Leggi in italiano 

When the temperature goes down below 10 degrees, I realize how fragile we are.

After writing 5 useful tips on how to look pretty during winter travels, where I mainly talk about beauty care products and good practices, it seems to me the time has come to add some more tricks concerning clothing in particular, that I’ve learnt by travelling in the coldest periods of the year and that helped me make it back home safe and sound.

In the cover picture of this article, I look relaxed and peaceful and, though we all tend to pretend we are happy and handsome in front of a camera, I can assure you it was no fiction: thanks to some clothes (that take little space in the bag) I felt relatively good.

I hereby invite you to add your suggestions in the comments to this post! Thanks 😉

1 – The leotard 

An intuition I recently had during my trip to Bosnia.

The dry wind of Sarajevo and the damp evenings of Mostar would have made it seriously difficult for a person like me, whereas…in some cases, I even acted like the coolest girl around sitting at the bar without my jacket on, just like those people whose blood circulation ensures a wonderful collaboration even at the lowest temperatures.

My secret? I was wearing a leotard! Nothing special, but simple clothes on sale from Zara to Liu Jo (I guess, at least).

Tight-fitting and warm, leotards can be worn under sweaters, cardigans or coats, it’s like having a second skin.

2 – Leg-warmers 

Forget about wearing tights under the jeans: besides feeling uncomfortable as hell, they won’t protect you that much from cold and you’ll have synthetic materials at contact with your skin (if you can’t stand cold, I’m pretty sure you also suffer from different contact dermatitis, am I wrong?).

I tested my leg-warmers during my trip to Timisoara.

If you wear them under your boots or above your leggings, jeans or even tights with a skirt, you’ll suffer less.

4 – Leggings 

 

I really underestimated leggings and overvalued jeans a lot. The latter are among the garments I like the most, but let’s tell the truth: jeans are warm during summer and cold in winter.

Therefore, when it comes to fighting cold, I prefer wearing skirts and leggings with my leg warmers on.

What is left slighlty more subject to bad weather are your thighs and bottom, that aren’t generally the parts of the body that feel more cold: the quadriceps are constantly moving muscles, well fed with blood. As regards your bottom, it depends on the person and how often he/she sits on marble.

5 – Woolen cardigan under the coat 

For those who “really” feel cold, a coat might not be enough. Is there a way to wear double layers of softness without turning into the Michelin man?

I think there is, even considering that I HATE duvet jackets, that might surely be warm but I personally find them really ugly.

Then try one of the many cardigans on sale in their different forms.

I’m really a big fan of cardigans, that are besides a real MUST-HAVE for all the people with a capsular wardrobe, because you can wear them in various combinations in mild weather, from September (as coat) until January (as sweaters worn over tight-fitting cotton t-shirts and under coats back from the war in Siberia).

3 – Hand-warmers 

For those who have problems of blood circulation and with hand that, even if wearing gloves, tend to freeze at the tips, there are some useful tips to stick to.

Among these, hand-warmers: small items designed to fit in your hands or pockets.  There are different models on sale; I’ve found these on Amazon  among the cutest, but if you don’l like the “heart-shaped” kind, there are several other more neutral or even less elegant models that work with gasoline, just like lighters.

They are clearly more expensive: if the first model, containing gel, cost around 2 euros, the latter will cost you between 15 and 20 euros.

Otherwise, you can build your own hand-warmers with rice (a good idea even for a small gift).

Here you’ll find the tutorial written in Geran but extremely clear illustrations.

Your individually built hand-warmers will have to be warmed in the oven or with a hair-dryer every once in a while, but the rice grains keep the heat for a long time and create a virtuous circle: by keeping the warm bag in your hand, your hands get warm and the heat passes on to the bag and rice grains, which keep your heat and pass it back to you.

 

Any other suggestion for me? (I’m going to a very cold Krakow in some days and I need more smart tips 😉 )