Number Two: A lesson in warmth...

(also known as "Protect Yo-Self Girl!")

So I've told the story of landing in the middle of a snow storm and interning during one of the coldest New York winters I have known in the past twelve years many times...

Even after the past decade in the City, I still maintain that my first winter here was one of the worst.  It just snowed all the time!  And as a fashion design intern I found myself spending more time outside than inside...as there is no such thing as not getting the job done in fashion.  Seriously.  (I swear, fashion interns could literally organize secret opps for the government...we know how to make things happen and look good doing it!)

Growing up in South Georgia, my definition of cold was going to visit my Nanny and Big Dad in North Alabama during Christmas vacation, so I showed up in New York with an unlined black Banana Republic peacoat, the warmest thing I owned.  I thought it was sooooo warm and soooo fashionable.  Sometimes I am still amazed that I have actually survived in this city.  I mean, I really had no idea.  

So I froze my little behind off in my peacoat and "winter shoes" (aka leather boots with a 2.5" heel...it's astonishing that I didn't sprain my ankle on the frozen sidewalks.  I was so stupid!), but I managed to make it thru.  The next year: it was pretty much the same story, except my heels were way higher.  I have a tendency to always choose form over function.  I hate looking ugly...I just can't do it.  So I slid in my boots and shivered in a vintage car coat  all over the city...as I was channeling the sixties.  Naturally.  Gah...I was dumb.

{I just noticed that this post is becoming more a dissertation on stupidity rather than a lesson in warmth...}  

It took me about five years to actually buy something waterproof and another five years to buy something puffy. (Yep, do the math...that was two years ago!)  

After last year's painfully cold and harsh winter, all bets were off:  I finally embraced the world of the parka!  Oh sweet mother of warmth!  Where have you been all my life?  How I love your furry lining and bigger than life hood!  Who cares if I don't have peripheral vision?  I am so warm and toasty, and that 40mph wind gust that nearly knocked me over felt almost tropical in here!  

Aaaaaaaaaaaah

Fortunately, parkas are considered a fashion statement these days.  (It also seems that looking homeless is a rather popular fashion statement at the moment.  Why anybody would ever want to look ugly I will never understand, but that is a rant for another day...)

Lady birds, listen to me!  If you are moving to the city for the first time DO NOT follow my lead!

Protect Yo-Self Girl!  

 Buy a big, fat, puffy sleeping bag with sleeves and look good on the inside!  The puffier the better.  A hood that renders most of your vision useless? Bonus points!  Channel Kenny from South Park for ultimate satisfaction.  

Your body will thank you...

Protect yo-self & click on a jacket for more info

Stay warm lady birds! 

xo...

ki