Monday, August 22, 2011

Baby it’s cold (cold, cold, cold) outside.

Being a rookie to Jo’burg living, I had to ask my fellow office dwellers when exactly winter would be over? Now, I know that whole ‘pinch and a punch for the first of the month’ spring thing, but winter isn’t winter like it is in Jobizzle. It’s bone-chilling, soup-overdosing, hot-water-bottle-doesn’t-help kind of weather. Being born in August, I’m a winter baby through and through; give me rain, give me grey skies, but for the love of fashion, keep the icy cold.  So, I pose this question: What do you wear to keep the frostbite at bay that won’t make you take the form of a woman in her last trimester? 

Although it’s trendy, I don’t do layers. I’d rather shimmy shake from the chills than pile it on, which I guess is daft – but like some gals who suffer through the pain of heels, I do the same in minimal layering. I wear opaque stockings almost every day of the week, I wear them with dresses, I wear them with skirts, but I have faced the cold hard fact that this thin layer of nylon just might not be enough. So, I’ve discovered a couple of marvellous items one can pair with the pantyhose in order to avoid a runny nose.
Most of us have grannies/aunties/neighbours who can knit at a speed; I’ve put my granny’s talent to use and put her to work on a double-knit grey snood. You could go out and buy one just like every other cool kid on the block, but this way you’ll have one like no other and you’ll have formed an irreplaceable bond with Granalan, while cheering her on as she tip taps those two magic sticks together for you.

When I was young(er) my parents were cruel enough to bestow upon myself and my two sisters, a windbreaker. I know you had one too; those flimsy hooded raincoats that could be folded into a ball small enough to fit into your school bag, until you walked the long unfashionable trek across the sports field after school. These are really not something you want to admit to still owning, but instead of blaming the rents for making you look like an oompaloompa, thank them kindly for giving you the basis of one of life’s more necessary clothing items – the parka. Capes came back in and they’ll soon be out, but parkas will be here for all time. I found my lovely parka just recently while sourcing for one of our fabulous CLEO fashion pages; a dark-grey, all-weather, knee-length parka from Two girls. It’s raincoaty enough to be worn as armour against the rain and adorable enough to be worn to art exhibitions. And I got it on sale, so bonus points for me.

So winter dressing can be fun (and dare I say, funky) if we remember that the cold doesn’t confine us to our dad’s old army coat and Ugg boots. Wear a dress, wear spencers, buy chunky knit socks and wear them with your brogues.

I’m unsure that this below-freezing weather shall ever pass, but I’m absolutely certain that with my snood around my neck and my parka wrapped around me, I’ll be smiling right through it.

Roxy

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