HOW TO DRESS FOR A NEW YORK CITY WINTER

I have a system when it comes to winter coats. Depending on the decade of degrees outside (you know, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties), and varying based on the level of activity I'll be attempting, while also taking into account humidity, wind chill, and cloud cover. It is highly scientific. I hang my coats in cold-level order in my lockers. I have complicated IF HAT / THEN SCARF algorithms. I even made you a cool chart!

(Not kidding you, I've been saying for years that somebody was going to make a temperature/coat chart for me and that it would change my life, and now look! I was the one that did it! This feels like a Harry Potter Patronus Time Travel Moment. Yes? It was me all along!)

See, in New York you live and you die by your outerwear. It is not cut and dried, either. It is fully possible to stand outside for just a few hours on Thanksgiving morning when it's 55 degrees out in a warm coat and gloves and still freeze to death. It is entirely likely that, on a 20-degree day, you could comfortably spend an entire afternoon walking around and not even flirt with frostbite. 

And now I will impart unto you everything I have learned in my 4+ years of all-weather bipedal transportation.

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60-45 Degrees F

Chilly

Jacket weather! Denim, Leather, Light Wool, Cotton

Scarf? Hat? Sure. Decorative mostly. Likely you'll get over warm.

I RECOMMEND /

one | two | three | four | five | six

***

45-30 Degrees F

Cold

Layers with your leather, woolens under your woolens.

I RECOMMEND /

one |  two | three

PLUS RAIN /

one | two | three | four

***

30-20 Degrees F

Pretty Damn Cold

You need a hat. And a coat that isn't messing around. 

I RECOMMEND /

one | two | three | four | five  

***

20 F or Below

DEFCON Level Midnight Freezing

We're talking Full Body Mummy Puffer here.

I RECOMMEND /

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven

***

Any Colder Than That

What the hell are you thinking!? Just don't go outside!

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Other NYC Winter-Ready tips:

HeatTech
This stuff is magic. You get it at Uniqlo. It makes the best long-sleeved undershirt, and their gloves are the only gloves I ever buy.

Do I Really Need A Scarf?
Probably not. In all my years of winter dressing, the scarf has always been my most fashionable yet most awkward to carry around when I overheat element.

Talk To Me About Socks
Don't make the mistake of leaving the house in ankle socks. On a real cold day, trouser socks are suicide. Wool, wool, wool. Wool!

The Importance of Moisturizers
My hands get so wrecked here in the winter. You're gonna wanna to ride the subway, you're gonna wanna use the hand sanitizer. You're gonna wanna use the hand sanitizer? There are so many great options, our fall-back is always this one. I shove a tube into every bag, pocket, you name it. Also good on chapped lips + cheeks in a pinch.

The Ear / Chin Conundrum
When attempting to travel light on an iffy-level day, and you're unsure how cold you may or may not get, remember this: at least one of these face parts must be equipped for warmth. Which one you choose? Ah. That is the question. (I always choose ears.)

Don't Bother With That Umbrella
Hooded rain slicker or you're soaked.

lazy blogger's photo credit: all via pinterest