valuing fashion over function

[BlaqueKatt]

ok so it's getting close to "bundle up or you may lose appendages" weather here in the great north country. So I not being a real cat and lacking fur to keep me warm am "attempting" to procure cold weather attire. I say "attempting" because it seems stores don't actually carry warm clothing for females, apparently we don't spend more than the briefest of moments in the elements, thus necessitating winter wear consist of, high-heeled boots, suede, and things like uggs, for gloves, well we can have knitted in pretty colors or very thin leather....FINE I'll buy tactical gloves.

WTEVERLOVINGF!

Since when is it necessary for me to be "stylish" when sloshing through ice, snow, slush, and mud?

I have to shop in the men's department to actually find WARM hoodies, as apparently women have no need for the heavy sherpa fleece lined ones, seriously all the women's hoodies I found were the thickness of maybe two t-shirts. All the thermal underwear(i refuse to call them "base layers" it's long or thermal underwear dammit!) for women is listed on the package as "light", I've been buying that from the men's department for years already. Do not even get me started on the "cropped parkas", sorry I like parts OTHER than just my boobs to be warm on occasion......

Seriously some of us that DO spend time outside would like some cute clothes to stay warm in once in a while....guess it's ANOTHER winter of looking like a lumberjack in heavy farm coats and flannel......

[bara]

....guess it's ANOTHER winter of looking like a lumberjack in heavy farm coats and flannel......

I always wear flannel.

However, I understand. Its a bit different for me though. Ill go to the store to buy clothes, and all the nice looking clothes are about 2 sizes to small.

While I like to think I am a handsome fellow, I know damn well I have a gut. Guts and tight clothes do NOT look good. Its a pain to try to find something that doesnt look like its a snot rag or have some stupid logo on it in my size.

[Boozy]

I know exactly what you mean. I'm having a lot of trouble finding a warm coat that's not a ski parka. I have to wear dress clothes most days, and would like to find some outerwear that goes with my outfits. I'll be wearing a heavy coat most days between now and March while running errands after work, and I want to look nice.

I don't understand why they can't put a decent lining into a wool-blend dress coat. Designers must think that women don't want the extra bulk, but I don't care. A dress coat is usually more shapely than a parka no matter what.

Footwear is a bit easier. I usually buy a tall pair of leather boots with good traction and waterproofed seams, and then just wear thermal socks for warmth.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I actually had this conversation with someone:

Me: Hey, do you sell hiking boots?
Airheaded Sales Clerk: Yes, we do. They're right here!
Me: (looking at hiking styled chunky fashion boots). No, I mean, REAL hiking boots. These are not hiking boots.
ASC: Oh! You're going to actually use them for hiking?



No, honey, I'm going to use them for ballet dancing.

I found myself needing a pair of boots inside of a three hour period. I ended up finding a pair of Timberlands in a men's shop that were not awesome, but they got the job done.

"Actually going to use them for hiking." I know, crazy that I might want to use a pair of hikers in such an unorthodox way, innit?

It's hard to find decent coats down here. A friend of mine wrote an entire essay on why shopping for coats in the south sucks. His hatred of winter is rivaled only by my own. It's because down here in the south, nobody seems to take winter seriously. No it does not dip below zero here. But yes, we do get snow, ice, and dangerous temperatures. And it's wipes us out because nobody takes it seriously down here. Merchants don't stock clothing that will keep us warm. Thank God for internet commerce.

We lost the power for a week once during an ice storm and do you know I could not even purchase long johns? And it's not like they were sold out, either, you can't buy fucking long johns in the wintertime down here.

It boggles.

I got lucky. My mom bought me a...I dunno what it is, some sort of wool blend long coat. It's pretty sleek and well fitting, and really very toasty. It's a warm coat. And my brother in law is Finnish and goes to Estonia a lot. You will not get cold while wearing an Estonian sweater and a pair of Finnish socks.

[bhskittykatt]

Hiking boots - yeah, I just go straight to the men's section. My US Women's Size 11 feet are hard enough to shop for if I'm looking for cute shoes. Hiking boots in that size at a typical shoe store? Forget it! Not even Big 5 can help me there.

I actually had a guest give me a winter coat that's fairly stylish...not quite cold enough here yet to wear it. It's warm, but not super bulky. I don't know where I could actually buy something like that, though. I have the exact same problem shopping for winter coats.

[Kheldarson]

I think that's the bonus to working at the sporting goods store I do. We actually carry stuff that's functional and yet still cute. Like for gloves, we got this wonderful fleece lined running gloves that are black with some bright colors for contrast. I'm planning on getting the bright blue at some point. And we have hiking boots. And all kinds of jackets, but they're very expensive. And retail pay sucks.

[Kaylyn]

And while we're at it, why is it so difficult for women with tiny feet, like me, to find actual work boots? Seriously, I need hardcore, heavy duty work boots, they must be waterproof and steel toed would be nice to have. They don't seem to exist for women, at least not that I've found, and I wear a men's size 5 so it's virtually impossible to find them that small in men's. And when I do find a pair that fits, they tend to fall apart after only a couple months of wear, even if I spend decent money on them.

[blas87]

Hello, I am a total winter denier

In all honesty, I won't quit wearing open toed shoes until the snow sticks to the pavement, and if we get a few days where there's no snow or it melts or is shoveled well, I'll put them back on. I HATE wearing socks and closed toed shoes. HATE them. I have to wear that to work every day.

You'll see me walking around in a tiny coat or several shirts and a hoodie because I cannot pull off any kind of winter jacket without looking like a fatso or the puffpuff from Gostbusters. I guess I do care how I look more than if I'm warm or not, but then again, I try to never be outside for longer than I need to be.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

And while we're at it, why is it so difficult for women with tiny feet, like me, to find actual work boots? Seriously, I need hardcore, heavy duty work boots, they must be waterproof and steel toed would be nice to have.

It's not just chicks with tiny feet. I have huge, wide, sherpa feet. Usually a nine or ten, depending on the shoe. And I still can't find serious work boots in a woman's shoe. I've bought large boy's shoes before, but you can't really get steel toes in those. And men's boots just don't seem to fit right. My heels are narrow and my ankles are small. Yes, I have duck feet.

I ended up buying a pair of Doc Marten's work boots that worked out okay for me. Still, I don't think they have a steel toe, but they are very, very sturdy, waterproof, and skid resistant.

Why they think women don't do manual labor is beyond me.

[Aethian]

May I point a few of you here? LINK If your lucky enough to have a store nearby and get fitted you can even find steel toed running shoes that are super cute. AND they have all those ubber weird widths that most stores dont. One of their pair of work shoes (Mens, 8.5 EE) have lasted me just over 8 months before they were retired to every day shoes from work shoes. I STILL have them over a year later.

[KabeRinnaul]

In all honesty, I won't quit wearing open toed shoes until the snow sticks to the pavement, and if we get a few days where there's no snow or it melts or is shoveled well, I'll put them back on. I HATE wearing socks and closed toed shoes. HATE them. I have to wear that to work every day.

I used to walk around campus in short, sandals, and a hoodie/pullover when there was thick snow on the ground, but that's because I have ridiculous cold tolerance.

And my best friend (and best man at my wedding) is from Alaska, so seeing the two of us out in the snow in what most would call summer clothing isn't really unusual.

My only problem with clothing is that I wear an XL to XXL, but my gut adds an extra "X" to that. And that I have really wide feet, so I always have to buy shoes 1-2 sizes too large.

[LadyBarbossa]

I sort of have the opposite problem. If I want to find nice, short sleeved clothing after September or October, I'm screwed. The only selection is sweaters, hideous heavy, puffy jackets, winter hats, etc. The problem?

I live in FLORIDA. We might use the 'heavy duty' stuff like a week or two out of the year, if that. But every year, it comes out sooner and sooner, and hangs around for a while into spring, even after it's been marked down to near steal prices. Hell I'd love to wear this stuff, but I'm not going to roast to death and look ridiculous.

[siead_lietrathua]

alot of it probably just depends on the weather you are used to. like my grandma, who lives in the south, is in coats and sweaters when its just the beginning of fall up here. wheras some of us are only in hoodies and thin gloves well into the winter months because we are used to it.
i have a friend that wears jeans and maybe a longsleeve shirt in winter. the man is a dang furnace though. people follow him to steal his heat!

[bhskittykatt]

alot of it probably just depends on the weather you are used to. like my grandma, who lives in the south, is in coats and sweaters when its just the beginning of fall up here. wheras some of us are only in hoodies and thin gloves well into the winter months because we are used to it.
i have a friend that wears jeans and maybe a longsleeve shirt in winter. the man is a dang furnace though. people follow him to steal his heat!

A lot of people from SoCal seem to like to move up here (Pacific NW). You can easily tell which ones are from Cali because they will be bundled in heavy coats when it's only like 50 degrees out, and they carry umbrellas.

[jackfaire]

A lot of people from SoCal seem to like to move up here (Pacific NW). You can easily tell which ones are from Cali because they will be bundled in heavy coats when it's only like 50 degrees out, and they carry umbrellas.

*giggles maniacally* Damn toursits.

I looked at a guy on the Max once and was all, "Oh your not from around here" he looked surprised I pointed to his umbrella.