Wednesday 18 January 2012

Is it possible to be fashionable...

Today it was one of those bone-chilling days. I wore pants and a long sleeve shirt the other day but I was freezing at work. And I'm quickly running out of bone-chilling cold weather options.  I'm at the point that I might have to wear jeans to work by the end of the week.

And my outdoor gear included a down filled long coat, hiking boots, and leather gloves. But I just couldn't warm up. Even with the heat blasting in my car at top speed and the seat warmer turned on. Nothing was taking the chill off. It has been like this for days and there is not break in the upcoming days.
I was thinking is it possible to be fashionable during a prairie winter?

Winnipeg Woman magazine considered these as appropriate winter fashions. Are they kidding? This wouldn't keep me warm during a Winnipeg winter.

Okay, it was seasonably warm up to the new year, but winter has finally arrived. And not everyone where has jobs or the means to flock down south.

Don't get me wrong, yes these fashion pieces styled for Winnipeg Woman are lovely. But not practical for a winter days like today.

So the question remains and more important, can practical be fashionable?




Just check out the Sorel boot advertisement.  I guess practical is not fashionable. If it were then Sorel wouldn't have to rely on a cheap trick of making their product appear sexy with a hint of a fantasy winter scene.  Where is the snow?

And practical as fashionable is missing from sewing pattern books too.  

I would love to find a pattern for a pair of ski pants. I don't ski, nor do I snowboard. I don't even skate since I had a knee injury a couple of years ago. But a pair of ski pants would be sweet for when the temperatures dip to the minus twenties and a wind chill of minus forty-six.  Yup, minus forty-six.

Now,  I'm not talking about those vintage stylish ski bunny ski pants patterns for those posing on the slopes that appear to come from circa 1980.

I want to find a pattern for a seriously warm ski pant because I'm standing outside for recess duty instead of generating warmth on the ski slope.  Where are those patterns?

I know that I can find a sturdy, heavy duty pair of ski pants at a snowmobile shop but they don't exactly cater to the petite market. I have a pair of those ski pants and I love them from the knee up.  I just have to alter the length and it is a huge job so that I'm not tripping over my pant legs.  And that is when they are clipped up!

I guess practical really can't be fashionable, it just comes across as clumsy no matter how you layer it.

3 comments:

  1. Yeah, I'm not baring my shoulder in these temps, even indoors. I live in layers in the winter (summer too, actually, but less so!), mostly because it's usually too cold to not to, but also because some places over compensate with the heat, and then you freeze. :/ Don't have an answer for you. I think we either have to suck it up or choose warmth over fashion for a couple months until the bitterness (and I don't just mean the cold) warms up and melts in the spring. :)

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  2. I too have to contend with cold winter weather. It was 9 yesterday with snow expected this afternoon. Not as cold as your conditions but is not too balmy. I usually wear this sort of thing and consider it to nice looking but not high fashion: heavy tights, boots and a turtleneck dress with a wool coat. Many variations such as sweater, skirt, pants. If it's really cold, long underwear under it all. Some very colorful jewelry spices it all up. Same for pants, long underwear at all times. My best winter fashion investment were those boots, very expensive but I've now had them for 15 years. They get a layer of sno-seal each winter! As for ski pants, they are quite warm but are noisy, like taffeta. Have you tried "The Rain Shed" for patterns? They have a lot of outdoor fabrics and great patterns. Maybe you could find ski wear there.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the tip. I haven't heard of "The Rain Shed" before.

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