Даже если шёлк выглядит красивее, летом я чаще выбираю хлопок.

Даже если means even if.

So the first part, Даже если шёлк выглядит красивее, means Even if silk looks more beautiful.

It introduces a contrast:

• one thing may be true: silk looks prettier
• but the main result is still different: I still choose cotton more often in summer

A close English pattern is:

• Even if X, I still Y.

You may also see если даже, but даже если is the more standard and natural way to say even if.

Because шёлк is the subject of the verb выглядит.

In this clause:

• шёлк = silk
• выглядит = looks / appears

So literally:

• Silk looks more beautiful

Subjects are normally in the nominative case in Russian, so шёлк stays in its dictionary form here.

Because the subject шёлк is singular.

• шёлк = one material, treated as a singular noun
• therefore the verb must also be singular: выглядит

If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural:

• Эти ткани выглядят красивее = These fabrics look more beautiful

Красивее is the regular comparative form of красивый (beautiful), and it means more beautiful / prettier.

Russian often prefers this simple comparative form:

• красивый = beautiful
• красивее = more beautiful

After выглядеть, this is very natural:

• выглядит красивее = looks more beautiful

You can sometimes use более красивый, but it is usually more formal or heavier in style. In everyday speech, красивее is much more natural here.

In this sentence, Russian does not explicitly say what silk looks more beautiful than. The comparison is understood from context.

So шёлк выглядит красивее means something like:

• silk looks prettier
• silk looks more beautiful
• implicitly: than cotton or than other options

Russian often leaves the second part of the comparison unspoken if it is obvious.

If you wanted to say it explicitly, you could say:

• Шёлк выглядит красивее, чем хлопок = Silk looks more beautiful than cotton

Летом is the noun лето (summer) in the instrumental case, used adverbially to mean in summer.

This is a very common Russian pattern with seasons and some time words:

• зимой = in winter
• весной = in spring
• летом = in summer
• осенью = in autumn

So:

• летом я чаще выбираю хлопок = in summer I choose cotton more often

English uses a preposition (in summer), but Russian often uses the instrumental form by itself.

Because чаще means more often, and here the sentence is talking about frequency, not quantity.

• часто = often
• чаще = more often

So:

• я чаще выбираю хлопок = I choose cotton more often

If you used a word like больше, that would usually mean more in amount or degree, not necessarily more often.
Here the idea is specifically about repeated choice, so чаще is exactly the right word.

Yes, it is accusative here, because it is the direct object of выбираю (I choose).

But for inanimate masculine singular nouns, the accusative is usually the same as the nominative.

So:

• nominative: хлопок
• accusative: хлопок

That is why the form does not change.

Compare this with an animate masculine noun, where the accusative often looks like the genitive:

• Я вижу брата = I see my brother

But:

• Я выбираю хлопок = I choose cotton

Выбираю is imperfective, and that fits the meaning here because the sentence describes a habit or usual preference.

• летом я чаще выбираю хлопок = in summer I more often choose cotton
• this means a repeated, general action

Russian uses the imperfective for:

• habits
• repeated actions
• general tendencies

A perfective form would suggest a single completed choice, which would not fit this sentence well.

Russian often omits pronouns when they are unnecessary, but in this sentence я is included because it helps make the contrast clear in the main clause.

In the first clause, no pronoun is needed because шёлк is already the subject:

• шёлк выглядит красивее

You would not say шёлк он выглядит in normal Russian here.

In the second clause, я is natural because the sentence contrasts:

• what silk looks like
• what I actually choose

So я adds clarity and emphasis:

• летом я чаще выбираю хлопок

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, and changing it often changes emphasis, not the core meaning.

The given sentence:

• Даже если шёлк выглядит красивее, летом я чаще выбираю хлопок.

This is natural and neutral.

Other possible versions:

• Летом я чаще выбираю хлопок, даже если шёлк выглядит красивее.
• Даже если шёлк красивее выглядит, летом я чаще выбираю хлопок.
  This is less neutral and sounds more stylistically marked.

In general:

• the original version sounds smooth and standard
• Russian often places important contrastive information near the beginning or end of a clause

The letter ё shows that the word is pronounced with yo: shyolk (approximately).

So:

• шёлк = silk

In many Russian texts, ё is often written as е, so you may also see:

• шелк

But the correct pronunciation is still with ё.

For learners, this matters because:

• ё is always stressed
• it changes pronunciation clearly

So if you see шелк in a text, you should still understand it as шёлк.