You may have noticed that there haven’t been many fashion posts lately. I’m sorry about that! I’m working on it…but first, I promised I was going to real on this site, and winter fashion in Chiberia is hard for me…like really really really hard for me. Gonna try to outline why I struggle so much, my essentials and how I’m going to try to combat my lack of fashion.
#1 – I pretty much look like a walking sleeping outside – all day, everyday. This pic is actually pretty decent. I feel like most of time I look pretty terrible. My commute e
veryday consists of standing outside on a train platform in suburbia, coming into Union Station, then walking a mile to my office. This isn’t a pity party for me. It’s just my life, and duri
ng the summer, I love my extra 2 miles of exercise I get a day. It’s just when it’s 2° outside and a windchill of -16°, maybe worse crossing the river and around Sears Tower, well, that’s when it gets tough. So, no, you won’t see me strolling down Jackson in a gorgeous wool dress coat because it’s simply not warm enough. Maybe there are some out there, but I am invested my dinero in what scientist wear in the arctic. For the past two winters all I have wanted was a Canada Goose parka. Canada Goose coats are the warmest on the planet in varying degrees. On the flip side, the price of them is more than the rent of my first studio apartment in the city. So while I had a pretty nice North Face parka for along time, I REALLLLYYYYY wanted one of these bad boys. Another problem with them, is they aren’t really in stores…they sell out SUPER fast so it’s hard to figure out which one you want. My husband got lucky when we went to Nordstrom; they had a ton of men’s Canada Goose coats, not so much for woman. Long story short, I got the Kensington Parka after trying that one and the Trillium Parka. As a chick with hips, the Trillium was not working for me. I really do love it. So, we poured all our money into these badass coats…Sorry, Fran Lebowitz, walking around Chicago in January & February is practically going on an arctic expedition – so I won’t be ditching my down parka anytime soon.
#2 – The hat/hood combo which then leads to AWESOME hair all day. You would be a damn fool if you walk outside for more than 1 min in the winter here without a hat or at the bare min a hood. So practicality wins again. You know who doesn’t win? My hair…I suffer from chronic hat hair all winter. 
When your hair looks like poo, it’s really hard to elevate the rest of your look. You just gotta try to work the odd creases out or maybe you end up in a messy bun on top of your head, hoping your office coworkers think it’s a new look as opposed to just bad hair. My hat above is from Claire’s (meep – I know, it was a bananas time warp walking into that store). They don’t have it on-line so here is a similar version from Asos.
#3 – The darkness. I have self-diagnosised SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), particularly in the winter. I get “down in the dumps” because it’s dark and cold. The MINIMAL sunny days we have are ICE cold, with the sun setting at like 4 pm. To say Chicagoans are Vitamin D deficient in the winter is an understatement. With the dark and my SAD combined, I don’t have much motivation beyond getting my real job done well and home life kept up. That means, I don’t put much thought into my outfit or appearance. I know this is my problem, and I need to work on it. And I will! I prom!
#4 – Winter clothes just don’t really do it for me which then means, I don’t buy them and my winter wardrobe is kinda lacking. Today I was in Banana Republic looking for a sweater for my next outfit post, hoping to find something that I’d be like YES with…b
ut I was way more attracted to this neon coral summer shirt dress they already have out in January. I am excited for sweaters and boots for as long as November is 50°. I love fall along with “sweater weather” and blanket scarves! I’m just not into months on end of it. I want neon and summer dresses. I know I can wear neon in the winter, but a lot of times I just pass on buying winter clothes because I sooo meh on them. And well, outfit posts need clothes…I’m just lacking in them. And like today! Today I had gift cards from Christmas, I wanted to buy something perfect for a winter post, but then I would have to peel off my 700 layers of clothes to try things…and that’s when my motivation trailed off. My friend and I were like ugh, maybe we will try things on when it gets warmer. It’s easier to shop when it’s warmer. Even if you are on line shopping, it’s easier to like clothes when you are tan and warm.
#5 – Wrinkles and rumples. Is rumples are word? Well, I don’t care if it’s not. I always feel so darn wrinkled in the winter. Lets add in linty, too! Like I’m just full of wrinkles and lint. It’s because of the layers, the scarves, sweaters and the bulky parka. When you are wrinkled, it’s just are to get excited about your look. You need the layers and parka because it’s SUB-ZERO out. I think I’m gonna invest in a hand steamer and a couple of lint rollers – hope for the best from this fix.
So yea – I know I just did a bunch of griping about winter, but when I post “winter fashion” posts in the near future, I want you to know I don’t walk around the street looking like that. On a day to day basis, I look like a giant walking (rumpled) sleeping bag with bad hair, just like everyone trudging through the snow. We are all just trying to survive the frozen tundra that is Chiberia. I’m going to try to get some winter posts out, I promise! I’m also going to try to be more fashionable during winter. I will keep you posted on how it goes for me.
Peace out,
Wet Hair, Don’t Care
P.S. Scarf above is from Old Navy but no longer available and boots are Ugg from Nordstrom
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