6 Things In You Need In Your Winter Wardrobe

The phrase "winter is coming" gets thrown around a lot. But winter is ALWAYS coming. And in between some mild days, winter is pretty much here for most of us, having wrestled fall prematurely out of the way. It kind of sucks how quickly and brutally winter comes, but it's also a great time for shopping, and let's face it, shopping is the most harmless, selfishly vain thing you can do. It hurts no one except maybe your credit card, but we're all adults here and we know how to manage our money, right?

It's time to start preparing our winter wardrobe for the painful winter months to come (and in case you're wondering, I DID find the perfect winter coat, it's a +J for Uniqlo down-filled number and it's DIVINE), and that means making sure you have the essentials to provide yourself with safe sartorial passage to spring. That means looking cute and fortifying yourself against sub-zero temperatures. Sure, that might sound like a no-brainer, but getting the right winter warmth-to-cute ratio just right is actually a very difficult balancing act. I've already covered coats (because duh), but there are 6 other essentials you should start hunting down for your winter wardrobe ASAP:

1. SHOES WITH TREADS ON THE SOLE

When there's icy snow on the ground, I wear a pair of high heeled Dr. Martens. People ALWAYS call me out on wearing them. "You're wearing high heels IN THE SNOW?" they'll ask incredulously. Yes, yes I am. Turns out the leather boots are pretty waterproof, and the soles are thick rubber with heavy treads. Plus, the heel is chunky rubber and perfect for digging into snow for balance. The best revenge for having people question my shoes is ambling along in the snow like a polar bear while they slip and slide around in their stupid, treadless gum boots.

2. MUCH THERMAL, SUCH WARMTH

The first rule of winter dressing is thin, good quality thermals as your first layer. Go to Uniqlo now and buy everything in their Heat Tech range. It's the infrastructure your winter wardrobe needs in order for you to stay stylish on the outside and toasty on the inside.

3. GLOVES, BUT LIKE, TECHNOLOGICALLY SAVVY ONES

You can have all the coats and thermals and layers in the world, but you'll still freeze to death with your fingers exposed to the elements. Invest in gloves, but awesome gloves with metallic fingers that allow you to use the touch screen of your phone while you're wearing them. That way, even in winter, you wont have to compromise on walking and looking at Instagram at the same time.

4. ONE BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, GORGEOUS WOOL SWEATER

The one thing other than a coat worth really investing in is a sweater that makes you feel so fancy. Make sure it's all wool, and that when you put it on you feel like you're sitting by a fireplace on a bear skin rug in some kind of ski chalet sipping wine and doing that big rich person laugh with your friends. Everyone deserves to have one sweater that makes them feel like the ultimate winter person.

5. A DOWN-LINED COAT

I've gone on and on about coats, and having one that's stylish and warm, but at the end of the day, everyone needs one coat that's heavily coat lined, real down, and feels like wearing a heat pack around your body. The coat can be ugly as all sin, it doesn't matter. It's your blizzard coat, and even if you only wear it 2-3 days in the winter, you will be more than grateful that you have it.

6. THE CUTEST BEANIE EVER

Beanies are inherently cute. I mean, for starters, they're called "beanies". That's pretty damn cute already. Get one with a cute pom-pom or little ears or something else that makes people want to spew rainbows because a beanie is basically a socially acceptable way to wear something atrociously adorable on your head for a whole season based on functionality. There's literally no other item of clothing you can get away with making as sickeningly twee as your beanie, so don't waste the opportunity.

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