Warm Up & Look Hot

Winter has hit the Midwest with a vengeance. While some of us are lucky enough to live in warmer climates, frosty temps and gray skies are a bleak reality for a lot of us.     

I live in a cold climate. Cleveland, Ohio, to be exact. I hate winter and all that comes along with it. Snow, ice, dirty slush, biting cold, frozen hands, runny nose, chapped lips, chapped face, melting icicles impaling me when I enter a building (am I the only one terrified of this?).   

 

Hey, I could probably write a song based on all the things I don’t enjoy about winter. It just know it would become an instant classic!   

But there is a little good news at least! Having the essentials to look great during the cold weather will undoubtedly make you feel more confident, uplifted, and ready to take on the world, even if you would rather stay toasty warm at home in your comfy sweats. 

Grab Your Coat

If you are only going to have one coat, the most versatile is knee-length, single-breasted, and made from a natural fiber like wool or cashmere. This basic style can work for the most casual of outfits like jeans and boots, but you can also wear it on more dressy occasions. 

Make sure it is a color that you commonly wear so it fits in with the rest of your wardrobe. Black is what most women would usually select, but beware - black coats attract copious amounts of lint and animal hair.  It’s never attractive to be seen picking stray fibers off yourself like a monkey (although I still find that I do it to myself and others – eek!).

I recommend in lieu of black, going with a dark, heathered charcoal. It will be much less forgiving with lint. 

Let it skim your body. Extra points if it tapers at the waist or has a belt. This will help to define your waist and make you look slimmer. 

When selecting a coat, make sure it’s large enough to fit a bulky sweater or a jacket underneath in case you need to stay extra warm!

 

 

Tahari Asymmetrical Ruffle Trench

Top it Off

This is my favorite part of winter style! Accessorize your outerwear just as you would the rest of your wardrobe. 

Do you have a favorite color or a color you receive a lot of compliments in? (Ladies, I do not mean black.)  Buy five accessories in that color – a turtleneck, long-sleeve T-shirt, gloves, a scarf, and a purse or boots.  Wear three matching pieces – maximum – at one time.  The idea is that having pieces that match and work together makes you look like you put a lot of thought into what you’re wearing - even though you really didn’t!

At the minimum, when I buy a turtleneck, I am in the habit of buying a pair of gloves to match it.

My fabulous friend Dee, modeling for a Fox 8 shoot with me

If you wear a few key colors a lot of the time, look for winter scarves that incorporate those colors.  I love bright colors, and my favorite scarf this year is teal, rust, lime and orange. It looks great with my brown coat and many of my brightly-colored turtlenecks. Plus, if I take my coat off, I can leave the scarf on as an accessory!

Add a cute pair of boots and trust me - you will find that trudging through winter is not quite such a chore!