Bring on the Layers, Baby — It’s Cold Outside!

Winter can be a bit of a downer — what, with its freezing cold and seemingly never-ending darkness. While your mood and desire to be out and about can certainly take a hit during those chilly winter months, dressing warm enough for the season can go a long way in helping you traverse it.

One of the most successful ways to combat the cold is through layering, and while layering can be as dull and bulky as wearing around a couple of your grandmother’s quilts, it certainly doesn’t have to be.

Whether your love for heels keeps you in warm tights for winter or you prefer braving the cold in corduroy, dressing in layers makes smart sense when you need to stay warm. Here are a few suggestions to help you avoid looking like a yeti, while still making sure you’re as warm as one.

Put on a Vest

Vests cover your torso and as such, they do a great job of keeping you warm. Because they’re a bit of a fashion curveball, they can work well with anything — so long as you wear them with confidence and intentionality. Whether it’s a leather motorcycle vest with fringe, a shaggy faux-fur number you found at your favorite vintage store or a bright blue wool piece your mother wore in college, vests are great accent pieces. Wear them over a long-sleeved or short-sleeved knit top or a form-fitting dress. Pair them with your favorite flannel button-down and your tightest jeans or a pencil skirt. Whatever you do, be bold about it. The more off-kilter it seems, the more attention-grabbing it will be.

Pullover Sweaters and Cardigans

Instead of just wearing yet another winter sweater, why not don your favorite t-shirt or blouse with a pullover or cardigan? When you layer this way, you not give yourself another chance to pick colors, patterns, textures and fabrics with which to express yourself, but you can also keep wearing some of your warm weather things without suffering from frostbite while you wear them. Also, if you find your location too toasty, you can take a cardigan off without risking smearing your collar with lipstick.

Tights

Tights are one of the only consistent joys — along with beautiful, snowy landscapes, the holidays and real whipped cream on homemade hot chocolate — that wintertime brings. From the silky feel of signature combed cotton tights to the heady delight of crazy and colorful patterns disappearing into fur-lined knee-high boots, tights are a dressed-up girl’s best friend in winter.

Scarves

Most of us learned that heat rises when we were grade-schoolers, and few of us have ever thought of it in relation to our clothing choices, but heat’s propensity to go up is one of the reasons why wearing a scarf when it’s cold is so important. When you’re layered up, your body heat rises, and — if there is nothing to stop it — it will escape from the neck hole of whatever top you’re wearing. A scarf acts like a lid on your whole outfit, effectively trapping in the heat you need to stay warm. Choose a scarf made from a comfortable material, with colors and prints accenting your outfit or bringing out your eyes.

Jewelry (Yes, Jewelry)

While no one can make the claim that jewelry will keep you warm in the dead of winter, it is true it can make you hot. Even when you’re sporting a scarf, make room for necklaces of varying lengths, metals and gauge. After all, you’ll be indoors at some point, and you might get warm enough to lose the scarf and jacket; wouldn’t it be nice if when that happened, you were layered up in jewelry? From earrings to necklaces, bracelets and rings, just because you’re bundling up doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still try to catch the light.

Add Color

Adding color into your wardrobe is also not likely to do much in the way of making your body warmer, but it will go a long way in helping you improve your mood on dark, dull days. Bright colors can enliven almost any outfit — no matter how many layers comprise it. Pick colors that are rich and vibrant, and if you choose to layer with prints, try to choose ones that are complementary. If a particular piece’s pattern is especially busy, make sure the rest of your outfit doesn’t compete too much. It isn’t too fine a line between eye-catching and eyesore, but it is one that can be crossed.

Don’t fear the cold and dark this winter. If you layer yourself in pieces that you love, you’ll feel good, look good and stay warm.