My D will be attending UChicago this fall. We will be in Chicago for a week before orientation. We will be driving her up there so making it a family trip/vacation. So we actually have time to buy her winter wardrobe while there. Can anyone recommend a place that would have winter gear at reasonable prices?
The concern is getting a really good coat and winter boots.
Also, she loves shopping at resale shops and has gotten some really good deals at places like that.
We will have a car. I don’t know if there are outlet malls around.
Any help appreciated. My S also went somewhere a lot colder than home but he was easy. He’s a minimalist and was not super concerned about wardrobe stuff. Bought some stuff at Goodwill and he was good to go.
A Marshalls(a discount dept store) just opened in Hyde Park and would be a great place to find a good coat and boots. Otherwise, besides DSW and Burlington, not too many choices unless you want to pay full price and drive north of the loop.
Our S was happy and warm with the LL Bean coat and boots that last all four years, and they have decent sales online, as does Patagonia. Maybe she find something close to home for try on purposes (Sorel make nice warm boots), and then look for a better price online at Sierra Trading or Moosejaw?
Another option is waiting till parents day if that’s feasible for you. Your daughter will not need winter stuff till early November at the earliest. Another thing to think of is good gloves if your daughter wants to bike (We bought a bike son’s 1st year which was useful for him because he was in IHouse.) Good luck to you.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. We appreciate it!
We probably will not be going to parents weekend. We are 1200 miles away and two tickets there and back then flying her in for Xmas and back will probably be cost prohibitive.
What do kids do for Thanksgiving?
My S in Pittsburgh found friends to stay with as Thanksgiving holiday is super short. Other years he met up with friends and room mates at his rental.
I imagine they shut down the dorm at UChicago.
It’s a very short holiday and stressful to fly plus he always had projects to work on so he just stayed there. Hopefully she can stay with some new found friends.
" Autumn Quarter 2016
Saturday, September 17 9:00AM Halls open for first year students
Friday, September 23 8:00AM Halls open for returning students
Monday, September 26 First Day of Classes
November 24 & 25 Thanksgiving Break - HALLS REMAIN OPEN
Saturday, December 10 12:00PM Halls close for Winter Break
this is an handy guide for what to bring- note that dorm fridges can be rented through bedloft
@goingnutsmom, plenty of kids stay for Thanksgiving, as they only get 4 days and usually have papers due/midterms to study. Dorms are open. I think it depends on the dorm/house, but in my son’s case he had a thanksgiving celebration with his housemates, most of whom stayed at school for the short brake.
@goingnutsmom Here are links to some places that you may want to check out for shopping since you’ll have a car. llbean and the Aurora outlets are each at least a 45 minute drive so not sure it’s really worth it.
My experience with shopping at llbean at home is that winter gear is available in mid September. That said, for convenience and best selection, it might be best for your D to try to find a place at home to figure out her size and then order online. My son’s solution was to bring a heavy fleece with him in September that got him through until Christmas break and then bring his winter gear back with him after break.
As for Thanksgiving, my son has stayed at school the last two years. His house also has a Thanksgiving dinner as well as a few other activities over the course of the weekend. I think there were only two weeks between Thanksgiving and the end of the quarter last year, so it didn’t make sense to fly him home for a couple of days.
My son lives in his winter gear from LLBean. We ordered a few different styles of coats and boots in a few sizes and then he could pick what he wanted and we returned the rest to a local llbean store. They had lots of sales over the summer and extra coupons so we got very good deals. When we went into the store they did not have everything we had found online (especially the heavier coats early in the Fall) and things that are the same year to year we got at a great discount. I think it would be stressful having to find a coat and boots during that week especially if she is picky. Heck if she did find something else poking around re-sale stores for fun you could always return everything from llbean.
So what is a good price for a good winter jacket? What should somebody look for. There are so many options. It is totally confusing with a huge range in price. Not sure which ones will be good, which ones are just overpriced because of the brand and which ones are just cheap knock-offs that will not do the job. Any advice from folks who have suffered through many winters on what to look for in winter jackets?
First, you’re going to have to decide whether you want just a jacket (that is, stops at the waist) or a parka / longer coat that will cover hips and thighs.
Second, note that down coats will often be rated by the temperature they can withstand – the temperatures will be listed right on the tag.
I like North Face, Patagonia, Eddie Bauer, L.L. Bean. Anything sold in a good outdoors sporting goods store. Moncler and Canada Goose are very warm, but they are likely too expensive for most college students.
I would expect to pay anywhere from $200 - $350 for a really good, warm coat, though you can often get them on sale.
The location in Skokie would be relevant for someone going to Northwestern, but not relevant for someone going to the U of Chicago. And the location in Aurora is waaaaaay too far for anyone at the U of Chicago to consider driving to. You’ll waste a half a day getting there, for what? An outlet store? Mail order can be your friend here.
If you are thinking of driving to Skokie, go to the excellent REI store in Lincoln Park instead. I like REI a lot for things like parkas and boots.
It’s worth noting that in four winters at the University of Chicago, a couple of them extremely cold, my daughter never owned a parka, down jacket, or anything like that. She wore smart, fashionable, not-too-long wool coats (and many layers of stuff underneath), plus scarves and warm hats.
When it gets below a certain temp, say 10-15 deg F, one will only be outside to get from one building to another. And for that, one can make almost anything work.
As important is a jacket that blocks the wind, esp if one is crossing the Midway on a regular basis.
Other issue is for frolicking in the snow, and for that, a parka type jacket would be quite useful, or a heavy fleece with water repellent shell.
We’ve buy a lot of our winter stuff at Sierra Trading Post. You can find great deals on brand name merchandise, esp on clearance. http://www.sierratradingpost.com/
My $400 list price (bought significantly on sale) jacket bought at the recommendation from the REI clerks was very warm and after 2 years of heavy (winter) use, still seems brand new.
I skied a lot and am normally exposed in under -40F wind chill weather.
I’d suggest a breathable undergarment being the first layer of clothing, not cotton.
From there, you can wear layers of worm clothing, but go to the ski shop to get the parka that is also breathable, North Face is a good name and REI has lots of them.
Some good advice here already. I would second REI, Erewhon, LLBean - we bought D16’s last coat online from Columbia. I would not suggest Marshall’s unless you’re certain they will carry the heavy-duty brands. There are some brand-name outdoor stores on Michigan Avenue up in downtown Chi, but they will be pricey. D16 said she also got a lot of use out of wearing leggings under jeans for the very coldest days. She also saved the heavy winter boots for significant snowfall and used waterproof hiking boots to get around in general cold, packed-snow days where snow depth was not an issue.