How To Stay Warm and Stylish This Winter

How you can stay warm and stylish this winter is an even bigger topic this year than others. As it gets colder and the Coronavirus pandemic is worse than ever, we’re all looking for ways to spend time outside. This can be difficult if you live in a climate that gets very cold in the winter. These are my suggestions for layering up to say warm and stylish without looking frumpy and feeling bulky.

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These tips work if you’re spending a lot of time outside or just a few minutes. By layering clothes this way you can remove outer layers if you move inside or get too hot. There are a few tricks to layering and still looking cute and stylish and I’ll explain them here. Remember, there is no bad weather, only bad clothes! 😁

1. Work From Thin Layers To Thick Layers

If you read my easy style tips post, you know I’m all about layering. Start with a thin layer that is fitted to your body. Long-gone are the days of wearing thick, waffle-knit long-johns (unless you want to!); now you can find tons of thin layering pieces that work to keep you warm but don’t add bulk.

Top Layers

Options for first top layer – tank top camisole, thin t-shirt, thin long-sleeved top, thin long-sleeved turtleneck. You can even layer a tank top and then a t-shirt or long-sleeved shirt for even more warmth. Look for words like ‘fitted’ or ‘slim-fit’ and stay away from words like ‘loose’ or ‘relaxed’. Loose items will be bulky and more difficult to layer over top. I really like the heattech line from Uniqlo because they are very thin but keep you warm. Affordable options from Old Navy: turtleneck, cami, t-shirt.

Bottom layers

The same goes with bottom layers. Wear thin material that is fitted like tights or leggings. Look for slippery materials, like faux leather, which will make it easier to slide your pants over top. Exercise leggings work well for this, too. If you don’t want to wear leggings and pants, Old Navy makes jeans with a brushed fleece lining. I have a pair and love them for cold days. They’re warm and stylish and not bulky.

2 pictures of woman wearing warm and stylish winter outfits. Gray cardigan, black and white plaid shirt over a black tshirt with jeans and black boots. Gray sweater over a black turtleneck with puffer coat, jeans, and black riding boots.

2. Work From Short To Long

This one is a little hard to explain in words so I’ll show you in pictures. It’s not wrong to wear a shorter layer outside of a longer layer, but there are ways to do it that look better than others. Below are some examples. When in doubt, keep the shorter layers closer to your body and add the longer layers as you build.

Here you can see 2 different ways to layer tops of different lengths. The plaid shirt is shorter than the cardigan so I can wear it open or closed underneath the cardigan. I, personally, think it looks better open, but I think it still looks ok when it’s buttoned-up.

2 pictures of woman wearing warm and stylish casual winter outfit. Gray cardigan over open black and white plaid shirt and black t-shirt with jeans and black boots. Gray cardigan over closed black and white plaid shirt with jeans and black boots.

It gets a little more complicated if you add a layer that you want to close, like a jacket. In that case, the jacket should be your longest layer or keep it open. Here you can see the same outfit I styled above but with a coat added. When the coat is open, everything looks ok but as soon as I close the coat, the cardigan is peeking out the bottom and looks odd. It doesn’t help that only one side of the cardigan is peeking out. Honestly, for this outfit I would remove the cardigan and just go with the plaid shirt and coat because it’s starting to look bulky.

2 pictures of woman wearing warm and stylish winter outfit with wool coat. Gray wool coat open over black and white plaid shirt with jeans and black boots. Gray wool coat closed over gray cardigan, jeans and black boots.

A couple more examples of layering a short and long piece. The majority of these combinations look ok but the best ones (to me) are the top left, middle and bottom right. Even the top right is ok, just not my favorite but when the plaid shirt is buttoned and left untucked like in the bottom left, it really cuts my body in half and is not as flattering.

5 pictures of woman wearing warm and stylish fall outfit. Plaid black and white shirt with black vest and jeans. Plaid shirt worn open and closed in different ways.

This might seem really confusing at first, it took me a while to wrap my brain around it, but the easiest thing to do is to try different combinations and take pictures of yourself in a full-length mirror or have someone take photos of your entire body. Once you actually see the full-length outfit, it’s much easier to see what works and what doesn’t.

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3. Turtlenecks and Scarves Are Warm and Stylish

Whenever I look for winter outfit inspiration, I see tons of photos of women wearing jackets that they leave open, which I never understood until now. I found that if I have enough layers and if I wear a turtleneck or a scarf, I can leave my coat open and not get too cold. If my neck and chest are covered it helps my core stay warm. Not everyone likes turtlenecks, which is why I think a scarf can do a similar job of keeping you warm and looking stylish.

2 pictures of woman wearing warm and stylish coats for winter. Blue puffer coat over gray sweater and black turtleneck with jeans and black riding boots. Gray wool coat with blue scarf, jeans, and black riding boots.

4. Long Coats and Tall Boots

There’s a quote in a Jack Reacher novel that fits this situation: “A good coat is like a good lawyer, it should cover your butt“. Ok, the book didn’t use the word “butt”; we’re keeping it G rated here on the blog. 😂 As you can see in the photos above, both coats cover my butt and my boots come up to my knees. This means that there is only a small section of my legs that isn’t covered with 2 layers.

You can get calf or ankle length coats and over-the-knee or thigh-high boots if you want to cover as much of your leg as possible. Yes, you can wear leggings under your pants, but that’s not always feasible with skinny jeans. If you get too hot it’s much harder to shed a layer that’s underneath your pants.

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5. Exercising Outdoors

As more of us are exercising at home but still want to get outside for fresh air, it’s crucial to have the proper clothing. My rule of thumb for exercising outdoors anytime of the year is to dress like it’s warmer than the stated temperature, I aim to dress for 10-15 degrees warmer. You will be cold at first but it will encourage you to get moving and you will warm up quickly.

As previously stated, it’s all about light layers. You don’t want to be running in a puffy coat and then start overheating. I typically start with a tank top or t-shirt, then layer on a long-sleeved shirt and then a sweatshirt, if needed. I prefer sweatshirts with a 3/4 zip so I can zip it up at the beginning but unzip it as I get warm. Figure out which parts of your body get the coldest and keep those covered. For me it’s my hands and my ears so I like to wear something over my ears and either gloves or sleeves long enough to cover my hands. I can always remove these things if I get too warm, but if my ears get really cold it will take forever to warm them up again.

Woman wearing running clothes. Blue pullover sweatshirt with purple leggings and blue sneakers.

Since I know not everyone likes leggings, I wanted to show another option for exercise pants. These gray, bootcut pants I’m wearing below are Columbia outdoor pants. They’re flexible and water repellent. They are not very thick so I would suggest wearing leggings or tights underneath to keep your legs warm if it’s really cold outside. And since they have a drawstring, you could get a larger size to make sure they fit over leggings.

Woman wearing exercise clothes. Blue zip-up hoodie over gray long sleeve t-shirt with gray pants and white sneakers and ear warmer

I also wanted to show how you can wear your rain boots in the winter. Maybe you live somewhere that gets more rain than snow. It’s hard to see in this photo but I’m wearing tall boot socks that come up above the boot. They are very warm and thick. This is a good option for when it’s cold and rainy but I don’t recommend it for ice since most rain boots don’t have good traction.

Woman wearing sherpa pullover with black leggings and white and black rain boots and ear warmer.

6. Sunscreen! It May Not Keep Your Warm But It Is Stylish

One last tip that isn’t fashion related, but everyone should hear it: always wear sunscreen! It’s easy to forget about sunscreen in the winter since most of our skin is covered but your face may be open to the elements. Sunscreen is the best protection against skin cancer and the aging effects of the sun. It should be part of your daily routine, whether you go outside or not.

6 Tips To Stay Warm and Stylish

To wrap-up, the best ways to stay warm and stylish are:

Layer lots of thin pieces so they trap your body heat but are easy to remove if you overheat
Keep shorter layers close to your body and work outwards with longer layers
Wear a turtleneck and/or scarf to keep your neck and upper chest warm
Cover as much of your body as you can by wearing long coats and tall boots
Don’t dress as warmly if you are exercising
Wear sunscreen