A homebody at heart who’d almost always rather be reading, I’ve learned during the pandemic that I need to go outside every day or two to feel like an actual human being. Nature (and by nature, I mean literally anything out my window), for me, is like a big button that resets my whirring mind and gives me respite, however brief, from all the noise inside my head. My kids’ school is a 10-minute walk from our house and, over the years, I have come to love my walks back home alone on January mornings, admiring the sometimes spectacular sunrises, breathing in crisp air and noting the impossible beauty of dormant trees.
To enjoy the outdoors even briefly during winter in Calgary means having the proper winter clothing, though, and I am happy to report that after 44 years of living here, I think I have everything I need to stay comfortably warm down to about -25°C (-13°F)—which has been the average temperature, with windchill, the past few mornings.
For a person like me who runs perpetually cold, the biggest thing is the coat. That is, my coat is ridiculously big. It is so big, it’s called the “Super Puff Long” and looks like a down sleeping bag with sleeves. It is designed for women six inches taller than I am, so I get full coverage down to my ankles. I am appalled every time I put it on because I would love to be one of those chic people who look svelte in winter wear, but that’s never going to happen because I care too much about being warm. Have you noticed in winter coat ads, nobody is dressed to last more than five minutes in subzero temperatures? See exhibits A and B. Why have a hood if you don’t use it? And where are the mittens??
My mittens were a gift from my husband, who bears the brunt of my complaints about being cold. They’re made of thick sheepskin and are the sartorial equivalent of oven mitts. In them, my fingers don’t get cold. I wore them snowshoeing last weekend, and they kept my hands toasty but never sweaty. It doesn’t matter that I dropped some groceries in the store parking lot yesterday because I didn’t have enough dexterity to lift the bag out of the cart. I just picked up my loose items as you’d imagine a penguin would and went on my way.
Do I sound a little irrational? Oh well. My aversion to cold knows no bounds, which is why, even though I’m fairly comfortable outside these days, I’m still on the lookout for a better, even warmer solution—something to take me down to those -30–40°C days when your eyelashes freeze the minute you step out the door.
Reader, I may have found it in this Moncler collection.
The ensemble shown here already costs more than my car, but I’ll probably need to get some coordinating gloves, too, for grocery shopping.
Stay warm and be cool.
:) Teresa
What is happening even?? Closet Dispatch is a free, limited-run weekly newsletter by Teresa Wong, who is now considering wearing her Super Puff inside the house.
Hehe. "Puffer nun."