As always I will address the ladies first. Starting with footwear. During this time of year the ground is covered in slush, ice and salt. This will ruin your shoes and be a safety hazard. That said, I am bored of seeing so many of the same shapeless low heeled below the knee boots. If you want to be practical and not look like everyone else, I would say to go for festive snow boots, or medium height heeled chunky boots with a rubber soul. This will look less monotonous while still allowing you to easily navigate the cold. For those cold days when the ground isn't covered in ice and snow, you can pull out more fun impractical shoes as long as they cover your entire foot, and do not significantly slow you down.
 |
| Boots like these are simple, and practical for navigating the slush tundra. |
I have noticed slim fitting over the knee boots seem to be emerging as a trend. If you have these, great, if not, you can easily improvise them. You can create a very toasty illusion of an over the knee boot by wearing over the knee socks or leg warmers with a matching pair of shoes. I tested this out with leg warmers and was very very warm. If you want more color and do not mind breaking your legs up, wear bright color socks or leg warmers to introduce some cheer into the gloomy February weather, just make sure to match the other colors you are wearing to your socks if you do this.
With overall ensembles you will need many layers to stay warm. To avoid drowning in clothes, try to only allow visible bulk on your upper or lower body. If you do both, you will be lost in your clothing. If you do neither you will freeze.
I have seen many of you ladies wearing leggings as pants when there is snow on the ground. Maybe you just hate having feeling in your legs. Sure leggings can be wonderfully useful when it is freezing outside, but not in place of pants. When it gets very cold outside I wear leggings or stockings everyday, but never by themselves. They are a great tool for layering. As I mentioned above, over the knee boots are currently in style. Typically people pair these with a large sweater, and short skirt, leaving an enticing slice of thigh exposed. You will not care how enticing your thighs are if you can't feel them. I do not suggest leaving any skin you cannot cover with a coat exposed, but you can still get this look. Instead of leaving your thighs bare, wear a pair of nude stockings or nude leggings, and leg warmers inside of or in place of your over the knee boots. If you opt to wear stockings, make sure the socks/leg warmers are snug as the stockings will make them slide around. Another way to layer with leggings is to wear them under a long skirt, dress, or jeans. No one will see them, but the leggings will allow you to feel wonderfully warm while wearing clothing you typically save for warmer weather. If your jeans are too tight for leggings. at least add a pair of sheer stockings, every little bit of extra layering helps.
 |
| Don't be fooled by what you see here. I am wearing leg warmers and stockings to look like I am wearing boots over my bare legs. I am much warmer as a result. |
For your torso big comfy sweaters and sweater dresses are your best friend. A sweater dress will keep you warm, and fit closely to your body, so you can remember you have one after dressing like a marshmallow all winter. You can always wear a fun bright pair of leggings or most of the leg wear described above with a sweater dress. Most winter clothing is dark, so don't be afraid to wear bright colors. You will stand out, and bring some cheer in the face of dreary weather. The other warm option is a chunky sweater. This will totally conceal the shape of your torso. Typically you can balance this out with a tight skirt and form fitting leg wear (it had better be more than just leggings).
 |
| This dress has a giant cowl neck (extra loose fabric at the neck) which gives me many different ways to wear it. Here is an off the shoulder look. |
 |
| Here is the dangling cowl look |
 |
| Here is the fuzzy jedi look |
 |
| This is the look for when you don't want to talk to or look at other humans. |
If you are not a sweater person, you will need to become a layering expert for the sake of your torso. Start out with a tank top. Add a well fitting long sleeve shirt, and a cardigan, vest, or giant scarf. You can perhaps wear the scarf with the cardigan or vest, but please do not wear all three at once.
 |
| LAYERS! MORE LAYERS THAN YOUR BODY CAN HANDLE! (Disclaimer: Don't actually wear more layers than your body can handle) |
Notice I said giant scarf. Put your wimpy sheer scarves away until spring. Even the scarves that you wear as mere accessories should be substantive (and match your outfit, but that is a given). This will add a lot of volume to your upper body. This is best balanced with a fun pair of slim fitting jeans. If you feel like showing of your upper body, make sure to show skin that a coat will cover. The exposed midriff, off the shoulder look, and plunging neckline are all very current looks. You do not need to abandon them because it is cold. Simply choose one patch of skin, and cover the rest of your body.
 |
| With a winter jacket on I was able to comfortably wear this out when it was 18 degrees outside. "How is that possible?!" you ask. |
 |
| SURPRISE ATTACK LEGGINGS (and fuzzy socks)! That's how. |
Despite the necessity of practicality to survive the season, winter fashion tends to be quite extravagant. During this time of year, sequins, fake fur, and anything sparkly are more widely accepted. So go all out. Bracelets and necklaces are good to wear in the cold. Just try to wear them over your clothing. The metal will get cold quickly, and feel uncomfortable in direct contact with your skin. Rings make it difficult to wear gloves, and should probably be avoided. Decorating your hair, or putting in up with sparkly head pieces can be very pretty and feel very feminine when the rest of your body is covered. If you have long hair, you should probably tie it up in something you can put under a hat. Otherwise the wind will destroy you. Speaking of hats, you should definitely have one. Beanies, embellishehed knit head bands, and berets are both fashionable and warm. I have found that the cold and the wind irritate my eyes when I have contacts in. If you need vision correction and own glasses, those are the better option for the cold, they won't dry out your eyes, and offer a small amount of protection.
If you want to wear makeup in this weather, as with when you go dancing, you must be kind to your skin. You basically want moisturizing everything. You want to start with a moisturizing foundation that will not rub onto your scarves and turtlenecks. You probably do not need much blush, the cold air will give you a natural flush. Use a moisturizing lipstick, or better yet a tinted lip balm. Your lips will thank you. The wind and cold may make you tear up so waterproof eye makeup will be your friend this season.
 |
| These are my sheer scarves. Why are they over my bed? They are hibernating until spring. They are simply too wimpy to stand up to the cold weather. |
Now gentlemen, it's your turn to be warm! Much like the ladies, you achieve this by layering. If you have long underwear, or tight running pants aka man leggings, you can wear these under your pants for an extra layer of warmth. Heavy jeans, and corduroy pants are probably your warmest options. Corduroy pants tend to look more put together than jeans. You can look noticeably interesting if you wear either of these in a deep but less common color such as maroon, olive, or navy. For your torso a safe default is to wear an undershirt, and an interesting button down, with a sweater over it. You can make the button down sweater combo more exciting by wearing a button down with an ornate, or at least mildly stimulating, pattern, and folding the collar of the button down over the sweater. If you can color coordinate this you are already beating most men out there. If you are feeling more adventurous, try wearing a vest, cardigan, or casual blazer. You can even wear the vest with the cardigan or blazer, or a cardigan/blazer over a sweater button down combo. The options are endless! (By which I mean here are at least four options). Now gentlemen, you also wear scarves. Be like the ladies and retire your lightweight scarves. Winter calls for MANSCARVES. Try to wear ones with fun colors or patterns (colorful scarves can be still MANSCARVES as long as they are warm), as most of your winter clothing is likely rather dark and bland. The key to making all of these visible layers work is to pair the colors intelligently. The image below should help you think about how to pair colors between all of your visible layers.
 |
| That's right men! You can wear colors! Now revel in your new colorful freedom |
No comments:
Post a Comment