Professional Winter Clothing

South Carolina, hot and muggy summers and winters worthy of one, maybe two, extra layers.
New Jersey, hot and muggy summers and winters that will chill your bones.

This will be my fourth winter up here and I am looking forward to the everyday winter wear, I figured that out last winter. But I still work at the UN and that makes the winter clothing a bit more difficult to figure out... sub-tropical apartment, freezing bus stop, overheated bus, freezing bus stop, warm bus with frequent stops, very blustery 5 minute walk into the UN, (hopefully) cozy inside. So I have to figure out how to dress for 2-3 different climates in a single day.

Googling "women's professional winter clothing" yields some good answers---layer, layer, layer!!
I've got the coats down pat, but its the underlayers that I'm still trying to figure out. How professional does a nice, cozy, warm sweater really look? Does anyone even care? Perhaps I should invest in a dozen pairs of tights.

Now remember, "I ain't no size 2." That makes buying winter clothes particularly challenging--adding too many layers and I look like one of those jumbo size campfire marshmallows, too few layers and I freeze and get super cranky.

Here's what I've learned... leggings are AWESOME underneath jeans or work slacks. Wearing a cami and a long sleeve shirt underneath everything is great for protection against the wind. Scarf, hat, gloves are all necessities. Bring an extra bag to work (grab a cute tote or something) to throw your extra layers in.

I know this isn't really a "health" blog post, but it's good information for anyone trying to figure out how to deal with the winter up here.

Cheers!

M