03 January 2010

the absurdity of cold-weather dressing

it's dipped to single digits in Chicago and, along with my much-lower fat profile, I finally admitted that my $50 Sears Carharrt coat, purchased some 13 winters ago, was no longer up to the task.

so i bought a new coat, a Cloudveil Down Patrol, that I'll describe not only as the warmest coat i've bought, but probably the only warm coat i've ever owned.

i still layer! With a mid-day temp of 8 yesterday, here's what I wore: the new coat (hood up), atop a hoodie (also hood up), atop a thin thermal top, atop a cotton t-shirt. Also, a thinsulate knit hat, thinsulate gloves, jeans, wool socks, cotton underwear and Ecco boots.

for my torso, that's 4 layers, including a 650 down layer, and for my legs, a thin layer of jeans.

it is true that my legs and face were the most cold. further, despite all my other efforts at staying warm, i neglected to put on some long underwear.

this is absurd. clearly the legs aren't as "important" as the torso, but the disparity of my treatment of them is absurd. as was the dress of others on the street around me: the same jeans-only bottom, it seems. men without hats or gloves. one guy with a thin Bears jacket riding a bike. it's friggin' cold here! why is everyone dressing like a high school boy who's too tough to admit he's cold?

3 comments:

pyker said...

I love merino wool for layers. e.g. icebreakers brand

zim said...

that icebreaker stuff looks good. i'll head over to Uncle Dan's and check it out.

pyker said...

The problem with the legs is that the layering would almost always go under the trousers, so you can't shuck it.

Hat and gloves are some of the first things I put on now when I'm cold, even if I don't need a warmer jacket.