As far as boots- I really hate snow boots with fur around the top. If you actually walk in the snow, it gets caked on! Daughter has one pair like that with a quick pull string. Another pair from Lands End that has a zipper and no fur- easy on and off. I bought a pair of leather Chelsea boots from Lands End and they are holding up pretty well. Lands End has sales and I don’t think I paid more than $40 for any of the shoes.
Back in 2012 I splurged on Ugg boots for my then 4th grader. She still wears them today!! Of course never in the snow or rain. At the time I remember thinking it would be a waste of money- but I guess not!
We have all kinds of boots. Sorels for snow stuff. And they are warm and last forever. I have UGGS which are warm…and I do wear them in the snow. Just spray them with waterproofing spray. Also have ankle high th insulate lined hiking boots…and those are good too.
Our kids…well…DD has LLBean duck boots. And Uggs. And hiking boots.
I like the duck boots because you can just step in and out of them. But they are not good for deep snow (they just fill up with snow). And no way I could lace them tight enough around my ankles to make it work. Have a different pair of boots for deep snow.
H just bought Bogs while in MN: supposedly rated for very low minus temps; he plans to use for snowmobiling since his Sorels cracked. I’ve never worn Bogs myself though.
S1 uses a windbreaker with a moderate lining over top of a warm hoodie. If he gets too warm he just unzips the jacket. Underneath that, a flannel(Viyella, as some locals call them) shirt. Knock off Timberlands …they aren’t high enough to be “real” winter boots, IMO, but they are in vogue. Some mediocre gloves, but he’ll switch to Down mitts if he is going skiing. Uses a tocque for his head if the hoodie isn’t enough. He is at McGill…it gets pretty nippy there, especially when a chill wind comes up off the St. Lawrence river, or he goes up to the top of Mount Royal.
Layers are the main thing. Don’t try and do it all with one piece of clothing. You wouldn’t wear the same piece of clothing when it’s 60, 70, 80, and 90 degrees F, so why would you think that you wear the same piece of clothing when it’s -10, 0, 10, and 20 F?
I have found a lot of the ratings on gloves and boots to be bogus. I have a pair of gloves that were supposed to be good up till -20, and they are awful. Kids bought me some “choppers” that looked warm, but the synthetic lining turned out to be not up to snuff on cold days. Finally broke down and bought some sheepskin “oven mitt” gloves made in Canada. They are fantastic- best I’ve ever had.
I have good luck with lined Keen Targhee boots. My feet never get cold. Decent treads. Far better than Timberlands. If going in deep snow just get some gaiters that go up to the knee, or get some of the knee length Sorels…I find the Keens to be far better quality for walking in.
I grew up in South Florida and went to school in Florida, and was dating a guy (now my husband of 23 years, lol) who grew up in Massachusetts and was in school at Syracuse.
I flew to visit him senior year of college, and the weather was gorgeous – in Syracuse! – that weekend. He laughed and laughed, because I was the kid that would skip going to class when the temp dropped below 35 in Gainesville, LOL. (I mean, that was just unacceptably cold.) Ha!
Following this thread with interest – we’re in Atlanta, and my daughter is still waiting on acceptances, but she’s applied to some schools in very cold climates. She wears tank tops, yoga pants and Chuck Taylors year-round, and maybe throws on a hoodie in the winter. We have no idea how to dress for the cold.
I have a pair gloves (Grandoe) that were the warmest gloves I have ever had. Wore them to a football game with my wife and at halftime she asked to switch gloves because her hands were very cold. When she put them on she slapped me because my hands were sweating in them. She wore them the rest of the game (and her gloves sucked). Bought the same brand 10 years ago or so and they are no where near as warm.
Kids have Swany mittens which are very warm. I still prefer gloves though.
Actually a lot of people would wear the same thing — shorts and a t-shirt. I see it all the time here in NC. For me 60 and sometimes 70 is too cold for shorts, but it’s 40 degrees right now and my husband is walking around in shorts and a t-shirt. He did just put on a lightweight fleece to go walk 10 or 12 houses down the street to a neighbor’s. Still in the shorts, though. I do not roll that way. Gotta be pretty warm for me. We back up to a park and I see people in shorts and t-shirts or no shirts when it’s 50 and up and some people when its 40! Me – I can’t do cold.
Thankful my D22 is not going anywhere too cold, but she probably will need a new coat. I think they have had 3 snows at her favorite school this year.
My other D is in FL. All of her winter clothes just sit collecting dust. I wish my girls could share clothes or shoes, but everyone is a different size! FL D only wears converse. I don’t know why she even has other shoes
I had to Google it; you know what it’s like in NC/SC. We only need winter coats for a week or so. Layers, layers layers; it’s 21° in the morning and 65° by 3 pm I gave all mine away when we left PA the last time
Received a timely email: Smartwool is having their end-of-season sale! They also sell gloves. D has a pair and says they’re very warm. I bought her the ones with the touchscreen-compatible fingers. Someone upthread mentioned Swany. I wear their mittens for skiing and they’re super warm too.
I found a pair of flannel lined LLBean jeans at the thrift store. They were new but I couldn’t figure out what size they were. The only tag I found was a ‘10’ but they were really long and had a tiny waist. I think they were probably a weird size. Anyway, I gave them to my daughter who wears a size 2 (maybe a 4), but has long legs. They are pretty baggy, but when I asked her if she wears them, she said yes, that she doesn’t care what she looks like at 4 am when going in to open at Starbucks. In Laramie WY. When it is often -10 degrees. Fashion, smashion. It’s the warmth that counts.
I paid $5. In the catalog, they are $70.
Other daughter likes 32 Degrees underwear for skiing, both top and bottom. Very thin but warm. She bought some at Costco but I gave her some from Macy’s for her birthday and she said those are better quality.
Those of us old enough to remember sizing before “vanity” sizing came into effect know that yesterdays misses 10 is now a 6. Makes us feel better about getting larger.
So I bet that pair of flannel-lined jeans were an old size 10, equivalent to today’s 6, and hence a little big on your size 4 daughter. That was quite a find!
My nephew is going to college in NM. He has outgrown all his jackets. I’m thinking of getting him a Columbia 3 in 1 jacket that had detachable lining so it can be used for more seasons and then let him if his folks get him something for winter.
My kids wouldn’t wear that jacket. They’d rather have two different jackets. (I had a 3-in-1 and liked it, but i’m not a college kid).
When I was at a football game at CU, about half way up the stands, we joked that ‘this must be a Northface school’ as every shoulder in front of us had a Northface emblem on the left shoulder. I’m sure if those kids went skiing, they’d have another jacket for that, but for around campus they just wear the thinner fleece/thermal jacket.
I gave all mine away when we left PA the last time