The cold brings out the Northern Exposure in me
L-A: I apologize in advance for my whinging and whining, but I can’t help it. I hate the cold. I really do. You’d think being born on an island in the North Atlantic would make me like the winter a little bit. It doesn’t. However, I do enjoy winter outwear. I only wish it didn’t need to be so damn cold in order to wear it. But, whenever I break out my puffy coat and bean boots, I start to think Northern Exposure thoughts (and holy crap! did you know the show is 20 years old this year? what the eff?).
Which is why I was a little bit giddy to see in my inbox that WhoWhatWear was channeling Northern Exposure. Except my idea of Northern Exposure “chic” is a bit more practical. Since I was almost channeling the same thing yesterday (except, with my purple tights and skirt, I was mixing my Northern Exposure with American Apparel and I’m not so sure it worked out). So I’ve decided to start a series on keeping myself warm, partially inspired by my love of Northern Exposure. Today, we’re going to talk outerwear.
Anyway, let’s start with boots. If I didn’t already own bean boots, I’d totally be jumping on the Sorel bandwagon (I can’t justify the expense of another pair of practical boots…no matter how much I want them). Two pairs by Sorel that I love are:
I don’t care what anyone says, I love these boots. I even love the plaid. Scratch that, I especially love the plaid. In fact, I’m trying to think of ways to incorporate more plaid into my wardrobe (I am sadly lacking in awesome tartans). The only trouble with this style of boot is that they cause the dreaded MarkBergenFeet™ (Apologies to MarkBergen, wherever he may be, for using his name here. But I’m stuck on this term and you can blame the person who gave it to me. That person shall remain nameless). This is where your socks fall into your boots and when you take your boots off, the heel of the sock is somewhere near your toes and the toe of the sock is far away from your feet. I recommend making friends with a knitter who can make you really thick wool socks (nanas are a good source). Or hitting up a church fair to buy some. I wear them over my socks to keep them in place (and spend a lot of time darning them, as my boots really do a number on my socks…I’m pretty sure I no longer have the original feet in my socks). Is this stylish? Can you trust my opinion on anything now that you know I love practical boots and wool socks? Well, I don’t know. But I like having warm, dry feet and I’m just going to roll with that. Besides, when I’m not trying to get to and from work in nice pants or a skirt, I roll up my jeans and try my darndest to look like I could be an extra on Northern Exposure or belong on the cover of The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing. It helps that I wear a gigantic down parka.
And by “helps”, I mean, at least I’m committed to the look. Sometimes, you will feel like an idiot in a gigantic down coat. But mostly, you will feel warm. You might even feel a bit smug as you wait for the bus all cozied up in your coat, while some other girl looks cuter freezes her arse off. And ladies, smug and warm is better than cute and freezing.
Fashionable People, Questionable Things 
haha I love the Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing – one of my favourite books, just re-read it not too long ago. You’re right, the girl on the cover totally fits this look! I definitely feel frump when I go out in the morning in my puffy, furry-hooded coat and clompy boots, but I’m SO grateful for it once I’m standing at the busstop – sometimes you just gotta be practical!
I’m right there with you on the frumpy. But as I said, I’d rather be smug and warm than look cute. So I just tell myself that it’s “Northern Exposure chic” and save my cuter outerwear for days when I’m not going to freeze to death at the bus stop.
Sorel makes amazing boots. I want to get a pair and go tromping through the snow. I have these ridiculous fluffy Airwalk boots from years ago that I just reinstated into the rotation. They’re the warmiest and coziest things ever but they each look like a dead raccoon.
Sorels almost make me want to like winter. I’m all for warm and cozy boots – even if they do look like dead raccoons. When it gets cold, I stop judging people’s foot wear. Except for people who wear shoes that aren’t at all practical for the weather. Then I just think they’re crazy.
I am totally the cute and freezing girl. I don’t mean to be but then I forget!