Yeah, we all know about the snow, ice, and slush. And the sunscreen, sand, and tan. But, the problems of dressing for the appropriate climate often go unnoticed.
Warrm weather is easy. Just put on a T-shirt or blouse, shorts, sandals, and some kind of sunblock. BUT — cold weather requires a bit more thinking.
When I was in Fort Collins, I had all my cold weather gear with me and I was proud of how much I had.
The first thing I did was check the hi and low temperature for the day.
Then the base coat – usually a wool skivvy or long-sleeve thermal shirt. The next thing is a blouse, but it has to be a big blouse to go over the base and button, especially across ‘the girls.” No bra necessary since no one can tell through all the thick layers weather you’re bouncing or not. After that a sweater might be appropriate.
Now let’s address the bottom half. Underpants first. Find a pair of leggings or tights, thin for moderate cold, thick and wooly for extreme cold. What is extreme? Anything below zero in my book.
Then jeans or whatever slacks you are wearing. You should still be able to button them around your waist over your tights. Suck it in, Baby.
You might think about warms socks next, pulling them up over the hem of your jeans towards your knees.
Now a coat. Puffer coats are good, any length but I like my big, warm camel coat wrapped around my body, like a cocoon.
Forget glamour. Now you need a hat; beanie or ear muffs or similiar. And definitely gloves, maybe with handwarmers. A wide neck scarf is also advisable. That’s about it. You’re dressed for the frigid outside.
But I must admit, I found it hard to move or bend after getting all rugged up. Neverthless I waddled forward, through the doors of the motel, out into the bitter cold. And it was cold.
Unfortunately, never, ever, even for one day, was I completely comfortable outside in cold weather, despite my careful dressing. My feet were cold, my midsection hot, my armpits sweated, my ears were cold. Even when I took some of the clothes off, bits of me were still too warm. And other bits too cold. There is no hope for the nose. It just sticks right out there, red and dripping. And in cold weather my bulky fingers were not able to retrieve a tissue from any pocket. So it just ran. And froze in the space between my nostril and lip. No longer was a tissue necessary.
But I made it through that beautiful city and am now back in hot Fort Lauderdale, wishing it would be just a little bit cooler — just a bit.