Baby, It's Cold Inside: a Fashion Guide
Save 3 percent on heating bills for each degree sacrificed on the thermostat, but don't pay for the decision by shivering in old college sweats. It's possible to be stylish and warm in high-tech outdoor gear adapted for indoors.
When temperatures fall, the body focuses heat on the torso and the head--which is why extremities like fingers and toes feel cold. Use layers to keep the core warm, and stay warmer all over. Start with a trim Ibex tank top or long-sleeve Amelia shirt in silk-thin itch-free merino wool ($48 to $90, ibexwear.com ). Then add a Trace Zip Top ($60, sierradesigns.com ). Still cold? Patagonia W's Down Vest is pieced like high-fashion couture to fit curvy torsos ($145, patagonia.com ).
Although most people wear fleece jackets styled like oversize sweatshirts, fitted fleece is more flattering, lighter, and warmer than cotton sweats. The Arc'Teryx Covert is made of moldable Polartec Thermal Pro but looks and feels like a dressy wool cardigan--one you can throw in the washer and dryer ($150, moosejaw.com ). Hard to fit? Order a custom-cut fleece from beyondfleece.com ($85 to $135). Missy Park, founder of Title Nine, admits that she's so cold sensitive she pads around in her 65-degree home in a down sweater. "It's not the puffy jacket you wore in the second grade," says Park of her Moonstone Lucid. "It uses down with very high fill power that traps a lot of air." Just a bit thicker than a sweater, it weighs 10 ounces and compresses to the size of a softball ($160, backcountry.com ). She also owns several pairs of Sierra Designs' down-filled booties that wear like little sleeping bags for the feet ($24 to $32, sierradesigns.com ). For instant plug-in warmth, the Venture Heated Reversible Vest runs on rechargeable batteries ($129, brookstone.com ).
If rugged fleece and electric wiring just aren't your thing, lounge in a red-hot two-ply cashmere bathrobe ($450, hammacher.com ). It's no good for camping but a luxuriously warm reward for being strong enough to dial back the thermostat.
This story appears in the December 26, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.