From the original TALL Blonde Style Blog-ARCHIVE
We spent a few days in Las Vegas to visit friends, eat, drink, and drive to the Grand Canyon to see the Skywalk (click). The weather took a turn for the worst when we initially made our plans and the Arctic frigid air swooped in, even our friends spa fountain froze over. Now it was a matter of gathering up the warmest clothes, shoes and accessories in my collection of goodies I own. I stand 5 feet 8 inches in bare feet and 110 pounds dripping wet so I do not carry my own insulation against such brutal weather. The Grand Canyon was on schedule for a daytime high temperature of 10-degrees, Yikes! This prompted me to share with you what items I use that perhaps will inspire you to try the same.
Natural fibers are the best for maintaining your own body heat and I will try to locate anything I can with this in mind. Natural fur and feathers, such as a good down-filled item are the best. So many women and men wear those ever popular shearling lined boots called UGGs. Here are my super UGGs made by Hunter; shearling fur from over the top of the knees down to my toes. I don't feel a smidgen of draft and they are super comfy.
I get a lot of use out of my fur headband. It keeps my head and ears warm, but with the crown of my head open I don't ever over heat when entering indoors. I leave it on all day and no embarrassing "hat hair".
My most recent find this cold weather season are down-filled leg warmers. I wore these to work one morning, and paired with the right black ankle shoes looked as though I was wearing knee high boots. Ultra lightweight, slim fitting, not bulky and at $17.00/pair well worth the experiment. Even my young friend Catherine who is a dancer could not resist a pair for her warm ups. Yes, they work great. At home you might find me wearing them under my Old Navy sweat pants.
Vintage shopping can be rewarding to find all different types of items that are no longer made. Here I am in New York City a few years back on Christmas Eve with my 1930's floor length raccoon coat. I am wearing only a long-sleeve cotton t-shirt and feeling as warm as a freshly popped from the toaster slice of bread. See vintage shopping:--> Vintage-fashion-expo
My next tip is for a product called "Hot Hands". They are sold at chain drugstores for about 99-cents a piece and last 8 to 10 hours. Tear open the foil pouch and place one in each pocket of your coat or jacket. It adds warmth to your body as the pockets rest against your body and a great addition to those frozen fingers as you slide them into the oven-warm pockets.
This piece of fashion advice unrelated to this article but useful for winter month's dressing is I never worry about getting caught in the rain when wearing suede shoes. All my suede pumps and boots are sprayed with "Kiwi Protector" for suede. They also offer a solution for leather products and is available at chain drugstores and larger grocery stores for about $10.00 a can, enough for one pair of knee high boots and will not discolor your light colored suede. After each pair of suede shoes I process, I always dash to the kitchen faucet and run water over them to watch the water magically run off leaving my shoes completely dry.
Now for my final and favorite piece. My mink stole won at auction for $40 from Harvey Clars in Oakland, California. It is my favorite because it is versatile in how I chose to use it, it does keep me warm, and it is quite elegant for such a low cost investment. Pictured above I have it wrapped over the shoulders of my $12.00 Old Navy coat and held in place with the self-tie belt. It was stunning and the manager at the Tom Ford boutique in Vegas believed I was wearing an expensive fur coat.
COMMENT PLEASE: What do you do to stay warm in winter?
