What Do You Wear In Really Cold Weather?

[Fifty150]

 

[Fifty150]

I live in California. I don't think I'll buy anything mail order from Russia. There are a lot of local sellers. And I don't go anywhere that cold.

 

[Fifty150]

Although I have been tempted to buy a Russian Gorka uniform. It looks like it would be great on a motorcycle.

 

[Turnip]

... Of all the clothing that is made worldwide, and what they already have readily available there, they buy some USA label made in some 3rd world country.

In the USofA some also buy BMW or Mercedes labeled cars made in a…

Just free market economy…

 

[jonesy86]

This time of year I have to switch from board shorts and a tank top, to capri pants and a tee shirt. I only really need to wear a leather jacket and a hat if I have a big shopping run to Costco, or Safeway, or maybe if I drive to the other side of the island with the AC blasting. However, I wear them most of the time anyway because I'm silly.

 

[dlite90]

Here in NYC I'll wear a long wool coat on the coldest nights.
But we're having an unbelievably warm year so typically a leather jacket + sweater is plenty. With global warming getting worse every year the New York winters of old are prettymuch gone.

 

[Fifty150]

 

[Fifty150]

At different points in my life, I've had more discretionary income, and less. There were times when I could afford to spend more money on clothing, allowing me to buy much nicer cotton, silk, wool, down, leather, modern synthetic textiles like Goretex. And there were times when I could only buy whatever was the lowest cost, or it was a temporary situation - polyester.

I once found myself temporarily assigned at the last minute. Literally, no time to pack, just go. Get whatever you might need when you get there. Plucked from sunny California, to 8 weeks in the snow, in the middle of winter. The employer generously supplied whatever we needed during the course of employment. Well, they sort of had to do that. The finest of The Government's uniform apparel with patches sewn all over to identify our authority. With 40 hours per work week, what do you wear the other 128 hours?

I made up my mind that I was going to wear the government issued base layers, pants, and boots, since they didn't have writing or patches sewn on. I still needed a few warm tops, a jacket, and a hat. I knew that I was not going to invest in arctic clothing. I only needed something that I would donate to Goodwill in 2 month time. Walmart and Target filled the niche.

Much to my surprise, I still have a $9 puffy vest, $5 knit cap, and $15 jacket from that shopping trip. The Wal*Mart version of much more expensive jackets, sold unchanged for years, which zips into 3 in 1 style coats.. The 3 in 1 style comes from many sellers, and most of them are the same design, which allows me to mix and match outer shells and zip in jackets.

 

[Fifty150]

How could a lowly lieutenant afford to dress like that?

 

[Turnip]

By producing a sufficient number of custodies, I’d guess.

 

[Turnip]

…or possibly doing a little trip to Metzingen additionally, all two/three years.

 

[Fifty150]

That is not a job with bonuses for performance.

 

[Zombie_61]

How could a lowly lieutenant afford to dress like that?

Well, it was 1968. The turtleneck sweater and the jacket with slacks probably cost less than $40 even if it was high-end merchandise.

 

[GHT]

I've always wanted a down jumpsuit. Eddie Bauer stocks them from time to time.

View attachment 389575

They were around over a hundred years ago.

 

[Zombie_61]

View attachment 390688
They were around over a hundred years ago.

Yeah, but that one's more like a "fall down" jumpsuit, to protect the wearer just in case those roller skates get out from under him unexpectedly.

 

[Fifty150]

In cold storage facilities, workers wear insulated coverall, plus an insulated, long liner under their white smocks and white lab coats. In my area's weather conditions, I've found that this outfit is completely warm under a poncho, trench coat, or raincoat, in urban commuting conditions. Riding buses, light rail trains, walking from the building to the transit stop, etc.

 

[scotrace]

Stay off politics or get out.

 

[Tiki Tom]

I used to laugh at my mother-in-law when, living in Hawaii, she would feel the need to put on a sweater or jacket when it dipped into the 70s (approx 17 or 20 c). Now I’m embarrassed to be acting the same way.

 

[Zombie_61]

I used to laugh at my mother-in-law when, living in Hawaii, she would feel the need to put on a sweater or jacket when it dipped into the 70s (approx 17 or 20 c). Now I’m embarrassed to be acting the same way.

For me it seems to depend on the environment more than the actual temperature. For example, if I'm outdoors on a nice sunny day and the temperature is 73°F I'm usually quite comfortable. But put me on the couch in our living room at home at 73°F and I'm either reaching for another layer of clothing for warmth or turning up the heat a bit. And yes, this has developed as I've grown older as well.

 

[Fifty150]

As a kid, my daily "uniform" was Levi's 501 (because the factory was on Valencia, right by Golden Bear's leather factory), a cotton pocket t-shirt from The Gap (back when they still had factories in The City and we could buy direct with a discount), and a Golden Bear pilot jacket (because the factory was on Valencia, right by Levi's blue jeans factory). During cold weather months, there was a Gap cotton turtleneck with a wool Pendleton. On most days, jeans and t-shirts was enough. Even for riding motorcycles and top down Jeeps.

My whole wardrobe back then really came from 3 local shops. Gap, Levi's, and Golden Bear. Gap had just split from selling Levi's, to selling their own brand. They were selling a lot of cotton basics like pocket t-shirts and turtleneck shirts. We got our socks and underwear there also. Allegedly, Steve Jobs had a closet full of black mock necks from Gap. I went to The Gap recently. Everything is made overseas now. And I didn't even see turtlenecks and mock necks for sale. Probably out of fashion. Nobody wears those anymore. Except maybe old Gen-X seniors sitting in nursing homes.

Today, the only time that I can wear an A-2 jacket over a t-shirt, is when the temperature is over 60. Average temperature around here is 55. And if I'm wearing a leather jacket, there's usually other layers for warmth, since leather jackets aren't all that warm by themselves. Typically a Pendleton wool shirt and a down hoodie. Eddie Bauer makes a down filled, pullover hoodie. And if I'm riding, the Levi's are replaced by heavy denim pants from The State of Oregon's prison labor factory.