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It’s all very well to demand that we all dress better all the time, but it’s winter. Nice clothes get ruined in slush. An elegant fedora doesn’t keep your ears warm. A wool overcoat is flimsy compared to a down parka. And even if you carry indoor shoes in a bag, you are probably going to wear them with heavy wool socks. What compromises do you make?

Okay, honestly, I would like to stick my fingers in my ears and say “La la la!”, but I have to admit that this is all true. Of course we make compromises. I am not going to turn up my nose at heavy socks with dress shoes (as long as they are good ones; save the grey-with-red-stripe for pickup hockey). I quite agree that fedoras are largely decorative when it’s 15 below. And to be honest I’ve never liked fedoras anyway; they make one look a bit fussy, as does a pipe or a bow-tie. No one, when it is 15 below, is going to ridicule a man in a suit and wool coat with a classic Canadian tuque. (I spell it thus, not toque, to make clear that I am referring to the Canadian meaning, a knit wool sock cap, rather than the European meaning, any brimless hat such as a chef’s hat. The Canadian usage is unique in the world. Our spelling of it is French, possibly because the style was first made popular by the coureurs-du-bois.)

On the other hand, no one is going to call the tuque-wearer particularly elegant either. A fur hat, being more expensive and having demanded an animal sacrifice, tends to look more luxurious. (If animal sacrifice isn’t your bag, so to speak, you never have to face this dilemma.)

I do disagree about the coat/parka issue. A good pure wool overcoat, worn over a wool suit, worn over an undershirt, with a fine wool scarf at the neck, is perfectly adequate for the walk from bus stop to office even when there is ice on the ground. If you are really planning an hour-long hike, you’re probably not wearing a suit anyway. A puffy parka worn over a suit is a last resort, only for the worst blizzards and days of deep-freeze. If you must, at least make sure it is long enough to cover your suit jacket.

Look at Russians, Finns and Icelanders. You can find pictures from the 19th century of politicians and military men in terrifying subzero temperatures, against vast fields of snow, looking dramatically elegant in mammoth double-breasted overcoats and towering fur hats and shiny leather boots. They fought wars like this. And Northern European countries still maintain traditions of respectable winter dress without recourse to nylon.

As for the ruining of expensive trousers, it’s not really such a risk. Mud, and even salt, will come out of wool with a damp cloth or some steam. I say wear your good clothes without fear; wear them out. That’s what they are for: they are useless hanging in your closet.

image courtesy of NidalM on flickr