Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Tis the Season....

I have lived in Texas for about five years now.  I love the VERY mild winters, spring and fall are great and the heat of the summer days is not that different from the Midwest.  Given that, it has taken me about five years to figure out the dress code here.  And it has nothing to do with the actual temperature and/or weather conditions.

This past February has been unseasonably warm.  It will probably be a record setter.  Nothing wrong with that in my book - warm is my choice versus cold.  However.  How does one dress in February for this warm weather?  Particularly when the office you work in could be likened to a frozen tundra.

#Februarymorning
This year clarified it for me perfectly.  And the answer is.....however you want.  Initially my attention was drawn to those women who would wear jackets, tights and boots (even winter boots) when it was 71 degrees out.  And I am not talking about a high of 71, I am talking about 71 degrees as I enter the building around 6:30ish every morning.

Once in the lobby, the temperature plummets to around 40 (or so it feels) but by the time I am on my floor, we start at around 65ish.  This temperature is not constant as my sweater or jacket will come off, be put back on, and then off again as the day progresses.  It is also dependent upon which meeting room we are in.

So, my observations.  Native Texans tend to dress for the "season" rather than the temperature.  While I am not quite native, I have taken advantage of this practice.

For example, in Kansas/Missouri, tights weather (along with jackets and boots) are definitely in by November but may start as early as October.  In the Midwest, we are so delighted to have a warm snap during the cold season, we instantly "dress down" to take advantage of it.

On the side of that coin is Texas. We need to have some cold weather clothes on hand for the 3-5 days each year we might actually need them.  However, those clothes will NEVER get worn at that rate. So starting in November (and sometimes as early as October), out come the long sleeve sweaters, jackets, hoodies, boot, tights, etc. which now can be worn through March.  Regardless of the temperature.

An advantage to this is you never really need to check the weather each morning, unless it is raining.  And then you just add an umbrella, swap out winter boots for rain boots and grab your rain jacket versus your winter coat.  So easy.

I know I am not the only Midwest girl who arrived here and struggled with "fitting in".  I've got it down now.

Until next time (or at least mid-March),
#bootswiththefur

your pal,
Kari

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