Dress for the cold

Amazing fur trim from
Victoria's Arctic Fashion.
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Spoiler: this post is for the ladies, or you fashion-conscious men out there.  All the rest of you beer-swillin', channel-surfing-in-your-boxer-shorts guys may need to skip this one. If you are in Nova Scotia, check out my brother in law's craft beer website: www.lunnsmill.beer.

(Hi Mark!)

I am not not one of those "hiking in flannel and loving it" kind of gals.  I wear eyeliner, I like my hair to look nice, and I am NOT ok with wearing the same slubby sweatshirt and pants all winter.  No matter WHERE I am. The cold will not stop me from being at least a little stylish, dammit. There are many fashion bloggers out there. Most have done a post about how to be fashionable in cold weather.  But when they say "cold weather", they mean New York City. Or London. Or Dallas. They certainly aren't talking about what to wear on Baffin Island, Nunavut.

Cold weather fashion. Seriously?
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So I have taken it upon myself to hit a very few highlights of fashion in the far north.

Rule #1:  Wear fur.  I know, for many this a fashion faux-pas.  "Real fur? How perfectly GHASTLY!", say the people who don't live in the Arctic.  To be fair, faux-fur is a great way to spruce up a coat or vest or sweater (although faux fur's affect on the environment is coming into question lately).  For warmth, and the ability to repel snow and water, real fur wins.  I'm not talking about a mink coat, I'm talking an ethically sourced real fox fur trim around a hood (this helps protect your face from frostbite). Up here, Inuit often wear caribou parkas for warmth.  For a more water-proof fur, sealskin is a good choice.

This is the parka I
went with, the
Mystique.

Rule #2:  If you aren't going to wear a locally made-by-hand caribou or sealskin coat, at least buy a good commercially-made parka. There are lots of great cold-weather outwear manufacturers out there, but for sheer warmth you can't beat Canada Goose.  The company has been around since 1957 and their clothing is made in Canada (they were recently purchased by an American company, but they have vowed to maintain the same level of quality). Although Canada Goose has become more of a household name in the past few years, their parkas were originally designed for researchers at McMurdo station in Antarctica. They also carry parkas that are not as warm, so when you purchase you need to check the rating. Yes, they use (ethically sourced) fur.  They have also partnered with Polar Bears International, and a portion of each sale goes toward conserving polar bear habitats, so they are not evil. The warmest parkas cost a pretty penny, but you get what you pay for.

Expedition parka.

Rule #3:  Layers. Yes, you've heard this a million times, but it's still true.  Layers will keep you warm.  A t-shirt under a sweater, tights under a skirt, socks over the tights, a scarf between the sweater and coat.

One of my layers almost always includes leggings or tights as I wear skirts a lot.  In fact, I rarely wear pants. (Unless I'm going out on the land.)  The only way to do this in the north is to make sure I have a warm layer under the skirt. The warmest tights I have ever found are fleece lined tights from Plush. (I have footless tights and stirrup tights so I can add a layer of warm knee-high socks on top of them.) They are available from the Plush website, and also through Amazon and shopbop.  Plush tights and leggings are WARM.  I'm miserable when I'm cold, so I don't want something that claims to be warm but isn't.

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Rule #4:  Add variety to your wardrobe with sweater skirts.  What can I say? I'm fond of these.  I fell in love with them while sitting in various arenas watching the kids play hockey and/or figure skate. Wearing them is like having a big blanket hanging around your waist. I like the skirts from Anthropologie best, the long sweater skirts tend to be heavy and warm.  You can buy them directly from the website, or find them on the cheap second-hand via ebay.

This one is from Anthropologie.

Rule #5:  Get creative! My favourite "not quite one of a kind" item is my snow skirt from Toast.  I first saw these skirts in a magazine in 2009 and immediately got in touch with designer Vivienne George.  She invented the Toast skirt after working on Canadian film sets for extended hours. She was fantastic to me, she even customized my skirt so it would fit better! Originally they were made by Canada Goose with down fill, but now they are made more affordably with synthetic fill.  A skirt runs about $200. (I have the stadium skirt and I LOVE it.) Check out her website for more information. www.toastskirts.com

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BRIGHT COLORS:  I never thought I would look at a hot-pink parka and think "Wow! That looks awesome!"  At least, not until last week.  And wouldn't you know?  They look awesome!  The brighter and bolder, the better.  'Cause dang, its gloomy out there.

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Accessories! Most Canada Goose parkas look kind of the same. There are few colors to choose from for the warmest rated coats, so your accessories are your chance to express yourself.

One of my absolute favorite accessories for the "not quite so cold" times of year are Latvian mittens. I was lucky enough to pick up a few pair while in Riga a few years ago (JJ had a medical conference there). To me, these look like gorgeous tiny works of art.  Like stained glass windows, only you can wear them on your hands!  Swoon! If you're not planning on going to Latvia any time soon (cause, you know, not exactly a hop, skip and a jump) you can pick some up on Etsy.  These mittens are what inspired me to learn to knit.  So far I can cast on, and do a basic knit stitch.  Apparently these mittens are the most difficult thing in the knitting world to make.  We're talking experienced, talented knitters needing octopus hands.  So....... almost there!

Latvian mittens. Art for your hands.

Maybe not these with the pink parka....Use your judgement ladies.
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If you are in Nunavut you can look for other stylish accessories, like sealskin mittens and headbands, and kamiks. You can also have your mass-produced scrawny fur hood trim replaced locally with a huge, soft, fox fur.

Kamiks. Perfection in winter footwear.

Sealskin mittens. 

An accessory commonly seen, but not one that I have purchased, is a Pang hat.  These are often worn by men and boys, though there are also hats made for girls. They aren't my style, but as they are such a part of Nunavut cold-weather fashion they are worth at least mentioning. I'm not sure why, but for some reason these hats are named after a small, remote town here in Nunavut called Pangnirtung.  Maybe they were originally made there, but they are made all over Nunavut today.  They are hand-crocheted from worsted wool yarn.

Scottish actor and comedian Billy Connelly sporting
a Pang hat during his visit to Nunavut.
(source)

Coraline has one of these Maplelea dolls from
Nunavut. If you've been following the blog you'll
recognize the kamiks, amauti, and Pang hat. (source)

And that, my friends, is real "warm weather fashion". Is the look sexy?  Hardly.  I mean, you are covered in layers from head to toe.  Buts it's bright, cheerful, warm, and the best you can do.  Despite being covered up people can still tell I'm a girl.  So that's something.

Up next: What we do in the shadows..............