<p>First off, I am so thrilled to have been accepted, and to see all of my future classmates at Visitas!</p>
<p>As a kid from California who is accustomed to 70 degrees and sunny practically year-round, I know that my wardrobe most likely won't be appropriate for Harvard. As such, I'll need to get some new clothes...</p>
<p>What do kids typically wear at Harvard? Any suggestions as to what to get?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>What’s your gender?</p>
<p>Gender-free suggestions to be the most prepared:</p>
<ol>
<li>Some light jacket/blazer-y options for when it’s in the 40s and 50s, as now. (You can do with just one, but I like having at least a black one and a khaki one for my outfits in different color families. I am generally a fairly coordinated person.)</li>
<li>Winter coat, for 20s-30s.
(3. Real Hardcore Coat.)</li>
</ol>
<p>It’s not necessary to buy all of these right at once. I now have two winter coats and a variety of jackety options, but those have been acquired over my past three years here as I slowly figured out what I needed and expanded my options. My ability to predict what I needed in advance beyond the basics would have been limited. Being from California, you may want to be in a pretty hardcore coat all the time; I prefer a medium coat and a ton of layers if it’s really cold. (It only rarely gets cold enough to need Antarctic Explorer level coats, and at that point I just don’t want to go outside. If I do, leggings under pants, two shirts, scarf, etc. is not super comfortable but good enough. So I can get by without a Real Hardcore Coat myself.) That’s a preference. But since my winter coats (wool, trench-length coats, medium-thick) won’t make me overheat, I need less on the “light jackets” front. If you have a Real Hardcore Coat, you may have more need of the lighter jacket thing if the RHC becomes too hot at 40˚F.</p>
<p>BUY A PRETTY GOOD ONE ALSO. Freshman fall, I bought this jankity semi-fake-wool trench thing to save money. It seemed nice at first, but was almost unusable by January. Luckily, there are great sales on coats in January where I live (a place that is much warmer than Boston and much colder than coastal California). So I went and got a much better coat (that had a sale price of about $70 more than the jankity one’s list price) that has lasted until now. If you are on a lot of financial aid, there is a (one-time?) winter coat fund from the financial aid office that I think gets you $300 for winter wear.</p>
<p>I’d also bet that there are a lot more threads on this if you check via the search tool.</p>
<p>I think much depends on your sense of style, or lack thereof. 
My son made it through four years with a selection of jeans and tees, a couple pairs of khakis and dress shirts and a blazer. A GoreTex coat with zip out fleece liner and some lightweight GoreTex boots for inclement weather. And mittens for when you have your first snowball fight in the Yard (preferably colorful ones that will look nice when the tourists take your picture).</p>
<p>^^^
Ditto to what 1moremom said. It was all jeans and tees, with a blazer and khakis for nice events. Since he sang, he also got a tux, but guys don’t need one if they aren’t performing. As was already mentioned, you don’t need everything at once (oh, BTW, I live 3 miles from campus so I know the weather well), but it’s good to have rain gear and some kind of polar fleecy thing (the ubiquitous North Face Denali jacket is very popular) to start out with. Layering is the key, since the older buildings are often overheated with old steam radiators. Here are good places to shop for winter stuff (stores and online):</p>
<p>The North Face
LL Bean (you can often get free shipping)
Eastern Mountain Sports (the one in Harvard Square gives a 15%-20% discount to students)
City Sport
Patagonia (pretty pricey)</p>
<p>It doesn’t get midwest freezing here on most occasions, but it occasionally drops into the single digits. My daughter only got a SERIOUS down jacket when she went off to Chicago, and she has really needed it there. </p>
<p>While I’m at it (I’m procrastinating so that I don’t have to grade essays), here is the link to a great and reasonable LL Bean jacket. My son had this all 4 years.</p>
<p>[Storm</a> Chaser 3-in-1 Jacket: Rain Jackets | Free Shipping at L.L.Bean](<a href=“L.L.Bean: Page Not Available”>L.L.Bean: Page Not Available)</p>
<p>This is the one that he’s recently gotten for colder weather (research in frozen South Dakota), and he says it’s fine.</p>
<p>[Rugged</a> Ridge Parka: Winter Jackets | Free Shipping at L.L.Bean](<a href=“L.L.Bean: Page Not Available”>L.L.Bean: Page Not Available)</p>
<p>No, I don’t work for LL Bean ;)</p>
<p>Hope this helps. You can PM me with any other questions. Congrats on your acceptance.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! Looks like I have to get myself a blazer and a heavy jacket</p>
<p>One of my son’s roommates was from SoCal and I heard he wore flip-flops even in winter. Not sure I would recommend that! While Harvard is mostly pretty causal, there will be “dress-up” occasions. The number will, of course, vary depending on your interests, but I think you can safely assume at least two a year. The SoCal roommate had one bilious green tie for all occasions (except formals when he wore a tux). The other roommate had zero ties (and he was in the orchestra). A blazer, a suit, and a tux will get you through any formal-type activity you may attend. You can buy a used tux at a place called Keezer’s for an incredibly reasonable price (much cheaper than a one-day rental).</p>
<p>My wife insisted that our son have a heavy winter coat, which he was equally insistent that he did not need. It was brought home after sophmore year, unused. Layers * are* the key.</p>