Despite being a Los Angeles native, Chloe Kim is sort of an expert on winter clothes that'll actually keep you warm. After all, the Olympic gold medalist has been spending huge chunks of her life snowboarding since she was 4 years old. Kim is also something of a fashion icon when it comes to the cold weather category: Search for "chloe kim hat" and you get dozens of handmade options on Etsy that claim to be inspired by the white, pom-pom-topped hat Kim wore during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
Apparently, it's something she thinks about a lot, too. Although it's over 70 degrees outside when Kim is taking interviews at a recent NYC press event for the Korean skin care brand Laneige, she instantly rattles off responses when asked to share the winter clothes and beauty products swears by for her coldest practice days.
Since it is a beauty event, we start there. With publicity appearances, snowboarding practice, and her home base in LA, Kim bounces back and forth between all sorts of climates from week to week. Her secret to making sure her skin doesn't freak out from the nearly constant changes? "It's all about consistency," Kim explains. "I always do the same [skin care] routine no matter how tired I am, no matter how rushed I am." If she tries to switch anything up, that's what makes her skin freak out more than the new environment. Kim notes that if she even goes one day without moisturizer, her skin feels completely different.
In terms of specifics, Kim gushes over three Laneige products in particular: the Water Sleeping Mask ("I do this if I'm looking really ashy and on flights"), the Lip Sleeping Mask ("I have one in every single bag I own"), and the Fresh Calming Mousse Moisturizer ("It's so fun; I could play with it all day!").
Now, we've moved on to chatting clothes. For coats, "Burton is my go-to," she tells Bustle. "I love their L.A.M.B. collection stuff, but they're always out of them so I never really get the chance to have them." That's L.A.M.B as in Gwen Stefani's fashion line, not the baby sheep — and she's right, the pickings on the brand's site are currently quite slim. However, Kim is a member of the #BurtonTeam, so she's often spotted on the slopes in other Burton gear, like the pink and khaki GORE-TEX jacket below.
Another Burton fave for Kim is the brand's socks. "You gotta wear the long ones, though," she advises. "I feel like some people just walk up to the mountain in like, ankle socks. Like, no. You’re gonna get frostbite on all your toes." She specifically loves the fun, limited-edition designs the brand comes out with for their "Party Socks" packs, like these peanut butter and jelly ones from earlier this year.
Of all the winter clothes she gets asked to recommend, though, it's snowboarding goggles that her 700K Instagram followers seem to be the most curious about. "The Oakley Line Miners are my new favorite!" Kim says. "For all the Asian homies out there, they do have Asian fit. So don’t worry, you’re not gonna get wind in your eyes with these ones."
Now that you're sorted with winter attire, it's time to hit the slopes. And be on the lookout for Kim: She says she likes to give tips to other snowboarders with whom she's sharing the mountain. "If I see a girl kind of struggling on a trick, I’ll go up to her and be like, 'Yo, maybe try to do this.' And hopefully it helps, but if not you know, do your thing." Free lesson from Chloe Kim? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
