Winter Dressing: How To Avoid Freezing To Death

Apr 20, 2013
572
50
Toronto
So as I get closer and closer to my UGW (less than 10 lbs away now!) I have noticed a BIG change in my ability to not freeze every time I step outside. Do any of you long-time skinnies have advice for winter dressing that will actually keep you warm?

For example, today I'm wearing a tank top, a long sleeve shirt, a thick crew neck knit sweater, a long leather winter coat (lined), a huge knit scarf, shearling mittens, Lululemon pants, and shearling lined tall winter boots. Still freezing. Help!
 
So as I get closer and closer to my UGW (less than 10 lbs away now!) I have noticed a BIG change in my ability to not freeze every time I step outside. Do any of you long-time skinnies have advice for winter dressing that will actually keep you warm?

For example, today I'm wearing a tank top, a long sleeve shirt, a thick crew neck knit sweater, a long leather winter coat (lined), a huge knit scarf, shearling mittens, Lululemon pants, and shearling lined tall winter boots. Still freezing. Help!

Today I'm wearing thermal underwear (thin wind-blocking leggings), fleece-lined leggings, skinny jeans....
A tank top, two long sleeved shirts, a think oxford shirt, a sweat shirt
Two pairs of socks

One of those thick canadian coats. Lined leather coats don't do it for me at all.
Hat, scarf, gloves.
I was chilly but it wasn't too bad.
 
My current staples are woolen stockings under skinny jeans, slim woolen trousers (the kooples make some nice cuts) or brocade trousers, or alternatively, 2-3 pairs of 80 denier tights layered with a mini skirt or leather shorts. Cozy socks hidden inside boots. Thermal singlets under every top, unless I'm wearing a sheer top in which case I'll bring a very thick jumper to put on over the top, under my coat and remove it before going indoors, fur coats (shoot me), fuzzy hats, gloves.. fingerless are better for smoking and checking google maps but fuck that chill. I'm also developing an angora addiction.. 2 angora jumpers under a leather jacket work well. It's not even the height of winter yet, when it gets colder I'm actually going to have to start refusing to leave the house.
 
I put on everything which keeps me warm. My parents are too cute, they know how hard colder temperatures hit me, they've bought me the warmest socks, gloves and tights, rofl, as if I am a little child. I look like an 'onion'. And to be fair, I don't really care if this is fashionable or not.
 
We should all move to the equator :). But seriously layering is the best option. I know that even if I have jeans, a shirt, a sweater, and a coat on, sometimes I still get cold. I don't know if any of you experience this, but I end up freezing through, so even if I'm inside, I'm still cold from the weather outside and it takes me a while to "thaw" out.
 
aside from the usual warm coat, thick sweaters, stockings, and shearling boots, i find that a cashmere hat + earmuffs has made a huge difference. i heard most of your body heat escapes through your head, so ever since i've always kept it covered in the winter.
 
Layers upon layers upon layers....

I typically wear 2 pairs of socks, 1 being wool socks over a pair of thick socks. I ALWAYS wear boots. From like, October 1st on, I ditch everything else.

I buy a lot of long sleeved (black & white) shirts because those are great for layering with flannels, denim, blazers, etc. I always wool wear pea coats that run long (about knee length)

I ALWAYS wear scarves. I really love the big, chunky knit scarves.

Lastly, always have a good pair of leather gloves! With my experience buying gloves, leather trumps plain cloth & fleece. Along with gloves, I just got a cute knit headband type thing to wear over my ears when I'm walking places (I take it off when I am indoors).. It is kind of dorky but ...

Ex:

knit_headband8.jpg



[ew.. I know its Cara, but this is kind of what they look like]
 
I have a really big problem with freezing all winter long and before I bought my car I had to take public transit everywhere and I'd get the worst anxiety worrying about waiting outside in the cold (I live in Canada). I'm completely useless when I'm cold - I just can't do anything, and I become a raging bitch.

What's my biggest problem? I hate socks. I can't stand the way they make my feet feel, especially when they rub against my toenails. I hate when they're too tight, I hate when they're weird material, I just hate them.

It has something to do with being too snug and restricted. If I can't move easily, I get all freaked out. For example - I don't use sheets on my bed. Just one, to cover the mattress, and then a large down duvet and my Hudson Bay blanket. No pyjamas. I have insomnia so I roll around a lot trying to find a comfortable position and if I have pjs on they get all tight and twisted from moving around and I lose my mind.

Does anyone else have this stupid complex?
I'd love to wear tights under my jeans, but I can't do it without looking like this :wtf: mixed with this :cry:

Where do you girls buy your socks/tights? They would need to be very soft, not too tight.
 
We should all move to the equator :). But seriously layering is the best option. I know that even if I have jeans, a shirt, a sweater, and a coat on, sometimes I still get cold. I don't know if any of you experience this, but I end up freezing through, so even if I'm inside, I'm still cold from the weather outside and it takes me a while to "thaw" out.

This is me. I feel like a block of ice that irradiates cold.
It's like your body "fills" with cold and it takes a lot of time for the heat to warm you up from within.
When everyone is fine, I start turning blue and I just want to die then and there, because death is better than tolerating the numbing cold feeling.
 
I have a really big problem with freezing all winter long and before I bought my car I had to take public transit everywhere and I'd get the worst anxiety worrying about waiting outside in the cold (I live in Canada). I'm completely useless when I'm cold - I just can't do anything, and I become a raging bitch.

What's my biggest problem? I hate socks. I can't stand the way they make my feet feel, especially when they rub against my toenails. I hate when they're too tight, I hate when they're weird material, I just hate them.

It has something to do with being too snug and restricted. If I can't move easily, I get all freaked out. For example - I don't use sheets on my bed. Just one, to cover the mattress, and then a large down duvet and my Hudson Bay blanket. No pyjamas. I have insomnia so I roll around a lot trying to find a comfortable position and if I have pjs on they get all tight and twisted from moving around and I lose my mind.

Does anyone else have this stupid complex?
I'd love to wear tights under my jeans, but I can't do it without looking like this :wtf: mixed with this :cry:

Where do you girls buy your socks/tights? They would need to be very soft, not too tight.

I have that problem with underwear. I HATE underwear. The way it makes me feel. Like my body is "cut up" and like it bulges underneath my clothes
I never wear it, except in the summer when I wear a skirt/dress and nothing under it.
I know it's weird and I've been doing it for years. I do buy underwear though. I love to collect it for some reason, and try it on in front of the mirror.
I also have never had a problem because of it, as in a medical problem etc.
I don't think it would have changed a thing even if I did have one though. I simply CANNOT STAND underwear!
 
I recently bought a secondhand fur coat and it has been a godsend. I don't live in a super cold area but it does drop to around 5 degrees F sometimes, and the fur is literally impenetrable by wind, especially with cashmere/wool sweaters underneath. But yeah, layers are super important, especially a shirt you can tuck into your pants--I find that tucking in helps enormously, otherwise wind somehow travels up the bottom of my coat and freezes my torso.
 
A down coat is a must. The longer, the better. The coat must be filled with real down -- not feathers, not polyfill.

A hat is also a must. It makes a huge difference. I wear those aviator-type hats, with the furry ear-flaps. I try to find ones that are sleek and feminine, and try to pull them off as a fashion statement. They are the warmest and they don't mess up your hair as badly as knit hats do.

Besides that, what everyone else has said -- warm gloves and a scarf, either wool or cashmere.

I usually rely on my down coat to keep me warm, rather than things like thermal underwear, because I don't like feeling hot and overdressed once I'm indoors.
 
Where do you girls buy your socks/tights? They would need to be very soft, not too tight.

I wear my "fat jeans" (They're a couple sizes too big) if I want to wear leggings under, that helps a lot.

Other than that, Joe Fresh sells fleece-lined footless tights, as well as thermal underwear. It's a bit big, but it's soft on the inside and "slippery/nylon-ey" on the outside, so it doesn't grip onto your pants and you can move freely.

You can find Joe Fresh at Maxi/Provigo/Loblaws. They also have stores in some places.
 
I love angora wool. It's something like 70% warmer than lambs wool and is much softer. I use it to make hats and scarves.

Generally, in the winter I layer everything. I have an alpaca tuque, woolen sweaters and socks, leg warmers, fingerless gloves for work, many scarves (my favourites are angora and cashmere), down coats, and my secret weapon is silk thermals. Mmm. So soft and surprisingly warm!
 
Thank you so much for your responses everyone!! I will be looking for some warm underclothes this weekend, and maybe an angora sweater or two. It's a start, anyway!
 
I think I must be lucky to live in a country as warm as Australia! Even in the dead of winter, it only goes down to about 5 celcius at night, and during the day it's usually 12-18 celcius.
When I visited Paris in May, I could not believe that it was 5 celcius during the afternoon, in Spring! I'd never experienced that before, so I can see why some of you would get insanely cold! :(
The thinner I get, the harder it gets, definitely.
In the middle of winter, though, I can get around okay in thick stockings underneath a pair of jeans, tank top, shirt, jacket, socks scarf and sometimes warm hat.
 
I am definitely losing my patience with winter as a skinny girl in Boston :mad::rolleyes: I wear skinny jeans with knee high socks and boots with my shitty H&M parka basically every day. I miss being able to wear cute outfits and such :cry:
 
I always wear either leggings or tights under my jeans and a thinner, tight long sleeve top under all my sweaters. It gets obnoxious with lots of layers but otherwise I freeze!