<p>Surprised about the Uggs comments. I started wearing Uggs 15+ years ago in Minnesota – way before they were trending. That absolutely hold up to snow, ice, slush, rain. Now, they may look a little worse for wear – better to get darker color vs light tan – and also don’t go with the trendy new styles, but the old standard.</p>
<p>I agree IMHopeful! I have the same Uggs I bought 18 years ago. You can actually wash them so that even the light tan (that I have) work great. However, the only drawback I have with mine (which as I said are older) is the traction part. I bought D some northface really cute boots last winter and they are fabulous in terms of warmth and traction. But I wouldn’t trade my ugg slippers for all the tea in china. They are so warm and almost hot. But dorm rooms are drafty and the floors cold. Son has the moccasin type that you can wear as shoes, but they arent really.</p>
<p>Underarmour stuff is also key. They have long sleeve t’s and mock turtlenecks, but the best is the leggings/pants you can wear under jeans. Tights are fine, but thats just a layer, not something specific to keep you warm and wick away any kind of moisture if you should happen to get hot. Plus… I like separate socks, so if you’re getting tights, I can only imagine the footless kind. Otherwise, you take off your shoes and you get runners as well.</p>
<p>Also… I was never so cold as I was when I moved to MN from Florida back in the day. Best advice was to layer with as many natural fibers as possible: cotton, fleece, etc. Wool is warm, but it’s also heavy, Itchy and if it gets wet - forget it. PLUS, it has to be dry cleaned. </p>
<p>Best coat in the world?? Northface Summit Series 800… although mine is now a few years old so they may have new numbers. But it is so lightweight that I can smush it in a bag and it is none the worse for the wear, and most important, it is by far the warmest/coolest coat I’ve ever had. It seems to regulate body heat, amazing. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth every penny.</p>
<p>My kids dont even start thinking about wearing a coat until Mid December having been born in MN. It amazes me but when people warn S about cold weather, he literally scoffs.</p>
<p>Sierra Trading Post sells a lot of quality winter clothes at a discount price. Got D a pair of Sorrel boots from them 2 years ago. D is not good in the cold and she chose a school with a coldest weather. We bought her a coat from Pantagonia. She said they really keep out snow or rain. They put special details around sleeves and neck to keep moisture out, most of the time it’s the moisture that makes one cold. They are having a sale now also. Don’t get the same North Face coat for your kid, it’ll be lost after the first party. My daughter is also not a fan of Ugg. She prefers more fashionable furry boats they have out recently. She also layers a lot, silk under shirt and long johns, cashmere sweater, cardigan and coat. All of those materials are very breathable and not bulky. She is not one to give up fashion even for cold. As mentioned by other posters, cool rain boots are must. Not that they are truly needed, but certainly a fashion statement. Many designers make them and they are not that expensive relative to other items, I would let her pick out one that she’ll really like.</p>
<p>Shop for Boston winter gear in Boston, not in California. The CA sales clerks won’t know what you need. Ask the Boston locals what they think is sufficient for a Boston winter. Plus buying it there means you won’t have to take up precious luggage space packing and and shipping it across the country</p>
<p>There will be plenty of time for your daughter to work out what she REALLY wants after she arrives in Boston. The awful winter weather doesn’t arrive full blast until after Christmas. If you send her off in the fall with a fleece or two, she’ll be able to manage while she figures out what works for her.</p>
<p>My son didn’t like any of the “trendy” stuff and went to a used clothing store and bought a used cashmere dress topcoat for $25 and paid another $50 to have it relined. He still wears it when he goes east (he moved back west to the Bay Area after he graduated), along with a scarf I knit him–and no hat, because that’s not his style. He has heavy leather hiking boots for the winter and wears running shoes or sandals the rest of the year. According to my son, you can get anything you need for winter in Boston here: [Keezers</a> Classic Clothing - Tuxedos in Massachusetts](<a href=“KEEZERS.COM”>http://www.keezers.com/)</p>
<p>As to what Oldfort says about missing coats, etc. We seem to have the hardest time with that kind of thing in late fall/early spring. They start off wearing a jacket and then take it off and forget they were wearing one. If that happens in the late fall, you can usually track it down pretty quickly because you’re looking for your coat the next chilly morning. if it happens in late spring, kiss the coat/jacket/sweater/scarf/mittens etc goodbye because you’re not even going to be thinking about until the following winter. </p>
<p>My sister used to be a teacher at the school my kids now attend. Every semester they would tell kids to check lost and found before winter break and again at the end of the year as all unclaimed stuff was being sent to Goodwill at the end of the last day. So… my sister would walk in there after the bells and literally for about three years, I didn’t buy one northface fleece.</p>
<p>The middle school actually has a big sale for a bunch of different charities. Kids are literally buying back their own coats so their mom’s don’t kill them.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in drawing up a likely budget as opposed to actually buying the stuff now, you could do some online research. Would she like a coat? a parka? hoodies? The Northface is very popular among students. If the budget is tight, LLBean or Landsend are cheaper and have excellent quality (Landsend is based in WI, LLBean in ME).
Besides a winter parka or coat, I’d suggest a raincoat for fall and spring.
For shoes and boots, I’ve seen students wear rubber boots from Target that are very colorful. But I would personally be leery of them because they lock in perspiration. Some students make it through the winter wearing sneakers, others like boots. A pair or waterproof boots could run into the low to mid-$100s. I would wait to see if Uggs are still fashionable. One never knows.
I strongly suggest layers. It can be quite warm in classes.
But let her get to Boston before buying anything. Right now, it’s sweltering hot.</p>
<p>It’s not like you are sending her to Siberia (LOL). We live in NJ and my kids walk to and from school everyday (about a 20min walk). Looking at average temps between Boston and Newark we are pretty similar.
My kids:
D1 - would not be caught dead in any kind of traditional winter gear (except when skiing). Her extent of winter gear is a sweatshirt/hoodie, pair of jeans/sweats and uggs. She has been known to wear flip flops during winter.
D2 - pretty similar, except she will wear a parka/ski jacket and mittens when it’s really cold.
D3 - (still in grammar school) ski jacket, mittens, scarf…
One thing they all wear when it gets really cold are ski socks. They are expensive but really make a difference - keep you warm - are comfortable indoors & out. I buy some kind of wool/cotton/lycra mix that breathe.<br>
Your D will be walking to and from class - I’m sure the sidewalks will be clear. Sneakers, uggs, shoes, or some kind of water resistant hiking shoe - will be fine. Ski jacket, pea coat, fleece, scarf, gloves, jeans, sweats … depends what the other kids are wearing/what your D will want to wear.
An umbrella or hooded rain jacket/coat, rainboots???
My kids use umbrellas and I get them at the dollar store because they “mysteriously” disappear, they will not wear rainboots or hooded raincoats or hats (don’t you know that hoods/hats will mess up their hair - LOL). They will wear generic clothing items if there is no label/writing on the item, but do have some “everyone else is wearing” items. So it sort of averages out.<br>
If you’d like to send her with something - maybe get a fleece/hoodie & sweat pants with her favorite sports team logo.
I’ve found Old Navy is a pretty good baseline brand that the kids will wear (around here anyway), and they frequently have sales. LLBean - good quality, a little more expensive but watch for sales - most places are having back to school sales which are followed by, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, Holiday…than winter clearance sales.
Prices can range all over the place for example, basic fleece: Old Navy $20.00, NorthFace $70.00. If your daughter finds something she likes you/she may be able to order it online and have it delivered cheaper (depending on the site/store; online promitions, free shipping, % off. check out - bradsdeals dot com - for promo codes/deals) - through that site I found zappos had an online outlet and got a great deal on expensive walking shoes. - every penny counts!</p>
<p>The sidewalks may be clear, but the slush in the gutter accumulates. Unless one is a champion jumper, one may have to wade through the stuff. It’s far worse than snow! And in fall and spring, there are puddles galore.</p>
<p>D goes to a LAC located near Boston. D’s advice: Uggs are fine, as long as they are either fleece-lined Ugg rainboots (check Nordstrom) or leather water-resistant Uggs. Regular suede Uggs will quickly turn into mush. Fleece jacket is a must (she loves her hooded Northface denali jacket) as well as warm gloves, socks, scarves and hats. D says her 3/4th-lenghth down coat was a lifesaver in January. Boston can be very windy in fall/winter.</p>
<p>marite - that is true. My kids and I are champion slush-puddle jumpers/avoiders (LOL). To be honest where we live (an urban/suburban area right outside NYC where the snow looks pretty for about 1/2 hour and than turns to grey slush/ice) puddles and slush accumulation has never been too much of a problem and easily avoidable. Our biggest problem is the ice - slippery icy sidwalks/parking lots. Where the snow and ice melts a little during the day and refreezes for the evening/morning. I guess it’s very area specific.</p>
<p>Boston isn’t too bad, especially when the campus is small. My d campus at upstate NY is huge, it often takes 15 min to walk from one class to another. She said with the first snow, it’s not uncommon to see kids slipping and sliding, especially girls.</p>
<p>Global warming- may not need anything besides a hoodie and flip flops. Jking</p>
<p>When I went to school in Chicago, my roommate kept moving back the date that we could break out our winter coats every year. It was Nov 1, then Nov 15, then Dec 1 which was really pushing it. Not sure why she did this, or why I went along with it.</p>
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<p>For some people, perhaps, but others prefer to let their legs freeze when outdoors rather than being too hot when indoors. YMMV.</p>
<p>Uggs are definitely the most popular footwear around here in the winter no matter if there is rain, sleet or snow. For clothing Under Armour and NorthFace are essential for out door activities.</p>
<p>I sent my D gloves, at first the scoffed, and then they realized a pair of gloves takes the edge off.</p>
<p>As for global warming, it doesn’t mean the weather will be warmer, it means the weather will be more volitle and more exteme.</p>
<p>I grew up in upstate NY. Brrrr. It was the damp weather- the wet snow, the melting snow, the cold rain that were actually worse than the cold. Oh and the wind. </p>
<p>What are looking for now is a hooded raincoat thats stylish fpr a size 0</p>
<p>ilovetoquilt–tell us if you find one in NYC!! D finally agreed she’d consider it if we look when we get up there!</p>
<p>i’ve lived in boston my whole life (duh, from the username 
) and all of my friends wear uggs in the winter, rather than crazy intense hiking and/or snow boots. Unless of course you were going to go playing in the snow, with the intention of getting wet, you are unlikely to be walking somewhere on a campus that isn’t either plowed or at least tramped down by lots of feet. you might get a lot of snow in boston, but its unlikely your D will be walking around getting her legs soaked all the time if she isn’t wearing special waterproof boots. I would personally recommend the furry boots from Minnetonka Moccasins; I’ve had them for years and they only just wore out in time for me to get new ones for college!</p>
<p>The brick sidewalk in front of my house is very uneven. No matter how much we plow, melted snow thaws then ices up and creates a skating surface. Sometimes, I have to hold onto the fence in order not to fall on my face. At the street corner, the gutter is clogged with leaves every fall. If it rains, a giant puddle forms. I’ve had to make large detours to get into my house without ruining my shoes. So I wear boots that are waterproof and have good traction. But I am not trying to be fashionable, unlike 18 year old college students.</p>