Your mom can guess again. No way are you wearing some hideous hat or hood and standing at the bus stop where everyone can see you. You’d rather freeze.
Wearing cold-weather gear can seem uncool, but hats, scarves and gloves are staples in the wardrobes of many stylish people. Chicago fashion designer Palesa Nicolini says she always bundles up on cold days.
“I don’t go anywhere without a scarf. I wear a fur hat, leather gloves. It ends up being fashionable, but it’s very eclectic,” says Nicolini, an instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Kids also can look cool while staying warm. Nicolini says this year the “in” colors are navy blue, marigold yellow and merlot red.
Both boys and girls can wrap their scarves in several stylish ways. Nicolini prefers to loop her scarf loosely around her neck and continue wearing it after she’s removed her coat. Another way to wear your scarf is to wrap it around your neck and loop it in the front, she says.
Hats can be cool too. For girls, Nicolini says fake fur hats are very of the moment, as are bright-colored stocking caps with big pompoms on top.
Boys also can wear the pompom hat, or opt for a cool knit hat to stay warm. “Even adults like wearing these fun knit hats,” Nicolini says.
Even though Chicago has had a relatively mild winter, it’s still cold out, and kids have to use some sense and dress appropriately when outside. Cold weather can cause frostbite, says emergency room physician Elizabeth Powell.
Frostbite is a freezing of the body tissues. “You have fluid in your tissue. Just as an ice cube can freeze, your nose can freeze, your fingers can freeze and your ears can freeze,” says Powell, who works at Children’s Memorial Hospital.
Frostbite can be avoided by bundling up or going inside when it’s extremely cold. Powell says because most Americans understand how to avoid frostbite, she’s only seen a few cases in her career.
So don’t use the cold weather or fear of frostbite as an excuse to stay inside. Powell says kids should bundle up and go out to play. “It’s very important kids get out and play; the snow is fun,” she says.
– – –
Try out your look on a digital doll
Should you wrap your scarf or loop it like a tie? Do these gloves go with that hat? Do these earmuffs look silly?
Looking cool on freezing days can be a challenge. So check out these Web sites, where kids can get fashion advice on how to look their best while layered up:
GirlSense.com: Try out winter wear on a digital doll. Wrap up your doll in scarves, hats or earmuffs. Kids also can design the outfit and choose from cool jackets and jeans. The dolls are diverse, so you can pick a model who looks like you. This site is free but requires registration, including your parents’ e-mail.
YM.com: Learn how to make a newsboy hat, read fashion opinions, and get the scoop on how to turn an old sweatshirt into leg warmers. The site also has ideas for layering clothes. And cold-weather fashions are a hot topic in the forum, with questions such as, “What do you think of leggings under shorts?”
Cookie.com: Does your younger sib need some serious style help? Check out the winter knits slideshow at Cookie.com. This feature has 10 photos with cool ideas for boys and girls to mix scarves, hats and gloves.
