January 15, 2024
If the weather forecast turns out to be true, (as it WASN’T when we were promised piles of snow!) it should be bitterly cold in Chicago as you read this…
Even if you don’t leave your home, you might feel the cold. There’s truly a limit to how warm you can get your home when the temperatures are in Fahrenheit single digits. Add in our big walls of windows, facing Lake Michigan, and we have the choice of dressing warmly, or making the electric company rich beyond imagining!
So let’s bundle up!
Image – Chase Schiefer
If you’re staying inside, or maybe just dashing out to the mailbox, you can wear warm wool slippers. And don’t discount the merits of wearing a warm headband – you can pull it down over your ears if you need to go to the basement, or the garage!
Simply pink turtleneck – Lands’ End; ear warmer band – Whaline; scarf – Kelpman Textile; simply pink quarter-zip – Lands’ End; grey fleece-lined pants – L.L.Bean; socks – L.L.Bean; slippers – Glerups
Maybe you’re going to have to be on a conference call – a bright scarf can make you look cheerier! If you struggle to get your hands warm, you might want to try a pair of fingerless gloves. They seem counterintuitive, but many of us find that they do make a difference:
Blue base layer top – L.L.Bean; earrings – Genevive Jewelry; scarf – Jessie Zhao New York; navy fleece-lined pants – L.L.Bean; navy cashmere cardigan – J.Crew; fingerless gloves – Pringle; boots – Blondo
photo is from the blog “In Plain English…”
Jeans aren’t terribly warm (hold them up to the light – you can see that they’re sort of porous!), but with a fleecy lap throw, you’ll be just fine!
Quilted sweatshirt – Orvis; earrings – Ippolita; yellow moc-neck top – L.L.Bean; jeans – L.L.Bean; down throw – L.L.Bean; cashmere socks – Talbots; slippers – Glerups
Warm colors might make you feel warmer? And quarter-zip or quarter-snap tops are really convenient, on the off chance that you get too warm!
Fleece print top – L.L.Bean; earrings – Kendra Scott; apricot turtleneck – L.L.Bean; tights – L.L.Bean; scarf – Hortons England; socks – Falke; slippers – L.L.Bean
If you know who took this photograph, please let me know!
photograph – Mitja Piipponen
If you must go outside for a bit in sub-zero temperatures, you can wear white pants – nothing is “melty” enough to splash! I’m assuming that you’ve got long underwear on under these…
Quarter-snap fleece – Orvis; earrings – Moon & Meadow; ivory turtleneck – Lands’ End; snow corduroy pants – Orvis; cashmere scarf & beanie – Cheeky Goats; boots – L.L.Bean
And if you have to spend some time outdoors in bitter cold weather, layer wisely. Anybody who might encounter a situation like this should own a set of really GOOD long underwear – I much prefer 100% wool, even though it’s pricey…
Read reviews, and don’t just buy from someone that you saw on Instagram! Synthetics aren’t always warm, and if you sweat while wearing cotton longies, you will get cold and stay cold.
Black base layer top – L.L.Bean; cashmere beanie – COS; neck warmer – Turtle Fur; mittens – L.L.Bean; wool quarter zip – L.L.Bean; snow pants – L.L.Bean; boots – Sorel
We’re far too smart to be caught off guard by weather, aren’t we?
Image – Sara Daniels via North Country Public Radio
Remember the beautiful winter night sky photograph from the last Japanese 24 Seasons post we shared? It also came from North Country Public Radio. They have an ongoing photo of the day feature, which features some of the most beautiful pictures…
love,
Janice
Like this article? Save it to Pinterest!
It’s summer here in New Zealand and we’ve been sweltering!
But for cold weather it’s merino wool all the way for me!
Same here in Perth – temperatures in excess of 100f (for our American friends). I dream of snow!
So many interesting ideas and pictures. I use the fleece second layer quite a bit, but use the full zip in case of personal over heating. When I used to live in a rather cold place and was outdoors a lot, I used what I called the 3-2-2 method. Three top layers, two bottom layers and two pair socks. And wool was the fabric of choice, as this was before the Age of Polartec, lol. Plus outerwear and warm boots, of course. Now I live in a milder, yet still chilly climate, but layers still work for me.
I like the blue and the gray/yellow the best. Although that yellow isn’t something I would wear the combination is very pretty. Love the photos as usual. Amazing.
If William Shakespeare had written a play about the Chicago snow forecasts, he would have called it “Much Ado About Nothing”!
I’m sitting here in my LL Bean polar fleece robe, full length and fully zipped up. Highly recommended.
Oh, you are SO right about Shakespeare! But it’s NOT an exaggeration about the cold temps…
hugs,
Janice
Weather like this is why I knit, and why I choose to knit with wool! There’s nothing warmer than a wool Fair Isle or Norwegian sweater! Using multiple colors means multiple strands of yarn, and double or triples the thickness.
Thanks for these great cold weather ideas!
A friend who doesn’t knit but knows I do gifted me a very pretty burnt orange single skein of cashmere yarn years ago, sport or DK weight, I’d guess. I managed to knit a pair of fingerless gloves, using every scrap of it, in rib so they don’t roll. Janice is right that they’re strangely warming for leaving the fingers bare, and of course that way I can still text or work at my computer! Cashmere is so luxurious!
I am IN LOVE with the LL Bean floral fleece pullover and apricot turtleneck. I live about 20 minutes from the LL Bean flagship store here on the Maine coast. I was in Bean’s just a few weeks ago and didn’t notice it. You can bet that I will be headed down that way today to snag those pieces. Here in Maine, it’s cold often until early May. These pieces will keep me warm and bring a dash of spring to my day. Thank you!
I love wrapping up for winter. I have my thermal tops, thick jumpers, wool and fleece wraps, thick coats, cosy hats, warm lined gloves and thermal socks. I don’t like thermal leggings but will wear tights under trousers if necessary. I wear a long coat to cover my legs.
The UK Met Office have been forecasting snow this week in different parts of the country. In fact, they’ve been telling us for a few weeks now that we’ll have cold weather and snow. It’s not as if we haven’t been warned. According to the local forecast, there might be an outside chance of 1-2cm of snow where I live on Wednesday. No doubt traffic will grind to a halt, the railways will have signalling problems, frozen points and damaged wires. Mind you, a few years ago we got a “snow bomb” when the rain coming up from the south hit the cold air descending from the north. Over a foot of snow fell in a fee hours.
Exactly, the same weather front collision could occur on Wednesday….
BTW, we have 13 inches of snow close to your area and would be glad to share some of it with you…LOL
As always enjoyed todays post!
Stay warm!
Karen
What a great post! I’m always amazed at people who don’t wear long underwear, and my question is always: why not? It’s cold here in Ontario, but not too far outside of normal. My normal days require me to go outside multiple times, so I usually wear thermal leggings, an undershirt a turtleneck and a sweater inside the house and then when I go out, I layer on some jogging pants over the leggings (or snow pants if it’s really cold!) and ditch the sweater and put on a parka.
I hope all of you out in the mid-west are staying warm and safe!
Speaking as someone who doesn’t wear long underwear much even in very cold weather, there are two primary reasons why not:
1. All the stores and offices here in the PNW are chronically overheated in the winter. (For example, my office is regularly 78-83 degrees F and sitting in long underwear in that would be torture). And I’d rather just deal with a few minutes of cold walking from a building to my car than be miserable for longer and sweat a bunch and inevitably be colder when I got out of the building because of it.
2. Long underwear just isn’t made for tall people. The standard 28” inseam on my 33” legs are basically capris and don’t meet up with my socks, leaving a cold gap. And the arms are essentially bracelet sleeve length. Also long underwear used to be made with a nice wide rib cuff at the wrist and ankle, but is generally now just a seam, and really cuts in to flesh and starts cutting off circulation after a while due to the fact that the ends are much higher up my arms and legs and they would be on a shorter person.
Sob, it looks like Orvis doesn’t have the yellow trimmed one. Lovely, cuddly combos!
It’s been super cold here in Iowa too. Right now it’s-12F, with a windchill to -28F, and that’s a big improvement from the past few days. I’m wearing flannel-lined jeans from Coldwater Creek (very comfy and warm) and thick wool socks. Dreaming of spring and summer. I like the look of those quarter-zips you chose but the collar never really sits right on me, probably because of my very square shoulders. I might have to sew some to fit.
This is soooo helpful. Could you please do a post for frigid weather for travel, too? Something where you need to look a little nicer? I live in a climate where it rarely even freezes, but for the next few years I will suddenly need be regularly traveling to places where temperatures fall well below zero. I have to admit I’m intimidated.
I second this. Since I’m sensitive to wool, I would appreciate recommendations for silk long underwear.
I favor the blue outfit today. Color is so helpful to me on a dreary day.
We’ve just enjoyed a chilly spell here in South Florida, but currently it is 77°and cloudy. I love sweater weather, but I don’t envy you all the extreme cold.
I had silk long underwear from Hanro for YEARS, which is a good thing because it’s expensive! But if you only need 1 set – wash and dry overnight – you can amortize the expense over a LOT of wearing. Mine lasted… 10 years?
hugs,
Janice
Lots of great insights on this thread. Thank you! I’m glad I asked. Funny— I never thought about dangly earrings making you too cold. Where I live, we have to be careful in the summer. If you’re standing directly in the sun, they can burn your skin.
I spent years traveling from my warm southwest state to the northeast in all weather and I had to build a mini professional
capsule just for this. My favorites were cashmere sweaters, scarves and headwear. Macy’s has ok quality cashmere sweaters in a variety of styles and colors. I can be sensitive to wool, too, but I was okay with it as an outer layer. I found Lands End to be one of the best sources for long underwear and outerwear. They do have silk but it sells out quickly. The synthetic long underwear works well too. Talbots usually has a wool suit collection starting each fall of you need to be that dressed up. Janice has great posts on layering pieces during travel so I followed her advice on layers. Learned the hard way to always have the coat, hat, scarf and gloves in the carry on. Hope this helps a bit!
Totally agree with you on the coat/hat/scarf/gloves – ALWAYS pack them, they take a little space but can make-or-break your day. Ideally if you’re going to New England, make that coat a waterproof one, so it can do double duty if it rains or snows. I’m also wool-sensitive (even too sensitive for sweaters although depending on the finish I can handle a wool coat… long underwear, double-layer socks if needed, and acrylic sweaters (very warm, but dont “breathe” too well if you run on the sweaty side) work for me. In addition – shoes!!!! Since I live in NE, I have an AMAZING pair of La Canadienne under-the-knee boots that are fully sheepskin lined and have treads on the bottom like a pair of tires. They keep me SO warm! But they can be hard to pack if you’re packing in small suitcases. I bought a pair of Cole Haan hiker boots with the little fur trim around the ankles, and they also work pretty well to keep the feet warm. Cold feet = cold me.
PS. I saw a woman in Michigan with fabric tassel earrings one year around Christmas – just the perfect thing to be festive and yet not have cold metal brushing down your neck! If it is frigid and you (like me) wear earrings, wear small studs or fabric materials, not metal dangly-things. And skip the necklace or make sure its over a turtleneck so your neck doesn’t get cold. great time to break out those fancy decorative scarves.
Oh – and uniqlo heattech works great as a base layer as another option for long underwear!
Yay NCPR! They cover the Adirondack Mountains of NYS, which has an abundance of amazing scenery and cold weather. I live near Lake Placid and NCPR is fantastic at using photos from all levels of local photographers, including friends of mine.
On the weather front, I agree completely with Janice. Layer, layer, layer. Use silk or merino wool under dress clothes for maximum warmth and minimum bulk. And if they peek out or you need to shed layers, they’re less obviously underwear than the shiny synthetics, which is handy in a business setting. Be safe everyone!
Greetings from Finland!
I’m pretty sure that the picture has been taken by a Finnish photographer named Mitja Piipponen. The photo shows the landscape from the Koli hill towards the frozen lake Pielinen.
It is indeed! Thanks SO MUCH for taking the time to let me know; I’ve updated the image to give appropriate credit!
hugs,
Janice
It’s snowing here in East Tennessee, and, as always, life has come to a halt. As a native Chicagolander I still find this amusing, although I make no comments about it. The thing is, roads here aren’t built to accommodate snowy conditions, and people are not accustomed to driving in snow. So it’s better to stay home!
It will be a very cold week, and I appreciate the beautiful and warm suggestions for bundling up, especially number 2. I love a silk scarf around my neck with a cashmere sweater to keep warm. Stay safe, everyone.
My daughter moved from our Eastern Canadian region to Central Tennessee and she has noticed that many people have cheap or bald (or both!) tires on their vehicles, making snowy days all the more treacherous.
Another factor we noticed when we were visiting there in a snowstorm: The ground never freezes there, which makes the roads more greasy than ours in the Great White North.
I wonder, too, if the driver’s ed courses teach about driving on slippery roads (eg steering into the skid/slide and pumping the brakes or gearing down to slow the vehicle).
She and her TN-born hubby agree that she’s the driver when ice and snow are in play.
Stay safe!!
We do not regularly get much snow in the PNW, but it has dropped to really cold temps for here in the last week. We heat our house with wood so usually I don’t layer too much or I will be over heating but we have been stuffing the fire as soon as it runs down and still wearing an extra top layer. Crazy! Thanks for the inspiration Janice! I have a 1/4 zip that I might wear today in teal. I am actually thinking of making it a full zip once I can get a matching zipper. That is really my preferred layer since I have curly hair. If it goes on and off over my hair all day I start to look pretty crazy!
Maybe a contrast zipper? Just to consider…
A different shade of blue? Cobalt?
I’m all obsessed with mixing shades of blue right now!
hugs,
Janice
OH, I have been mixing shades too! Great idea! :)
I bought that beautiful blue COS scarf from the blue version of the six wardrobes – the Elizabeth McGill painitng. It’s much more bright turquoise in person, but it is lovely. I’ve decided not to care whether my blues match!
I wore an LL Bean cotton cabled funnel neck sweater (which must have sold out immediately – I can no longer find the color online & I just got it!) in a periwinkle blue shade, and a navy blue puffer vest + my new turquoise scarf for a birthday weekend away, and I was glad to have the extra warmth.
Wednesday’s post is going to be a study in NOT matching blues! I found the BEST painting….
love,
Janice
Oooh, can’t wait!
Sounds fantastic!
I’m really feeling this post today! We just got our power back on last night after being without for over 30 hours in weather that was unprecedented for the PNW. For us it got down to 12 degrees with a wind chill of -8 F. If it wasn’t for our wood stove and layering, we would have frozen! I wore a camisole as the base layer, with a thin cotton t-shirt, waffle t, cashmere hoodie sweater, and wool bouclé cardigan on the top, leggings and sweat pants on the bottom, thick socks, Uggs, and a cashmere beanie – in the house. For going outside, I added a fleece-lined full-zip hoodie, cashmere scarf, windbreaker coat, and (don’t laugh) a second fleece-lined hat. Layering really saved my bacon!
I’ve never been without power that long before and it was brutal – we are currently renovating a 19th century house that we bought last year, and I guess now I know what it was like to live back then. No power, HVAC, electric lights, water, indoor plumbing (we’re on a well), tv, phone (our 5G is weak here), or internet. I had to come to terms with my technology dependence by the second day, and now really appreciate the communities from around the world that the internet allows us to build. Not to mention that I’ve never appreciated running water, flushing toilets or a hot beverage more!
Of all the things, the platform Uggs, which I only bought last fall to be on a level with my walking cast, were the single thing I most appreciated having!
Hope everyone else is staying warm and well!
That’s a really interesting renovation project.
Yeah, it’s an original land grant house built in 1873, in the Indiana Greek Revival style. We love it – 10’ ceilings throughout (upstairs and downstairs), lots of light, amend overall in decent enough shape that we can do most of it ourselves. We’re uncovering original fir floors, shiplap walls, bead-board ceilings, and all sorts of other interesting things! The relevant thing for this particular topic (layering) is that it had zero insulation. None. Anywhere. After we got the knob-and-tube wiring replaced, we were able to get the attic insulated, but the walls are still plaster and cracked in places, so it leaks cold air in some rooms.
That’s probably all TMI, but I’m thinking about starting a blog on it. Totally different topic, but Janice is so inspiring that it seems doable!
Maybe a bit too late, but when we were on a well, and a winter storm that might cause a power outage was imminent, we would fill both bath tubs with water. We then had water to wash with, if a bit cold. And to flush…
Sounds like most of you are coping/layering in true TVF “fashion”. It is cold (for us) in Sugar Land TX. On the news they were showing the gadget to attach to your hose bib to protect it. We have had visitors from the Midwest ask what the heck they are and when informed they ask why the heck don’t we use bibs that don’t freeze. Well pretty sure they cost more and our local Home Depots probably don’t even carry them but we can get the Styrofoam covers in colors to match the house. My hubby uses a soft sided cooler and duct tape to protect the automatic sprinkler top. Forget about clearing roads if we really do get ice and snow. I’ve seen road crews using bags of salt from Walmart. The size you might use for your front steps! And no-one knows how to drive in the stuff. I recently saw a cartoon on how to dress for winter in TX. Monday was long pants a puffer coat hat and gloves. Tuesday was a pair of shorts a tee and sandals. Wednesday looked like Monday and Thursday was the same as Tuesday. Pretty true much of the time. It’s why many don’t own the proper clothing (wool, winter boots etc.) However everyone covers their plants. Some look like they are wrapped for shipment! Keep warm and snuggly. Thanks for the inspiration Janice. We are below freezing at night for the next three but then the mid 60’s.
My layering preferences for these lovely, brisk -18F days in northern Minnesota are a tshirt, a lightweight long sleeved turtleneck, and either a flannel shirt, a snuggly cashmere turtleneck sweater, or a fleece lined full zip hoodie, over a long skirt and leggings, or tights and trousers, or thin leggings and jeans, with knee high mucklucks socks while indoors. For outside, I throw on snow pants, boots, a parka, and my thick scarf that my sister knitted for me for Christmas a year ago. And thermal gloves. But no hat. I can’t stand how itchy they are so I use the scarf and my hood lol. I stay nice and toasty!
It seems that the US is in the grip of severe winter weather affecting places that don’t normally see snow. Then I consider the jet stream that sends your weather ‘over the pond’ to the UK… 🤔
And yet, it’s surprisingly mild here where it’s usually -20 to -40 F this time of year. And there is barely any snow here as well. It seems the jet stream gave our winter weather to those far south and east of us.
Pepper, one of the strange realizations after moving to Minnesota was how often we are *north* of the snow! To my southern mind, north = snow so obviously more north = more snow, but that’s not always the case. Friends and family from the south will say “I heard y’all (the Midwest) got a bunch of snow” and I’m like “that was all south of us; here it’s just bitterly cold!” 10 years in and I’m still fighting against the idea that a brilliantly sunny winter day must be warmer, right? Haha, NOPE.
Here in Chicago, we can actually SEE it snowing over Indiana, on the south side of Lake Michigan, when it doesn’t snow here! They get much more of the lake effect than we do…
Weather is weird, and getting weirder every day!
hugs,
Janice
Sounds like the “small cold” is everywhere. Here in Alberta, in a town just east of Calgary, we have been cold for several days, -38C with a windchill taking us down into the mid -40s. Other places have been well below -40C with windchill taking them close to -50C. What a timely post Janice! Love your ideas and all the input from readers. Everyone pull out that wooly underwear and stay warm.
Investing in warm, comfortable underlayers is key to surviving winter in comfort for most people, even indoors. Now if I only I could convince my husband to *wear them*…
I just posted on this topic myself, and one thing that I didn’t see in Janice’s excellent advice is the warmth and practicality of wearing warm tights/leggings (the fleece lined ones are very warm in my opinion) and tall boots (weatherproofed as needed) under a dress/skirt for commuting, errands, etc., in place of pants. I just really don’t like my pants getting wet (and even if it’s snow outside, it will become water when you bring it indoors on your pant legs). As for white/light pants…I mean, that’s an option, but even when it’s too cold to be slushy, everything gets so dirty/grimy in the winter in the city that I wouldn’t attempt it myself, especially if driving a car or using public transport where you’ll be brushing up against very grimy things. But if you have the ability to wear white/light pants and not get them dirty immediately in the winter, it’s a cute look!
The print fleece top from LL Bean has some serious whappage for me (it says camo but looks like stylized floral print to my eye) but even living in Minnesota, I know I wouldn’t wear it enough (given what I already own) to justify the $100 price tag. But if my closet was lacking at all in winter weather clothing, I’d be strongly considering it! A solid neutral may feel more practical at first glance, but there’s something to be said for a beloved print in making it very easy to put a simple outfit together. I have two warm colorful print sweatshirts from Lands End that take the popular but potentially boring casual sweatshirt/fleece + jeans/joggers/knit pants outfit formula to the next level.