Winter woes are solved with clothes

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Winter woes are solved with clothes

Wear practical clothes in winter | Pixabay

Ladies, it’s cold outside. You don’t have to dress to the nines when it’s nine degrees. Winter in Michigan is neither the time nor the place to wear summer shoes. 

Michigan does get all four seasons. A common joke in the state is that “if you don’t like the weather, just wait 10 minutes and it will change.” So, we’ll get our chance to wear spring, summer, and fall clothes when the seasons come. But right now, it’s winter, and you should check the weather app before you leave the house underdressed.

Not only can the Hillsdale winter temperatures be very cold, but sidewalks and paths are often covered with snow, ice, or a melting combination of the two. If you’re not wearing boots, you’ll probably have to take roundabout routes or end up with wet feet. 

When I was a freshman, I learned this the hard way. One day the temperatures were actually warm for February (mid 30s), and I tried wearing a cute pair of sneakers. When I crossed Hillsdale Street on my way to class, the melting snow puddles at the foot of the sidewalk curb were too wide to avoid and deeper than I expected. I ended up with one foot completely soaked in ice-cold water. Needless to say, I was late to class that day.

Just recently, I was sitting in class, feeling a little chilly in my turtleneck, jeans, and boots. A few seats down from me, another woman was wearing a spaghetti-strap jumpsuit and sandal heels. It wasn’t even a Monday, so this was no “pin day” sorority requirement. She just chose to dress like it was the middle of June.

Even if you have to dress nicely for some occasion, there are plenty of warm professional clothing and shoe options. Nice tops can have sleeves, tights and skirts go together, and heels come in boot form. Don’t tempt hypothermia just to show off. There’s also the option of wearing boots and carrying your nice shoes in a bag until you get up the hill and indoors. The warm temperatures indoors are not an excuse to wear limited clothing outside during the winter months — just layer your clothes. 

Now, perhaps this fellow classmate was warm inside the classroom. But I doubt her bare feet were comfortable outside of Kendall Hall, where the temperatures were so low recently that my fingertips already hurt from the cold in the time it took to walk the block from the library to my dorm. Sometimes I don’t wear gloves in order to text while walking, but I should know better: My fingers are too sensitive for that. Likewise, toes need covering, too. 

The media often talks about decreasing the spread of COVID-19 by wearing masks and social distancing. But we don’t focus enough on the importance of practical immune system-boosting measures like taking vitamins, getting enough sleep, eating healthy food, exercising… and dressing appropriately for the weather. 

According to a study by Cardiff University in England, having cold feet lowers your immune response. In the study, researchers found that students who had their feet in cold water for 20 minutes were “much more likely” to get a cold over the next five days compared to the control group of students. The researchers theorized that having cold feet causes the blood vessels in your nose to constrict, which lowers the immune system’s ability to fight foreign particles. So, when it’s 10 degrees and you’re wearing heels or loafers with no tights or socks, you’re just tempting fate. I know we’re American history buffs at Hillsdale, but we don’t need to imitate Valley Forge. Even our statue of George Washington is wrapped in a thick cape for the cold weather.

Last January I was giving a campus tour to new transfer students with a peer who was dressed to about the same degree of warmth as I was, except I wore boots, and she wore loafers with no socks. You can guess which of us was complaining about the cold. As we walked around campus telling stories about the statues and campus architecture, she always wanted to go inside to warm up. 

Life is happier when you’re warm, and more convenient when you can plow through any turf as you’re running late for class. So listen to President Larry Arnn, and get your boots on.