Advice With Clothing (and bedding) To Get Through Chicago Winters

On the other hand discarded toes have a value, anyhow in a certain drinking establishment in Dawson City known for its “sour toe cocktail”, which features whisky added to a leathery toe donated from the personal stock of a miner and former patron who shed the toe during a cold snap that might have been as fierce as a Chicago-style polar vortex. That toe was recently stolen, and they are looking for a replacement. “Toes are very hard to come by.” Dun, I see entrepreneurial possibilities here, not to mention the fame and glory and satisfying afterlife of the lost appendage.

You guys are hilarious!
Well, today is the day when missing toes may be the least of our problems; let’s see what the housing gods deliver!..

Good luck @momo2x2018 and son!

Ok, I think I answered this last year, but here is my take. It is from the perspective of a former Yooper, where the winters there make Chicago feel like Miami Beach.

The very worst thing you want is sweat. For this reason I argue against big wool sweaters on top of long underwear and all covered by a sub-zero coat and a very warm hat. You are going to be sitting in a warm classroom for a while and if you sweat and then go outside it will be much worse.

If I were to walk outside between zero and 10deg, I would want a wind proof shell over a technical fleece. A small knit cap and warm gloves. I’d stay away from jeans if possible, especially if they may get wet. Finally, if I could time my journey to arrive at the closest bus stop at the right time, I would take advantage of that.

@momo2x2018

He doesn’t own any jeans?

@thumper1 No. He has a few pairs of chinos, but those are not warm enough.
He and I went to lunch yesterday, afterwards I dragged him into GAP, specifically to buy jeans - we left empty handed because he refused to try anything. He’s unlike other teens - he doesn’t care two whits about his appearance, and I really dislike buying his clothing :neutral: Sigh.

Sorry, he’s a normal boy… My son also. BUT he did a study abroad in France then an engineering internship is Israel. So he did get “clothes” for that to look nice. Here’s the funny thing… He shows up the first day with a nice shirt and pants /shoes on. He said he was the nicest dressed person there. At this tech company everyone is young and in t-shirts jeans, shorts and gym shoes or sandals. Even in their corporate business meetings… Lol… ?

We parents just can win… Lol.

The dress code everywhere has really been influenced by these young innovators. But if you are in tech or design or quant finance or such, it’s pretty normal to dress down for work. You are valued for your brain power, not your wardrobe.

Sounds like my kid. No jeans for him, either. Last year was his first year at UChicago (I wrote one of the earlier linked threads asking about what to buy for the winter). He still doesn’t have any jeans, but found wearing thin thermal underwear under the chinos was fine. Costco has those 32 degree thermals at a low price; we got a pile of those. Those were good at keeping him warm when worn under his normal stuff.

^ Costco has wonderful quality base and mid layers - and they make great PJ’s too.

My S19 is another ‘no jeans’ kid. Starting to see a pattern here . . .

Jeans + Wet Winter = Bad (colder than you need, and eventually chaffing)
You want a synthetic wool blend. Something that breaths, yet wind proof. Cotton does not wick moisture from your body, which is needed in the wet and cold.

@BrianBoiler I’ve lived where it is cold…wet…and snowy my whole life. I cannot wear wool…at all ever. I haven’t frozen to death wearing jeans…and neither have my kids or husband.

We all DO have warm boots that are waterproof. And warm jackets, hats, scarves and gloves. No wool. None at all.

Oh…and part of this was in Illinois…yep enjoying the cold windy winters.

^ Would second the recommendation of Wool. There is a reason why ski pants used to be wool (before other materials became available) and have NEVER been denim LOL. (Full Disclosure: We skied in 501’s when I was growing up because that was cool, and in light and dry powder too. Some days were better than others for staying warm . . . ).

Now shift to that lovely Chicago sleety weather that occasionally hits.

Some may not be able to wear wool - find it scratchy, are allergic, etc. etc. Wouldn’t discard that material, however - especially the wool blends. It’ll work for plenty of people. Hopefully no one would be “frozen to death” regardless of what they choose. We are talking about being comfortable. Dry is better than wet.

Remember the words from the musical “Annie” - an example of having a “hard knock life” was to have a cotton blanket instead of a wool one. We forget in this age of abundant central heat that those two fabrics are different.

Mother of UChicago graduate. Wait until they come at Christmas break and offer to go shopping or just send money. D wore long underwear, a puffy jacket, boots, jeans, hat & gloves. She figured it out and got what she needed. Yes it was colder than home.

I never thought about this great cotton-wool debate, but now that I do I recollect that all the early Alpinists and even Everest-climbers were nattily attired in wool from top to toe. Have a look at these guys:

Mountain - Wikipediaguide#/media/File:AnselmKlotz(L)-Josef_Frey(R).jpg

Sheep are native to all sorts of cold weather locales. The cotton plant is native to tropical and sub-tropical regions. 'Nuff said on that.

I wear jeans like all the time including winter in Chicago.Might be overthinking this. But a fun discussion.

Overthinking is what we on the Chicago forum do best. We are wolves wearing sheep’s clothing!

I like that Marlowe. “The Great Cotton-Wool Debate”. It resonates like Lincoln-Douglas or Hatfield-McCoy.

As a river rafting guide once told me, “Cotton is rotten!”