Winter Wear. Five Areas To Cover. With Color. And Shine.

By Erica and Karen

The cold and snow has returned to our neighborhood, for the first time in a little while. We have to remind ourselves how to look elegant as we slip and slide in well-below-freezing weather. Not so easy! There are a lot of different body areas to keep warm. Here are our ideas.

• Warm Feet. We start with footwear. What we want: warm and light and slip-proof boots that look fantastic—though we value unbroken legs more than glamour. That’s a sign of maturity, right? Are there boots that fit the bill? Well, three out of four ain’t bad, and these these Merrell boots are close. But we would love something a little more jazzy. This orange pair by Sorel is appealing. So are these metallic DKNY combat boots.

• Warm Outerwear. We need coats that are warm, light, long. Absolutely must cover the derriere. Color is essential–as you know, bright colors reflect the cold away.  This coat, by Karl Lagerfeld, is a lovely shiny blue. A red poppy Save The Duck looks pretty fine as well. A really long, really orange G-Star Raw number is heavenly.

• Warm Head. We love any hat with metallic paint. (Of course the hat needs to go with the coat, or a woolly scarf. Or the boots.) Purple goes with anything. So does silver. And this blue will keep you awake. All of them ensure you will be seen, even in a snowdrift.

• Warm Under the Coat. What to wear under the coat? Metallic is appealing here too. How about gold or silver from Etsy? If not metallic, how about an oversized grass green turtleneck? Or a hot pink Eileen Fisher sweater? If you are doing something elegant out there in the cold, this Tahari jacket will knock their socks off, and the sequins will keep the warmth in. Another Tahari offering, an ombre velvet jacket, actually looks like a lightly banked fire. Radiates warmth.

• Warm Legs. Pants, probably. Skirts let in too much cold air. Boden’s green trousers would go well with that pink sweater. So would violet Coldwater Creek stretch corduroys.(We didn’t know stretch corduroy existed. What a good idea!) And we are partial to winter white. Cashmere by RealSilk should be warm. But on a mucky day maybe some black washable techno pants, with neon pockets, by Ruti. And one of those bright tops.

Dress in color, with plenty of shine and sparkle, and you will defeat winter’s efforts to defeat you.

What do you wear when it’s cold and wet?