<p>I am wondering what kind of winter clothes S should bring to U Chicago this fall. He really does not have "solid" winter clothes: he does not like heavy coats so during winter in NJ, sometimes he just goes around with a warm hoody with a couple of layers underneath.</p>
<p>He is come home for Thanksgiving. If Chicago winter is not in full swing till then, perhaps he can bring really heavy duty stuff with him when he goes back to school after thanksgiving?</p>
<p>How cold does it get by the Thanksgiving time?</p>
<p>By the way, for a FULL SWING winter weather, does he need ultra super duty coats? Like, the Lands End stuff that has a label of "good for -10 to -40 F, something like that.</p>
<p>::: shame on us, we both did graduate work at UIUC, and we should have a good idea, but I just remember that it was painful, and forgot about how bad it was: psychological defense mechanism: you want to forget bad memories as soon as possible :) :) :)</p>
<p>It depends per year. I think 2 years ago, it was still in the mid 50s in November, and I was very disappointed. Last year, if I recall correctly, it was in the high 30s, and I was very disappointed. You do not want to wait until Thanksgiving to buy winter clothes. I remember last year that I thought I would be okay with a thick hoody until Thanksgiving, but my mom ended up having to send me my winter coat by the end of October.</p>
<p>S did not ask for a winter coat until mid-November, and that was about two weeks after he needed it. He layered a lot – some of the classroom buildings are quite warm, and he said it was useful to wear a t-shirt (his usual garb), a sweatshirt or light fleece jacket, and then his heavy coat. I believe they had snow in early December before finals fall quarter.</p>
<p>We did not send him off with heavy stuff in September, but should have insisted at Thanksgiving. However, I was waiting for him to be proactive.</p>
<p>– Warm socks
– Gloves (two pairs, identical in case one glove gets lost).
– Boots/snow sneakers (S asked for these the second week of January, after the duct tape he used to keep his sneakers held together kept coming off in the snow and sluch. Did he mention the need for sneakers or boots while home for Winter Break? No.)
– Balaclava (S really liked this. Could be worn around the neck, pulled over his head as a liner to his jacket hood, etc.) Cost $8 on sale at Kohl’s, and I will pick up another one this year if I find one.
– Scarf
– Flannel lined jeans (I know everyone says ugh, but S is very thin and he needs the warmth. He wore them a lot.)
– a pullover sweater or two (S never wore them at home, but he did at school.)</p>
<p>Some of this will be a personal preference thing. I’m not at UChicago yet, but I live in Ohio and suffer through the same winter.</p>
<p>I personally don’t like to bother with boots. I wear sneakers pretty much year round, and I used to walk to school through the snow-covered grass as a shortcut. As long as you brush off the snow before you go inside, it doesn’t melt, and you don’t get wet. And I would imagine that Chicago does a much better job shoveling its sidewalks than my town in rural Ohio does.</p>
<p>I highly recommend a scarf, especially if the coat doesn’t zip or button very high. I wear a pea coat, and while it’s very warm, it’s a bit too open at the neck. Though most people in Ohio think scarves on guys are gay, I wore one anyway. It really helped with the wind.</p>
<p>Some sort of long underwear will be a good investment. I’ve never tried the thermal pants, but the thermal shirts are lifesavers for me. I like Under Armour because the wind doesn’t go through it very easily. This won’t be necessary every day, so just a few pieces are fine.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of flannel-lined jeans before. I’ll have to look for those.</p>
<p>The winter really doesn’t get into full swing before Thanksgiving. It probably won’t snow more than once in November, and it won’t be a big snow. Your son will want to have some winter clothes on hand, but things like boots and thermals aren’t absolute necessities until December.</p>
<p>Fall quarter of my first year, we were still having 70-degree days when November began… I was complaining to home that this whole Chicago winter thing was a hoax, designed to keep out tourists. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, there was a blizzard large enough to shut down O’Hare airport, while at Midway airport they accidentally landed a plane on the highway. We made a snow fort on the steps to the BJ dining hall that night.</p>
<p>So yeah, this was unseasonable in both extremes, but my point is it does happen that there’s significant cold before Thanksgiving. Not always, but Chicago weather is a little nuts - you can’t rely on the averages. Then again, you can always forget your coat at home the next fall and just wear your comforter to class - I know I’m not the only one who’s swung this fashion for the end of Fall quarter.</p>
<p>Whether or not a student needs a super-duper heavy coat also depends on his/her size and metabolism. Slender, sedentary women are likely to need one; large active men are likely to decide that a big coat is a nuisance, and there are all the combinations in between.</p>
<p>Nothing worse than buying something now that kid decides is (a) unnecessary or (b) not the style of his/her group, or, worst of all (c) the choice of parents. </p>
<p>With the easy availability of online shopping, the mega stores of Chicago’s loop and Belmont Ave a short trip away and so forth, let him explore and figure this out. </p>
<p>Layering works very well. For example, I survived a Hyde Park winter three years ago with a rain shell, lots of heavy sweaters and good gloves. Unless you’re doing expedition treaking where your life depends on your clothing, you don’t need much, especially as a first year (unless one is south of the Midway in BJ or the new dorm?). Even from there, how long does it take to walk from those buildings to the nearest quad?</p>
<p>But I think really what is needed is jeans, hoodie, and a light outwear/fleece. Probably the hoodie is the most commonly used when it gets cool. You don’t need like a really heavy outerwear. Boots aren’t really needed. Regular sneakers are just fine. Scarfs are useful but not really required. Usually people who wear hoodies just pull the hood up to block the wind. Most people like to wear knit caps to cover their ears. But I do recommend waiting to see how your son reacts with the weather. Different people react different with the weather. I don’t think that he thinks he would find the weather that much worse the New Jersey. I mean it might be colder but considering the fact that he can survive with a warm hoodie and layers (a common type of winter clothing for teenagers), I think you should see how he reacts with the Chicago winters. Most teenagers and college guys I see don’t really wear heavy coats. They like sweaters and fleeces.</p>
<p>Coming from New England, I was used to the cold. My regular parka was good up until around the beginning of December. However, what really got me was the wind. I’d recommend a longer coat that covers the top of the legs, as that’s what got the most cold in the winter, at least for me. I also bought a nice pair of waterproof boots, which i wore all the time. In the city, wading through muddy snowbanks was much less unpleasant when the bottoms of my pants stayed dry. I also never wore a scarf or hat at home, but found that in the depths of Chicago winter they really helped with the wind.</p>
<p>S liked snow sneakers. Found them at LLBean. Lands End and LLBean also have flannel-lined jeans. S said everyone wears scarves. I would get there and see how you handle the cold before buying lots of stuff. </p>
<p>Remember that while there was snow right after Thanksgiving in Chicago, it was 73 degrees at 11 pm on election night. </p>
<p>S lives on the south end of campus and says that the wind coming down the Midway is pretty vicious – but a) there is a bus; b) if you get off the Midway and into campus, it’s somewhat less windy. He felt perverse pride out of enjoying that one -17 degree morning, though.</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to all the buildings. My entire town in rural Ohio is like a big Midway, as it’s a cluster of houses surrounded by miles and miles of corn fields.</p>
<p>I agree with the “wait” option. How much your son needs will largely be determined by how much your son wants. I can’t imagine that NJ winters are that much colder than Chicago winters. </p>
<p>I’m a thin kid from Green Bay, WI (much colder than Chicago), and the idea of wearing a balaclava or flannel-lined jeans sounds foolish to me. I’m much more likely to head out in a coat, a hat and jeans, regardless of the weather. Unless your son wants to wear all that gear, every day when appropriate, it would be a waste to buy it. This will vary from student to student.</p>
<p>Your idea of waiting until Thanksgiving for a major shopping trip is a good idea. Midwest winters roll in around early November, but if your son has a hat, coat and gloves, he should be fine. If your son decides he needs head-to-toe protection, take advantage of Black Friday and save some money on gear.</p>
<p>Flannel lined jeans? I tried that once. Traded 5 minutes of comfort while walking for hours of torture while sitting indoors in well heated buildings. Never wore them again.</p>
<p>Heck, I’ve done lots of winter hiking, cc skiing and such in zero weather (try Quebec in the winter, or Minneapolis where I lived). Never needed that much insulation in winter because I was moving - exercising. You’d be amazed at how much heat you generate walking. As long as you keep your head and hands warm, and perhaps have a scarf or turtleneck if it gets really cold and windy (like single digits with a good breeze), you’ll do fine. And the secret for feet is to match your footgear to the conditions. If it’s dry (i.e. no slush) and you’re moving, tennis shoes can do pretty well for quite a while.</p>
<p>In truth, the worst I’ve ever had was sitting in a football stadium in Michigan in late November, or at Obama’s inaugural in DC this January, sitting or standing. </p>
<p>Since UofC does not have too many outdoor activities in winter, you probably won’t need survival gear. </p>
<p>thanks everybody for your input. It’s greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Following your advise, we decided to pack S1 off to U CHicago with warm hoodies, layers, etc without a super duper outerwear yet till he comes home for Thanksgiving. Well, if it gets really bad before that, he cal always mail order stuff.</p>