How to Dress: For a cold day in New York

They say a bad day in New York is better than a good day anywhere else, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bed of roses out there. One of my favourite cities ever, but boy is it cold at this time of year!! During my recent trip to the Big Apple it was -6 C on at least a couple of days. I never actually realised what ‘wind chill’ meant until I was on Top of the Rock and it felt like -20 C.

Now, I know we all wanna look cute AF and for this reason thermals/ski gear aren’t always the one (unless actually skiing). But on the other hand, I’m so grouchy when I’m cold (and hungry – but that’s another matter).

Not only that, but city breaks require a lot of exploring and therefore somewhat flat shoes (borrrrinnnng). But still, why sacrifice your style when you’re in the place where Harry met Sally and people have affairs to remember.

So, here I’m going to show you some of the outfits I wore to keep toasty without resorting to outdoorsy regalia (again nothing wrong with that, just not the look I’m going for). It’s worth noting that these looks can be transferred to other winter hotspots. You know, Russia, Canada, Austria, Germany… actually maybe not Russia, I think you’d need legitimate ski gear there unless you wanted to dress like an actual bear.

LOOK ONE – Faux Fur over layers

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This look was so toasty! Here I layered a leotard thermal, with a warm faux fur sleeve sweater on my top half. For the bottom I had thermal tights and thermal leggings which were honestly mega toasty.

To keep my legs extra warm I opted for an over-the-knee boot. These are so great for keeping the heat in your legs.

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The hat came on later in the day when my ears were getting cold.

BUY THE LOOK

Matalan FAUX FUR COAT

Calzedonia LEATHER LOOK LEGGINGS

Similar OVER THE KNEE BOOTS

Amazon BLACK BERET

Chloe MINI DREW BAG

LOOK TWO – PVC leggings and layers

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I must admit, I was nervous showing any skin in NY, even if it was just a millimetre of a bare ankle 😂🙈.

For this reason I opted to combine these leggings with two layers of thermals on top and a thick jumper to boot. I chose a mega long coat to try and keep the warmth in as much as possible. The beret came back out on this day too (mainly to hide my mane) but again, a valuable ear warmer too!

BUY THE LOOK River Island PVC LEGGINGS Similar MUSTARD JUMPER Similar BLACK COAT Amazon WOOL BERET Nike BLACK SNEAKERS Chloe MINI DREW BAG LOOK THREE – Skirt, Jacket and Coat I fancied wearing a skirt, and this particular day of my trip happened to be the warmest (and it was my birthday) so I was determined to pull this off whilst sight seeing and not freezing my heinie off!! ❄️

I wanted to combine a biker with my skirt, but it was just too cold to be in a short jacket, so I simply layered an oversized coat on top to keep my teeth from chattering!!!

BUY THE LOOK
H and M PATTERNED SKIRT Topshop BIKER JACKET Similar BLACK ROLL NECK Office BLACK ANKLE BOOTS Chloe MINI DREW BAG LOOK FOUR – Matching Caramels On this day I must admit, I had three tops on and thermal tights under thermal leggings. But in my defence, it was -6C at midday and I was 850ft up in the air. I didn’t really think my eyeballs could ever feel cold, but I was wrong :).

BUY THE LOOK Zara CAMEL COAT Similar CAMEL COAT Topshop CAMEL BOBBLE HAT Similar OVER THE KNEE BOOTS Zac Posen CROSSBODY BAG ESSENTIAL UNDERLAYERS So perhaps not the sexiest undergarments, but if you wanna look cute from the outside, you’ve gotta layer yourself up like an onion. Below are my top thermal picks to keep your warm bits toasty. They all happen to be from MARKS AND SPENCER (the king of thermals as far as I’m concerned), but PRIMARK offer a cracking selection too!!

THERMAL POLO NECK THERMAL LEGGINGS THERMAL TIGHTS THERMAL SOCKS Now it probably goes without saying that you need to be regularly fuelled with hot chocolates, mulled wine, and generally over-eat to distract yourself from the cold. Obviously, I’m not advocating this as a permanent lifestyle but it is Christmas after all!!