As I have mentioned, one of my favorite things about being a temporary cold-weather inhabitant is the fact that I get to use all of my amazing winter clothes that are sadly underused about 90% of the year, due to my being a permanant SoCal resident.
Before I visit my familial unit in the Great White North, I mentally pack my suitcase. OCD freak you may call me, but I'm always the most cozily bundled up Olive around. Layering for the warm blooded girl has become second nature to me, but I've learned through trial and error. Hopefully with these tips you can avoid making some of the very painful (READ: FREEZING ASS COLD) mistakes that I have.
You may think the most important thing you can wear to combat the cold is a parka. You are wrong. If you say Uggs I will hunt you down and slap you. It is, in fact,
socks. Yes, those things that most Southern California girls own maybe two pairs of, in a dressy fabric. Before venturing to the snow, you must have proper footwear, beginning with socks. Bring a minimum of 3 pairs of warm socks per day. You will need to wear two pairs at once while participating in outdoor activities, and a third pair to change into once you return indoors for the night. My favorites are
cheap and thick, like cheeseburgers. If, like me, you like to bring lots and lots of socks in case of a sock emergency (it's a real thing) two or three packs of plain white cotton gym socks will work perfectly.
Next up,
footwear. Warm, tall, and waterproof. Follow these three rules and you will be golden. Uggs are not any of these things, so stop wearing them as anything but house slippers only your cat sees.
Zappos has endless selections of cute, durable cold weather boots. While in the mountains, I embrace being a total lumberjack and love this pair by Northface for $155:
After you have happy feet, the rest is easy:
Long johns underneath to lock in body heat (your boyfriend will hate me, your limbs will thank me).
Victoria's Secret has cute options.
Durable Jeans to again, lock in body heat, tuck into boots and be unrestricting due to long john addition. I remain obsessed with ubersoft signature
Hudson jeans for any occassion.
Chunky Knit Sweater, here something long and neutral with a little wiggle room works best because after a long day in the snow, exchange jeans and long johns for leggings and keep your sweater the same for a stress free quickchange.
James Perse,
ALICE by Temperly, and
Malene Birger make perfect choices.
Warm Gloves, Scarf and Hat, pretty self explanatory folks. Try to keep your hands as warm as your feet and your head covered. My favorite hat is big, vintage Russian-style fur hat. I'd be incredibly against it if it weren't so damn warm.
Modcloth and vintage shops always have a great selection of styles.
Long Parka, preferably at least to your knees.
Michael Kors makes great down-feather filled parkas with fabulous detachable hoods that are so warm and basically like wrapping your entire body in a down comforter. But my favorite discovery this holiday season was the beyond affordable and amazing
Army/Navy Surplus Store. My sister scored a gorgeous,
black Army all-weather coat for Christmas and the thing is so cozy and heavy it'd definitely be a wardrobe staple if I had a practical use for it.
So, in your Socks, Boots, Long Johns, Durable Jeans, Chunky Knit Sweater, Scarf, Hat, Mittens, Long Jacket, I guess you would technically be a 9 layer dip. But an extremely warm 9 layer dip. As always, options are the name of the game and the more you pack the less likely you are to be missing something. I only wish the airlines felt the same way.
Your Golden Girl,
Olive
Images courtesy of timo_w2s FLICKR, CBatch2002 FLICKR, Zappos, and Net-A-Porter
