5 Tips to Staying Warm & Comfortable This Winter

Staying nice and toasty this winter isn’t just about layering. It’s about how you layer.

 

You could stay comfortable by wrapping yourself in five parkas at once, but would you look or feel good wearing that? Of course not. Staying warm and looking great is all about efficiency with your outer layers. Here’s five tips on how to get that done right.

 

 

There are three tiers that you should be aware of:

 

The base layer is your standard t-shirt or undershirt. Don’t think of it as purely a sweat absorption device; think of each of your layers as something you might have to strip down to depending on how warm you get throughout the day.  Middle layers are anything from sweaters or cardigans to fleece jackets or vests.

 

The outer layers are your essentials: jackets and coats.

 

 

Generally you’ll want to focus on cotton, leather or wool for jackets or coats. Wool is the warmest fabric, making it great for overcoats you might take off indoors. Casual looks tend to be cotton, since it’s more breathable than other fabrics. Leather jackets are a classic and stylish option.

 

 

You could cover every other part of your body with clothing and still suffer the most miserable winter condition: a cold face and head. Buying a winter hat or two is one of the most important investments you can make.

 

Toques are great casual winter hats, breathable enough to wear indoors if you want and easy to take off when you need them to. Best of all: they cover your ears. Ignore style guides that say toques aren’t stylish. A big and tall man with a nice jacket over a nice sweater wearing a toque is a great look - not to mention that you’ll be guaranteed to stay warm.

 

 

There’s a good chance that if you’re a guy, you haven’t gone all-in on scarves yet. Forget the hesitation and join the world of stylish winter warmth, friends. Scarves are the thing your outfit is missing.

 

Most coats come in muted tones, because you’re not going to wear them all day long. That’s what your middle and base layers are for. And that’s where a scarf can come in, filling in your outfit with some color and patterns while keeping your neck toasty.

 

 

A good rule of thumb with gloves is to go for leather because they check off all the boxes gloves should: they’re warm, they don’t absorb the wet weather outside and they look good with just about any outfit. If you can find a pair of leather gloves with goatskin underlining then you’ve hit the jackpot.