In the middle of taking these photos on Sunday, the wind and snow started, a clear abrupt end to fall and the start of an early winter. As I'm writing this, it's snowing outside and adding to the thick layer of snow that's covering the ground. Gone are the crumpled brown leaves and tiny pockets of green grass left. Now I'm greeted with slick, icy snow and windchill that will freeze me to my bones.
Look, I'm all for dressing cute. I've been known to wear an impractical outfit or two. But the one aspect of mother nature that I don't mess with is snow. Friends on the Great Lakes, you know what I mean when I start complaining about lake effect snow. Raise your hand if you've ever been personally victimized by lake effect snow. It is unpredictable and the absolute worst. I don't play games with the winter in Buffalo. If I know it's going to snow, I'm going to make sure that I don't end up with frozen toes, ears, or hands.
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It's very tempting to live in denial that winter is not coming, but is indeed upon us (sidenote: I don't actually watch Game of Thrones because I (1) have zero attention span for that many seasons and (2) Find that even the extremely fake blood on SNL skits disturbing let alone the blood I'm sure appears in that series). Hell, I lived that life more many years. I told myself I'd deal with the cold, fight it head-on. The winter weather can't touch me, I'm invincible!
Except I'm not and I ended up really cold and really miserable and finally learned my lesson. I'm not surrendering to winter. I'm merely trying to adhere to its suggestions for how to survive it clothed properly. Just because you dress warmly doesn't mean you need to sacrifice looking somewhat cute. It is possible to have a fashionable, yet practical winter look if you have the right items.
The big must have is a nice, solid jacket. I'm always willing to spend more on a coat because I know that I'm always going to live somewhere that I need it and it's best to invest in something that will not only last me a long time, but that will withstand the winter temperatures. Some people like puffy down coat, but I prefer a nice woolen coat that is lined and zips all the way up to the neck. I always make sure that get it in an appropriate size where I am able to wear thick sweaters underneath to have the optimal amount of layers hidden beneath the coat for extra warmth.
When it comes to accessorizing, I also need a scarf. I tend to go for thick blanket scarves because they're big enough to wrap around enough times to ensure that I'll be warm. They also double as blankets if I need to wrap myself up in it after I take my coat off. I also make sure that I have a pair of gloves with me if I'm driving or going to be walking outside for a long period of time. I also always usually wear a hat of some sort, but I just wasn't feeling it on the day I took these photos because it wasn't that cold. I'm not above wearing a turtleneck, huge scarf, bauble hat, all with my jacket zipped up over my turtleneck in order to survive the winter.
Guys, if you live somewhere snowy and don't own a pair of proper snowboots, I just need to know why. Mine are admittedly a pair of Uggs that I bought on sale on my 19th birthday at Tony Walker & Co in Buffalo because my riding boots kept getting destroyed on my walks around Cleveland. Snow and rock salt do not treat leather kindly, so I needed to find something better because I was walking around campus and to my job about thirty minutes away from my dorm. These were an absolute necessity and one of the best investments I've made. They're incredibly warm and the exterior is super durable. I was tempted to buy a pair of Sorel boots, but I found that the thick rubber toe extended too far over the top of my foot that it felt like it hindered my movement. These were the perfect pair for me, both in comfort and practicality. Plus, they're really not that ugly.
Sweater: Madewell
Jacket: J. Crew (on sale now!)
Jeans: H&M
Boots: Ugg Australia
Scarf: Zara
Gloves: Borrowed from my mom
Eyeglasses: Prada
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