<p>My s is a freshman and this is his first winter in a cold climate. I bought him a North Face jacket with a zip-in down lining. He has been told this jacket will not be warm enough for Boston's winter weather. He also has a variety of hats, gloves, scarves, etc, etc...Please offer some advice to a miami mom.</p>
<p>We're from New England. DS went to college in Boston. He had a couple of important things...first, he had a warm jacket. The northface with the down lining should be fine and if your son is cold tell him to wear a hoodie under it. DS swore by a scarf and a hat, and gloves. When it was really cold he used the scarf and hat. He always used the gloves (musicians can't have frozen hands). </p>
<p>Who told him the jacket wouldn't be warm enough for Boston weather? There are kids there who don't wear winter coats at all (although as a parent that is just too much for me to take). </p>
<p>Oh...the last two years, DS had a leather jacket that he said was absolutely the warmest coat he's ever owned...really kept the wind from blowing through him. But I wouldn't suggest you run out and buy a leather jacket. </p>
<p>Your son certainly will have friends with different winter garb...and there are plenty of stores in Boston or online vendors if he really needs additional outerwear. </p>
<p>The reality is that they don't spend a LOT of time outside. It's usually just the travel from one building to the next for classes or to get back to housing.</p>
<p>Pick out a base layer from Northface. and add some fleece to the wardrobe from Lands End.</p>
<p>The Northface should be just fine. It's all about the layers. He may want some Northface under ware.</p>
<p>D, also from the south, is relying on layers and northface + gloves, hats and scarves. As a mom though, I am going to make sure a parka with faux fur trim hood ends up under the tree this Christmas. D is also in MA, and called Monday to tell me that it was 23 degrees outside! I'm not so sure she really "gets it" how cold New England will be !</p>
<p>Everyone here wears North Face. It works, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. (And yes, layers are key when one classroom is 75 and the next is 35...)</p>
<p>My skinny California kid is a freshman in Boston still wearing shorts, t-shirt and flip flops. (It's been confirmed by others). He has yet to consider buying a jacket. Yesterday he told me he's beginning to see people dressed like they are expecting a new ice age is fast approaching. I asked if he was planing on buying a jacket and boots (or even jeans, socks and shoes) and he replied. "When it gets cold enough". </p>
<p>I have a pool going as to what day he'll actually begin wearing anything heavier than the shorts, t-shirt and flip flops.....</p>
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Yesterday he told me he's beginning to see people dressed like they are expecting a new ice age is fast approaching.
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<p>And he thinks otherwise? I give him another two weeks!</p>
<p>PS. Jeans are not very warm, especially soft old worn-in jeans. When it gets windy and cold, they feel air-conditioned!</p>
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<blockquote> <p>As a mom though, I am going to make sure a parka with faux fur trim hood ends up under the tree this Christmas. >></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Cautionary tale...what the moms think are important and stylish aren't always the same as what the kids will wear. DD (we're from New England) actually bought a parka with a faux fur trimmed hood...and zipped that hood right off of the parka (never used the hood). I would let your daughter choose her own parka. She isn't going to freeze to death if she doesn't have a hood. And it's awful to waste money on something the kids won't wear. Alternately...you could ask her to send you links to winter coats she thinks she might like, and get one of those.</p>
<p>We live in NH. Son has a Helly Hanson winter coat with integrated hood. It's all one-piece but that's all he uses when it is cold. He may wear one long-sleeve layer underneath. He likes cooler temperatures overall. He usually goes with one pair of gloves. He never wears a scarf. I have a Helly Hanson with a zip-out fleece lining and do use layers.</p>
<p>North Face is very popular. We were riding on the T this past weekend and it was very common.</p>
<p>The problem with too much bulk is going from very cold outside to too hot inside and having to figure out where to put your coat in the classroom.</p>
<p>It was pretty cold this past weekend. Signs point to an exceptionally cold winter in new england this year.</p>
<p>Since he is in Boston, he shouldn't have any trouble finding the appropriate winter wear in nearby shops, if spending the $ is OK with you. I agree with above posters that we as moms and dads have NO idea what the kiddies want and will wear. My D is in school in Providence and bought herself a good jacket last winter. It wasn't until her winter break, though, that she learned (!) that zipping it really would make a difference. I promise I was not a negligent mother!! I did zip her up when she was small!! :)</p>
<p>I agree the North Face should be fine, with extra layers under as needed.</p>
<p>I worried, though, when the headline called it a "jacket." Jackets are what you wear when it's only a little cold out! </p>
<p>Coat, parka....</p>
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and he replied. "When it gets cold enough".
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<p>One thing S should be aware of - by the time it's "cold enough", the stores are either out of cold weather gear, or are beginning to feature their spring clothes (yes, in January!). I work in Boston, and I can tell you that by February it is impossible to find a good pair of gloves.</p>
<p>^ He can always mail-order from LL Bean, but that will take a couple of days, by which time he may be an icicle!</p>
<p>It's been a very warm fall this year here in the Boston area. It will get plenty cold soon, and I doubt he'll be in shorts much longer, though there are those who try to push that look farther than most. The coat should be fine. A lot of kids gets pretty far into the winter without a coat at all, but at some point, he'll need one. Hats and scarves, etc., good to have, but a lot of kids won't be caught dead in that stuff! He'll figure it out, don't worry.</p>
<p>The warm fall can be deceptive. When winter hits, it will hit big-time! And last until April...</p>
<p>My S in Cleveland wears sandals, with or without socks, until it snows. Then he wears boots.</p>
<p>As others have said...layers, layers, layers! North Face is fine, but he will want more than just a regular old long-sleeved shirt under it in the middle of the winter.</p>
<p>In my experience (this will be my sixth Boston winter), fall temperatures have little to do with winter temperatures. In fact, temperatures one week often seem to have little to do with temperatures the next week, especially in the early and late parts of a given season. You can get a few days with highs in the 60s in December, and then the next week it won't get above 30.</p>
<p>This winter is colder than usual early. It was 35 degrees on my drive in and we've already had 20s. In years past (I've been here since the early 1960s) we've had years when the cold weather started in December.</p>
<p>Eastern Mountain Sports on Commonwealth Ave should have gloves available for quite some time. In a pinch, home depot sells five-packs of gardening gloves that can be used in a pinch. And you don't have to worry about losing them.</p>
<p>I find Boston to be cold and windy from trips I have made there. Although Northface and a vest fleece underneath can be quite warm, if it is not enough, you can order from LL Bean, or other similar catalogs, a down jacket that is longer and covers to the top of the legs (rather than the shorter Northface types). When it falls below 20 up here in the exurbs of NYC we like those. I spent my college years in Central NYS and when it was below zero, I wanted warmth, regardless of style, no one knew it was me in that jacket suitable for the submarine service.</p>
<p>Also don't forget the boots. Warm and stylish seems to be easier there.</p>
<p>I remember the first time I visited my H's family in Boston, I was amazed at the simply warm coats & boots people wore, without regard to fashion that I could tell. Clunky boots with skirts, and if you were going to a place where it mattered how you looked, you'd carry along a change of footwear.</p>
<p>In the lower latitudes women would wear open-toe or lightweight shoes and complain about the cold weather...in Boston they just shut up and wore sensible footwear.</p>