How do you all deal with variable temperatures throughout the day? I know that layering is the solution, I just don't know how to do it. This is the coldest year that we have had in this area in a while. When I leave the house at 7:45-ish it is sometimes hovering right above freezing, sometimes ten to 15 degrees warmer, but it is really hard to tell. Then I go into buildings, sometimes cold and sometimes very overheated. I am heat sensitive and get very ill if I overheat. Then mid morning I am outside again and sometimes with the wind chill I am shivering in my long-sleeves and sweatshirt and sometimes sweating. By the time I am outside again it can be 85 degrees. I am really lost as how to dress, in years past it wasn't as cold in the mornings and I did fine with my long-sleeved T's or thermals and a light jacket or sweatshirt and then I could strip as needed. This year it is getting colder yet staying hotter and I am also having problems regulating my body temperature. I don't know how to compensate for this, and I am afraid to add too many layers because I have to carry them all day. Right now I am down to one pair of jeans (I lost weight, but not enough to fit into my old ones)a handful of long-sleeved T's and some sweatshirts. I am wearing a pair of tennies everyday and really need more shoes too, but can't wear heels.

I would appreciate links and advice, because I am lost as how to go from 33 degrees F to 85 in a single outfit!

gee, that sounds like Az!
i suggest you dress more appropiately for whatever end of the thermostat you hate the most: is it cold or hot? i don't mind being on the hotter side of things rather than the cold. i cannot tolerate the cold, so feeling warm is more acceptable. have you tried tights? i hate layers (and with my shape i look like the pillsbury dough boy when i overdo it) so i wear a nice overcoat in wool blend buttoned up and long sleeve blouses, boots or tights and heels with skirts/dreses when i have to be warm in the morning but cooler in the afternoon. gloves, a scarf can be easily taken off and in a warm office/home so can the coat and scarf.
i hate messing with sweater after sweater over a turtleneck. ugh. reminds me of the 1980s.

Ah! Illibaby, you were close. Southern New Mexico. I will have to look for a coat, because I don't own one right now. They are always too hot or too cold. I guess I don't know what I am looking for. Normally I would just deal with cold mornings, but now I have been having symptoms of frostbite, so that won't work. But if I get hot I'll be passing out and throwing up. Thanks!

i assumed for a long time that being in our kind of climate would not be conducive to owning a coat~ (boy was i wrong)
seriously, i bought some 2 years ago and it changed my life and my fashion. first of all, i stopped being cold at night and in the morning! are you kidding me? sign me up! a jacket only covers from waist up, a coat will also cover your entire torso and part of your legs (mine are from the knees up). they also help against the wind making your lower layers cold by buttoning it up. did i mention they make everything look better? arizona may be cold standing outside (or hot in the summer) but your car has a/c and so does any business establishment, really, the extreme temps are only in our garage and outside.
when i bought a coat i thought to myself: where have you been the past 28 years? i love feeling warm. i never knew the difference, and luckily when they're on sale it is even sweeter. good luck. if you jump in let me know, i'll want to hear your feedback.
photos:
navy 'tulle' brand wool blend coat
http://i121.photobucket.com/al...0ensembles/055-1.jpg
black guess? coat: (also wool blend coat)
http://i121.photobucket.com/al...%20ensembles/042.jpg

Thanks, I really need to look into it. I guess a coat would be really practical for cutting the wind, which is what is truly making me cold. I love you pictures, but I think coats like those may look out of place. I only need winter clothes for like four months out of the year here and I guess I end up wearing jeans all the time. I guess I need something really casual.

it was just an example of mine, but i would totally wear them with jeans! oh yes yes. there are plenty of other styles and colors to suit what you're looking for. good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by ROO6:
Thanks, I really need to look into it. I guess a coat would be really practical for cutting the wind, which is what is truly making me cold. I love you pictures, but I think coats like those may look out of place. I only need winter clothes for like four months out of the year here and I guess I end up wearing jeans all the time. I guess I need something really casual.

I think that's true most places. I live in NY and I only need winter close for four months out of the year. I have a coat.

quote:

Originally posted by liphysicist:

quote:

Originally posted by ROO6:
Thanks, I really need to look into it. I guess a coat would be really practical for cutting the wind, which is what is truly making me cold. I love you pictures, but I think coats like those may look out of place. I only need winter clothes for like four months out of the year here and I guess I end up wearing jeans all the time. I guess I need something really casual.

I think that's true most places. I live in NY and I only need winter close for four months out of the year. I have a coat.

Heh, I live in a climate where I only need summer clothes for about 4 months a year, and I still own shorts and sandals and bathing suits.

I live where we might have winter three months of the year (but not every day) and I have an obscene number of coats for somebody in this climate because I love to wear them. I had to stop buying because they were going out of style hardly worn. "Only four months" is more than one quarter of the year. You have clothes for the other season, don't you? Yup, I think you need a coat - but get one that says it breaks the wind as all of them don't.

When you get that coat, get some scarves too. I have discovered recently that scarves are fantastic for keeping you warm - and they're stylish too. Loop one around your neck once or twice and it feels like the temperature has gone up a good ten degrees. I don't mean heavy winter scarves, although a lightweight cashmere scarf can be wonderful. The lighter weight scarves that are found all over France are plenty warm.