Winter Layering: The Trick to Keeping Warm

Posted on January 30, 2015January 30, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

Growing up, I always hated winter. My brother and I really only got new clothing at back to school time. My mother, wanting to beat the rush, maintained a tradition of taking us shopping in mid-August, just before stores put all the fall and winter stuff out for the back to school crowd. She set an equal and very strict budget for my brother and I; enough to buy two or three high quality and much needed items… or about ten terrible, flimsy things that might just be enough to get us through the year. Obviously, I choose quantity over quality. I bought things that had been reduced in price more than once since they first arrived in the spring and summer seasons. Every year I brought home bags of tank tops, thin t-shirts, ankle socks, Capris, cropped sweat shirts and open-toed shoes… that I wasn’t allowed to start wearing until September. This led to me shivered my way through the next five to six months of winter storms in a sliver of the province known as The Snow Belt.

Now that I’ve grown up and realized that I can literally buy warmth, I spend my money more wisely. I buy well made items that will last several winters, collecting them slowly, year by year. I buy wool, cotton and polyester for layering. I couldn’t find a thick, long sleeve flannel shirt in the women’s section, so I bought one from the men’s. I buy winter dresses and skirts, knee socks, knit tights and thick stockings. I’m well on my way to owning a respectable range of cute and cozy sweaters. I’m starting to enjoy winter.

Yesterday evening, I layered up and the husband and I took a walk through the park.

$Winter Layering \\ Sophster-Toaster$

I moved to an area of the province with an opposing microclimate, -3°C in January is downright balmy to this Snow Belt expat.

$Winter Layering \\ Sophster-Toaster$

I wore cotton undergarments, a polyester slip, nylon stockings + garter belt, a cotton cardigan, a wool skirt and a wool/polyester blend coat. I like to layer with a mix of natural and synthetic fabrics in the winter. Natural fabrics like cotton and wool feel warm to the touch and are good for wicking away sweat to keep you dry, but they can also be quite permeable to body heat and cold wind, especially cotton. Polyester is light and doesn’t breath, making it good for locking heat close to the skin.

$Winter Layering \\ Sophster-Toaster$ $Winter Layering \\ Sophster-Toaster$

Cardigan: H&M (old) // Skirt: ModCloth // Stockings: ModCloth //Shoes: ModCloth // Coat: Old Navy (old) // Gloves: ModCloth (old) // Bag: ModCloth // Jewellery: gifts // Hair Bow: Sophster-Toaster

Afterwards, we walked to the pub for a pint of oatmeal stout and some sweet potato fries with sriracha mayo to warm up. He let me double dip.

January Romance

Posted on January 7, 2015January 7, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

Winter has finally arrived in southern Ontario. Everyone is returning to work from their warm, wet, spring-like Christmas vacation with a frost-covered windshield and blisteringly cold and windy commute. It’s around this time of year, as Valentine’s Day approaches, that my husband and I mark the sudden surge of pink and red hearts, candy and cards in stores with one of us excitedly announcing that my birthday must be soon. This year, that day came earlier than ever before: January 2nd. (I also received a pair of Valentine’s Day socks from my mom for Christmas). Although I find this a little ridiculous, I can’t help but get excited for that one time of year where all my heart print belongings become relevant.

This morning, after recently watching Mad Men for the first time (I know, I don’t know what took me so long either), I decided to try pin curling my naturally wavy hair before photographing a cold weather outfit.

Yes, that is long underwear. Yes, I had to answer the door and talk to the gas metre woman looking like this.

My hair takes hours to dry on its own and holds a curl very well so I decided not to wet it before curling. I left the pins in while I ate breakfast and hoped for the best.

The results weren’t exactly January Jones, but for how long it took me to pin curl (~10 min.), I think it’s definitely something worth practising.

Sweater: ModCloth // Top: BoatHouse // Pants: ModCloth //Boots: Bakers

The Brunch Dress

Posted on August 7, 2014August 6, 2014 by Melissa Harrison

When I was about three years old, my parents allowed me to watch a John Waters movie. It was a copy recorded from television. I’m not sure if it was recorded specifically for me or if my parents recorded it for themselves to watch later and I just happened to get my sticky fingers on it and ram it into the VCR one day when I got tired of shoving Hot Wheels in there. It seems quite reckless of them now, but perhaps they didn’t know who John Waters was or perhaps they were too busy with my new little brother to notice at the time. What ever the reason, I sure am glad they did decide to show me / didn’t stop me because that movie has been my very favourite ever since. Good thing that movie was Cry-Baby, it could have been a lot worse.

Continue reading →

After Work Pool Party

Posted on July 22, 2014August 6, 2014 by Melissa Harrison

I never know what to wear to a pool party. Nobody really had pools in the neighbourhood where I grew up so I never saw my parents spending time with other adults around a quiet backyard swimming pool. For me, pool time was put your bathing suit on, ride your bike to the community pool, splash around with the other children and dry off on the bike ride home. There was no prolonged lounging poolside with your nice clothes on. Even the adults were already in their swimsuits, soaking up the unknown danger in a world where sunbathing was still a wholesome pastime.

Movies, television and pictures aren’t much help either, everyone is already in their bathing suit to some degree by the time they hit the backyard. The only examples I can think of are modern movies where, for some reason, everyone at the rooftop party seems to be completely unaware of the presence of the big, lit up pool in the middle of the floor until someone inevitable falls / jumps in. These people aren’t dressed for a pool party, they’re dressed for cocktails.

So how does one dress for beer and burgers with a little splashing in between? Well, I usually go for a toned-down garden party look, some light, fit-and-flare, knee length number that I can easily change in and out of – but that didn’t seam right for a casual, after work, Friday evening thing. So instead, I decided on something I rarely wear outside of the house: shorts. The result is a cute day to night nautical look.

Continue reading →