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Whether you're from Florida and you just moved up north, or you are going to Russia for a winter vacation (let me just point out that that is crazy), you may find useful a few ideas for staying warm when it gets frosty outside. Especially if you are a student and you have to walk to school in the cold, but try to stay reasonably cool in the usual tropical climate indoors in the winter, or are in some other similar paradoxical temperature situation on a daily basis, climate control can become a real issue. I have a few suggestions.

Your first options are the obvious one; coat, scarf, gloves. With coats, you have thousands of options; synthetic coats that cut the wind, wool coats that really cut the cold, down coats that heat you up like nobody's business, and any manner of sweaters, denim jackets and sweatshirt-jackets to keep you warm in the moderate cold or in a room with heat on too low. Start by wearing a sweater or something warm that will be under your coat. If you usually wear t-shirts, throw a sweater or sweatshirt over it before putting on your coat and hat. If you get hot, you can always take it off. If you like feeling warm and cozy, and especially if you live in a windy climate and have to walk or be outside regularly, invest in a nice, soft, good quality scarf. A scarf is invaluable in the wind and really helps to keep you warm. Also, if you wrap the scarf around your neck and then let the ends hang in front of your body, it will do a good job of blocking any wind trying to make its way into your coat by way of zippers, snaps, and buttons. Also, a scarf has recently become and intensely popular fashion accessory and is a way to express yourself, so if you are into fashion, this could be a plus as well. Personally, I think that scarves are fantastically versatile, since I like to wear mine indoors, during class for example, when i am a little bit chilly but not cold enough to put my coat on. Just covering your neck and parts of your shoulders can do wonders to get you cozy in a hurry without overdoing it. Last, gloves are invaluable. i keep two types; one is a pair of nice, leather gloves for when it is really really cold outside. While fashionable and universally wearable (casual or fancy), they cut wind, and protect quite well from the cold. They also have a nice grip, so if they fit well, you can do pretty much everything you can do without gloves while you are wearing them (something that is untrue for a lot of skiing gloves, for example; but these may be essential if you are in a very very cold climate, or if you are skiing, for example). The other pair of gloves I keep are those "magic" one-size fits all gloves, the kind made out of thin knitting that stretch to fit pretty much any hand, that cost about a dollar or two anywhere that sells clothes or at your favorite department store. These are nice because they don't take up a lot of room, and can keep your hands from feeling frozen when it is chilly, but not windy or extremely cold. They are also good fro wearing inside if you need a little extra protection from that air conditioner! But when it's snowy or windy out, leave these at home and wear something stronger.

The most important tip, I have already mentioned; dress in layers. I like to dress warmly but if I get too hot when I am inside, I become absolutely uncomfortable. So I always dress in a way which can be modified to make my current temperature optimal. This usual means that I wear a tank top as a bottom layer, a t-shirt, dress shirt, or other mid-range layer on top of that, and sometimes a sweater or sweatshirt on top of that. This may be a little bit overkill, especially if you could also see my scarf usage and my coat too, but I like having lots of options about how warm I will be, and also about how cozy I will be. because I work independently all the time and usually in front of a computer, being comfortable is also really important to me.

Last, I will mention a few extras; long underwear, knee high socks, and panty hose. Long underwear can be invaluable if you are in a very cold location. While we can pile on ten shirts to stay warm, it is hard to do the same with pants. One option is to get a pair of over-sized wind-cutting nylon (or similar fabric) pair of pants that you can wear over your normal pants when you have to be outside, but another option is just to put something else under. "Long underwear", also called "thermal underwear" or "long johns" can so wonders. There are options; the most common is that thermal fabric with all the little squares - this is very effective. Also effective, but thinner and more comfortable (equally more expensive though) are all-silk versions. I advise investing in these if you are going to be wearing them on a day-to-day basis, to make your life more comfortable. If you are only going ot wear them on that yearly hunting or skiing trip, go with the cheap incarnation. Another option (really more for women than for men) is knee-high socks. Clearly these are not as comprehensive a solution as long underwear (which can also be worn up top, by the way), but they can certainly be helpful. Wearing a pair of knee-high socks just adds a little bit of warmth under the pants and really helps with pesky wind that bites at your ankles and climbs its way upward to the rest of your legs. Last, if it's extremely cold, panty hose (for you women) have the same effect as thermal underwear in a pinch (for that ski trip), but I don't recommend this on a regular basis as wear and tear on hose underneath pants is pretty high.

Staying cozy and warm in a freezing climate really isn't that hard. If you bundle up well, (and don't forget to wear a hat too - we lose lots of heat from our heads!) you can almost forget about the cold, except for it rushing into your lungs. When you get back inside, as long as you are dressed in layers, you can peel them off to reach the appropriate comfort level. Best of luck and stay warm this winter!