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Styled Out: Winter wear

The weather has taken an absolute nose dive into full-on winter, and I haven’t been even trying to do anything other than layer stylishly and try my best to make all my “practical purposes” outerwear look a bit cuter. The thing about having to deal with such chilly weather seven to eight months out of the year is that it’s a real b—h to try and accomplish being attractive in it all — especially if the only thing on your mind is how to adapt to the frigid temperature.

Leg warmers made a huge comeback a few years ago, and they’re actually one of the few trends that I’ve clung to when the thermometer refuses to rise above 40 degrees. I wear tights a lot and, even for those of you who don’t, I think you’ll find that these little guys can be lifesavers. Whether the wind is whipping you as you wait for the bus or if the snow is knee-deep, leg warmers are easy to pull on and off, and they add an entire extra layer. They’re awesome if you throw them on top of your radiator a few minutes before you have to pull them on to brave the cold. They also dry out quickly, which is a huge plus.

My new favorite place to order leg warmers, socks and tights is Sockdreams.com. It’s amazing. I stumbled on it when piecing together my Rainbow Brite costume this year. They have a huge variety, they’re so reasonably priced, are privately and American owned and they don’t charge for shipping. My leg warmers came within three days of ordering them.

It’s safe to say that Sockdreams.com is my own personal wet dream.

I got the best mitten/glove hybrids of all time this past weekend. I’ve had fingerless gloves with a flap on them before, but these have a reinforced stitch holding the flap (mitten) part onto the glove. It was the one feature making me second-guess purchasing “instant mittens” again, so I was happy to see someone realized the fault in the prototype and corrected it, because they’re so handy. I’m sort of welling up just thinking about how conventional yet adorable my new little hand buddies are.

Wool of all kinds is my new BFF. I realize that it can be so freaking itchy on its own but if you throw a cotton undershirt on it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you. I have finally reached the age where I can appreciate true warmth and the relatively few extra dollars it takes to achieve that. If you can’t handle the material no matter how hard you try, I would suggest at least getting a blend with wool in it. My girlfriend is super-into these socks by the brand called SmartWool. They have a whole line of apparel that’s lightweight, crazy warm and worth every penny — not to mention, pretty snappy-looking.

I’m considering investing in some serious snow gear this winter. I finally found the snowpants of my dreams last year so now that I’ve gotten that out of my system I’m moving onto more serious issues. I’m talking about YakTrax, people. I’m convinced these fantastic little strap-ons are going to save my life this winter.

Keep your mind out of the gutter: They fit over any pair of shoes or boots that might require a bit more stick as you tread the slippery walkways. I literally almost broke my neck several times last winter on the streets of Chicago, so I’m totally buying a pair of these. I love them because you can’t even tell you’re wearing them.

What are you doing to stay warm and wildly cute this winter?

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