A tale of two closets: winter comes to San Francisco

It’s winter in San Francisco. Guess which of these clothes I’m wearing these days as the temperature in SF drops to (gasp) the low 40s. Hint: the coats on the left are (from left) a North Face parka, an ankle length camel hair coat, a Thinsulate lined peacoat. I’m wearing the jackets on the right. The coats are only the beginning of what got me through four Chicago winters. There’s also the heavy lambswool sweaters, light (but warm) merino sweaters, the 2-3 layers of clothing underneath the sweaters, wool scarves (worn two at a time), mittens or gloves, earmuffs, long underwear, wool socks, and the occasional demi-ski mask (usually expertly hidden by a scarf).

But it’s true – San Francisco has gotten cold.  Instead of all of the above, however, I can get away with a jacket, gloves and a lone pashmina. I rarely even wear a sweater and a jacket at the same time. But it’s still cold. Not quite so cold that any exposed skin freezes upon contact with the elements (thus the two scarves); or so cold that when the wind blows it feels like you’re not wearing pants (that’s when I started wearing long underwear); but a gentler, laid-back Bay Area cold – where you can see your breath some mornings, and where your feet will get cold if you don’t wear socks.

In Dante’s Inferno the second to last layer of hell is covered in ice. I have been to that winter, but I’d rather stick with the winter I have now.


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3 responses to “A tale of two closets: winter comes to San Francisco”

  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by FashionistaLab SF, FashionistaLab SF. FashionistaLab SF said: trying again… http://bit.ly/4R3Ybh […]

  2. Emily Avatar
    Emily

    I was hoping that your photo shoot might include some shots of your modeling your winter finery… ah well, maybe next time. I’ve experienced just a taste of the hell that is Chicago winters and I must say you are a better person than me for braving it for 4years. New England’s pretty much all I can handle. So since SF weather doesn’t require the same extent of winter wear that you’re used to, would u consider a trade? I’d hate for all the those lovely items to gather dust 🙂

  3. ashley Avatar
    ashley

    hahah oh man, yay for leftover chicago outerwear. maybe you can get some use out of them on tahoe trips. my only leftover piece of chicago outerwear is an almost-a-little-too-old-lady-ish ankle length black wool coat that just feels like overkill in sf, but is definitely too nice to get rid of.

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