Clothing question from a Californian

<p>I could use some suggestions for what basic clothing I need to bring to survive my first Fall at Tufts. I have lived in Southern Cal my entire life and my mother is only west coast. Our idea of winter clothing here is a sweater or jacket and closed-toed shoes. If it is really cold, we wear a scarf around our necks. Obviously it is hot/humid in August, but how soon does the weather turn? Help! Suggestions from other females who were "winter-novices" would be greatly appreciated!!!!</p>

<p>My D - also a socal girl waited until she got there to purchase all winter clothing items. It is very pleasant into late October and when we visited during parent's weekend it was the perfect time to purchase what she needed and bring her
"winter clothing" to her. By then she had a better idea of what she wanted and
what the other kids recommended that she would need. Saved us some money on unnecessary items. Believe it or not, she claims to have worn her flipflops year round! She also asked for some more costly winterwear for Christmas so I had some good gift ideas.</p>

<p>North Face fleece jacket, north face down jacket - 2 staples to surviving winter at Tufts. also, you probably will wear sweaters, etc. to class and a hat, gloves, scarf to walk to class. snow boots aren't necessary, but i wear a pair of waterproof day hikers (like low cut boots) with vibram soles so theyre good walking through snow and slush.</p>

<p>north face is pretty much the norm on campus. the daily even had a poll and a HUGE majority wear north face. just thought you'd like to know. anything that can shield you from the winds and keep you warm should be good.</p>

<p>I know that I was extremely cold in the winter while walking around, which is unavoidable if you planning on attenting class lol. I found that I could wear tons of layers on top - shirt, sweater, coat - but legs remained uncovered. To rectify this a lot of people wear spandex underneath their pants, but I'm going to go one step further this year and buy a down parka that does down to my knees (a LOT of people had these).</p>

<p>I totally suggest rain boots! prob. one of the best things I bought all year. I got them from Target online for like 20 bucks and everyone compliments them. Also, my Jewish mom and grandma have pounded home the theme of how hats are essential, and I have to actually agree that a hat to warm your ears and head on the walks to class/Boston kept me healthy; I'd always get sick if I decided I didn't need one, or underdressed. I found gloves really helped too. I </p>

<p>A lot of my friend swore by EMS jackets - winter coats that have zip-in fleeces. That way they could wear the fleece just like a North Face, and the separate waterproof jacket as a raincoat, and put them together when it was really cold.</p>

<p>I'm not rich by any means but if you can find a good cashmere sweater on sale, they like saved my life. they're incredibly warm but very thin so you can fit them under anything.</p>

<p>Then again, my friend from LA was walking around in Birks without socks even after it snowed. Me: ***** head in confusion.</p>

<p>Hope this helps, good luck!</p>

<p>um, wow, just to clarify - my asterisked word above was c0cks...as in, tilts to the side...LOL</p>

<p>oh and by "a LOT of people" had shell coats down to their knees, i mean girls. lol.</p>