How to Keep Warm in Cold Weather - Dress in Layers, Wear Hats, Gloves, and More!

Wearing a hat, scarf, and gloves is my number one tip for keeping warm in extremely cold weather. My brother used to tell me all the time that a hat was the key item, and he was right. He would wear a light jacket in the winter, (and sometimes even wear shorts, crazy guy!), but he would always have on a hat, scarf and gloves to hold in the heat. It really does work! I've been practicing this for years, and it helps immensely.

While I do wear a heavy coat in very cold weather, or perhaps a lighter jacket with a heavier overcoat, I don't leave the house without a hat, scarf, and gloves. That works well for me, as I love hats. I'm grown to love scarves, too, as they're useful in very cold weather to wrap around your head, even over your mouth and nose. You can still breathe, but your face is nearly covered. I hate, hate cold weather, but I do love those winter accessories that are decorative as well as functional. I wear at least the hat from fall through spring. Don't knock it until you try it. These three items make a tremendous difference.

As previously mentioned, you can even layer your jackets and coats. In extremely cold weather, I will sometimes wear a lighter jacket underneath with a heavy coat over if have to walk outside for very long. On the rare occasions that I wear skirts or dresses in the winter, I also layer the tights (great for helping to keep warm) with socks over them, before putting on boots. Tights are great to help keep the legs warm in the winter, often warmer than just pants alone. They can be worn with skirts or pants. Men or women can also opt for wearing long johns under their pants. Undershirts can be worn under shirts and blouses to help ward off the cold.

Even indoors, I generally wear a jacket or sweater over whatever outfit I wear to work. That way, I can adjust my personal temperature by taking off or putting back on this extra layer.

I've recently discovered a couple of winter accessories that are new to me that I just love! Have you seen the fingerless gloves that hold the little mitten top with a button? These are so cool! You can pop off the top in order to use your fingers. If your hands are cold, you can still drive, type, text, or use your fingers as needed. When your fingers get cold, cover them with the attached cover. My boyfriend was the one to actually buy the first pair for me! Realizing how much I loved them, he bought another pair for me this year for my birthday. Another friend bought me a pair, too, so I'm set with these really cool (warm, actually) and functional gloves. Love 'em!

Another item I love is the head wrap that can also be worn around the neck as a neck warmer. I was immediately interested after seeing a friend wearing one of these. She surprised me with one for my birthday! These lovely accessories go around the head, over the ears and under the hair. Great if you don't want to mess up your hair too much! I've also taken walks with one of these on cool days when I only wanted to cover my ears. I put it under my hair and let my hair flow. There was no need for a pony tail, even.

Do you have more ideas for keeping warm in the winter, especially when it's extremely cold? If so, please share in the comment box. Bring back the leg warmers of the 80s if you need to! Heck, those may have gone out of style, but they sure were functional as far as cold weather went. With miserably cold weather, why not try whatever works? I know I will.