activities and conditions.