Earlier this winter, I idly clicked over to an article about what to wear when it’s freezing outside. The article promised tips for “if you’ve lost feeling in your fingers.” In the accompanying video, a stylist lamented temperatures that make you “kinda want to die.” To combat this feeling, she suggested the following:
- wearing two light jackets on top of one another;
- wearing two (two!) vests;
- carrying a purse covered with shearling material to function “kind of like a muff or a mitt, but in an accessory.”
She also suggested wearing skinny jeans under a sleeveless dress, and layering with short-sleeved sweaters.
I’m not sure who this cold-weather makeover guide was intended for – perhaps pre-teens whose social circles are going through a phase where they refuse to wear big puffy coats? Or someone trapped in a winter climate with only a summer wardrobe? Someone who hates mittens, leaving them reliant on fuzzy accessories against which they must press their hands pathetically?
As it happens, I have some experience with losing feeling in my fingers. Four years ago, I was diagnosed with Raynaud’s – an autoimmune condition that affects as many as 28 million Americans. If you’re a woman, you’re nine times more likely to have it, and some estimate it affects as many as 20 percent of women of childbearing age.
Basically, if it’s under a certain temperature outside – for me, the cutoff is about 45 degrees – and you are not suitably dressed, your fingers or toes (or both!) will go numb. Like, totally numb and white. And they will not go back to normal until you get inside and warm.
For many people, it’s not very serious. I remember seeing a doctor’s office pamphlet that basically advised wearing gloves, and had a cute little cartoon of a woman with mittens holding a warm mug. Ha. For me, it requires a little more planning.
Luckily, my four years of trial and error have taught me a few lessons. So if you are someone for whom two vests is not going to cut it (aka a human being), here are my tips:
1. Wear real socks. I used to wear cotton ankle socks all year long. No more: I now have a large collection of wool socks, primarily REI merino wool socks. Smartwool socks are good too, but they cost a little more – which matters if you’re stocking up.
2.Wear real boots. Oh my God, I can’t even with you people who wear Toms in the winter. Without socks. HOW? For the rest of you, I know the Ugg trend has attracted a lot of haters (and is probably not even considered a trend now, or something), but sheepskin-lined boots are really warm. I would recommend the L.L. Bean brand, and your podiatrist would recommend getting inserts because those boots have zero support.
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