<p>After I posted, I thought about what the kids around here wear and what my daughters wore in college- one in Illinois and the other in Iowa. Neither ever took their boots to college! And at the school district I work at- only the elementary kids wear boots. Many of the high school kids wear flip flops (which I can never understand) all winter, even when it is below freezing. Boots only seem to be worn for winter sports. Fashion boots only are seen worn in the mall. Personally, I like the sneaker looking foot wear that treetopleaf sent you.</p>
<p>It is hard to buy shoes/boots through the mail, though. I bought some cute Columbia winter boots through 6pm.com in my usual size. I could get into 'em, but getting out was another matter… D had to pull with both hands while I hung onto the door frame to get them off. I returned them, since I figured she would not always be around to pull :)</p>
<p>I do think some kind of a sturdier shoe beyond tennis shoes or lightweight boot would be in order for this trip. While my kids do get away with skimpy footwear sometimes, that is because we go from the attached garage to drop off a few feet from the door at school. If we are parking in town or walking on city sidewalks in the winter, they need to be able to step in a couple inches of snow or slush without soaking their feet.</p>
<p>If you do get Uggs or fake Uggs, be sure to spray them with waterproofing stuff. It makes a big difference in wet snow. I bought myself some fake ones to wear for a long weekend in Feb. in Vermont and it was well worth it - the first time I’ve ever had the right footwear for snow. The advantage of getting her Uggs is that she’ll really like them and will wear them when she gets home too.</p>
<p>I’m from New England and thought I knew what winter was about. Until I moved to the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. </p>
<p>I cannot imagine that there will not be snow in December. As I recall, I would go back to Connecticut for Thanksgiving and when I got back there was snow on the ground. And we wouldn’t see the ground again until March. </p>
<p>I would buy her Uggs and a warm parka from LLBean or LandsEnd. Plus gloves, scarf, and hat. It makes all the difference when you are properly dressed for the weather. Especially when your feet are warm!</p>
<p>I like the looks of the Chelsea jacket at Lands End, but it doesn’t have a hood (which I need). LL Bean’s Ultrawarm jacket has a hood and looks nice.</p>
<p>I have never owned down (NW burbs of Chicago). I do have a parka but only wear it when it is really cold. Otherwise I wear something lighter that won’t smother me indoors. If your kid isn’t going to be outside for long periods, you can go with a jacket like those mentioned above and just wear a sweater too.</p>
<p>You may get lucky with these trips, because the weather here has been very mild so far. But there is no way of telling what it will be in a few weeks.</p>
<p>As for footwear, if they are going to be outdoors more than 15 minutes at a stretch, you will want warmer footwear (IMO). Or if they will be tromping off sidewalks. You can wear street shoes much of winter if you stay on swept sidewalks for short periods of time. The problem comes when it is actually snowing and you are walking through it, or if you are away from well swept areas.</p>
<p>Well, that and snow tends to be wet or icy, not so much pretty dry powder like at 10,000+ foot elevations and on TV and the salt all over is icky. Warm and waterproof are the keys.</p>
<p>My kids never wear boots - sidewalks are generally shoveled - especially at colleges. Some sort of waterproofing on the shoes can be helpful since some puddles are too big to leap over. I think a hat or hood is essential, and the parka/coat should be reasonable windproof.</p>
<p>I think it depends too on what climate you’re used to. If your daughter isn’t used to being in really cold, windy weather, I’d err on the side of bringing warmer boots and coat. DH has family in Chicago and not being used to cold climates, I froze when we were there in October; I can’t even imagine January or February.</p>
<p>“I think a hat or hood is essential”
I completely agree with this, even if your daughter fights you on it. My daughter also generally goes for fashion over function. Not being a “hat person”, she refused to bring one when we visited NYC in January a few years ago…record lows, sleet, wind. She bought the first warm hat she found there. She now says “I never understood why so many people wear hats until that trip”. We even broke out the long undies on that trip. As far as shoes, she’s always done well no matter how cold with leather boots and tights (and socks too if needed).</p>
<p>D goes to grad school in Chicago and was pretty much a southerner before that.</p>
<p>She does claim that while Uggs aren’t necessarily the best for walking slushy sidewalks, everybody her age (early 20s) has them. I also have a pair of Uggs (style called Cove) and wore them to the inauguration in DC. I sprayed them to help with waterproofing as does D and all her friends in Chicago. </p>
<p>I agree with the poster who said to buy the Uggs. They may not be the perfect choice, but since they are popular with that age group, she will wear them again. And with the waterproofing spray, they’ll get her by in both cities.</p>
<p>Uggs are popular for a reason–they are exceptionally comfortable and can be very warm.
It’s the water-resistance issue that gets in the way in snowy, slushy cities. D has a pair of Patagonia boots for those kinds of days. But she walks everywhere, all the time, and needed to keep her feet dry. She was looking for a permanent solution, not something to get her by for a couple of weeks.</p>
<p>Also, make sure she take a thin baselayer–long underwear, especially for under her jeans. What a huge difference that makes. And oh yeah, insist on the hat and scarf.
THere are so many cute ones now and if she chooses it herself, she’ll end up wearing it after a night or two of FREEZING :)</p>
<p>Good luck!
PS Remind her that both DC and Chicago are walking cities. So dressing even warmer, and in layers, is important. You don’t have a car to get in and out of to minimize your exposure. It’s a very different way to dress. If you do it right, you’ll be fine. If you underestimate it, you can really be miserable!</p>
<p>LL Bean Thinsulate lined gumshoes. I have worn them for well over 25 years. Keep your feet warm and dry.</p>
<p>Checking back in. D1 was immersed in an essay until late last night, but was curious when I told her that people here had offered suggestions. She pointed out that she’ll be spending most of her time inside, so footwear that she’ll be comfortable with inside is a plus. I’m glad to hear that people successfully waterproof their Uggs, since D1 is skeptical. </p>
<p>I’ll have her read through the thread later this week, and then I want to order sooner rather than later. If she takes warm boots, then she will get great weather, which is much better than not taking warm boots and getting freezing slush.</p>
<p>Hat/gloves/scarf/long underwear or tights are already owned and understood as necessary, so no worries there. Jacket/parka is still being mulled over. D1 hates the quilted look, so that’s ruled out. We have a bunch of LL Bean ski jackets, but those are only waist length and I’d like her to have something parka length. Previous CC discussions on what kind of winter jackets to get in cold climes mention things like North Face Denali jackets with layering. We’ll check with friends to see what might be borrowable. </p>
<p>I’ve had a pair of LL Bean waterproof over-the-ankle lace-up black leather boots with vibram soles for something like 15 years. They’re great for rainy days here in California, but with a pair of ski socks they’ve served me well on winter trips to Chicago and DC.</p>
<p>Having 2 S who play hockey here in the NE, I spend a lot of time in very cold ice rinks. I’ve found that boots & even clogs made by Merril to be the warmest & most comfortable, especially those lined with fleece. They are worth the splurge.</p>
<p>Is your daughter at all athletic? I have a pair of Goretex low hiking boots (the Inov-8 390s) that I wear all the time in the winter. They are lightweight, keep my feet dry, and are useful any time and any place where I’m going to deal with wet/muddy conditions. I wore them nonstop for six weeks last winter when Portland has unusual amounts of snow. (We don’t have snow plows, so the streets were a mess of slush, ice, and snow.) They certainly aren’t fashionable, but they’re also unobtrusive and potentially useful for many years.</p>
<p>I love Merrell shoes and boots. I have the pull-on suede fleece-lined boots (like Uggs but with a supportive, non-stick sole) and two pairs of the fleece-lined clogs. I wear the clogs all the time at home.</p>
<p>hey DMD * We don’t have snowplows either!- or salt!*
I think we traded them for the Slow & Lethargic & Unappealing Train!
& we Have Hills!
Bonus!
I would get some good pull on boots- if you dont get standard winter boots- superfeet makes an insole with Outlast which works very well and can be used in other shoes.
If you are dealing with wind at all- you need a layer that wont let that be an issue- TNF fleece are warm ( but waist lenght) and will let brisk wind in.</p>
<p>I have found that soles that are great for muddy trails, don’t work so well on icy sidewalks ( or maybe I am just a klutz), but even if sidewalks are scaped, they can be icy. I would also not wear even waterproofed UGGs in Seattle winters, but someplace where the precipitation comes down as snow- it should be OK- however- not great for walking IMO.</p>
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<p>LLBean sells all kinds of winter jackets for women–short, medium, long–made of down, polar fleece, polartec, etc. etc. There’s a huge array of choices and IMO their winter jackets are of the same quality as the Northface stuff. I know the Northface label is incredibly popular with college kids, but you can’t go wrong with a winter jacket from Bean and it’s going to be much less expensive.</p>
<p>There are tons of wool peacoats this winter everything from low-cost Old Navy on up the scale of cost. And they come in really neat colors (I want one can you tell). That layered over a (wool) sweater or a fleece (layering is good) and are all things she would/could wear again. Uggs are great and warm, but not waterproof. I have a pair and haven’t sprayed them but don’t wear them in slushy stuff. Neck scarves are very “in” this year so a scarf around the neck, a hat and some gloves (Gap Outlet has some really fun ones right now) should do her just fine. That’s is what I’d be getting (if I had a daughter) Pea Coat, Fake Uggs, scarf, hat and gloves. Wool or fleece top if she didnt’ have those. Jeans are about the coldest things you can have on your legs in the winter so the long underwear is going to be great. Nylons work really well, too, in a pinch, anything to separate the legs from the jean material.</p>
<p>The ski jacket will be fine for one week. She can bring a long sweater to cover her behind if the weather in Chicago is really bad. Be sure her gloves and hat are warm - fleece is good and not expensive. Cotton is not really useful in winter.</p>
<p>As for the boots, I wouldn’t buy new Uggs; nothing looks older than last year’s trend. I’ve seen a move away from Uggs to knee high leather boots. These could certainly be used repeatedly; I got through most of my college years in the city with a pair. Again, warm socks - wool or cashmere blend - are needed, and she’ll need to remove salt stains as quickly as possible from the leather boots.</p>
<p>Big warning - Northface Denalis are not wind-proof. Wool peacoats and leather jackets are my best bets for windy weather. REI has quite a selection of coats with “windstopper” Goretex fabric, but they are not cheap.</p>
<p>* is a high school junior, and is planning on applying to some schools with real winter weather. Which means that if we buy her expensive boots, she will end up going to school in California, and if we buy her cheap boots, she will end up in New England*</p>
<p>Although if she freezes her butt in Chicago, she may think more fondly of S.F.
What else she could do, besides getting a warm- windblocking hat mittens and scarf ( they have cute ones at REI), is getting a windblocking vest. I tend to be warm, but like my high school boyfriend used to say * that wind is colder than a witches ****, and I have a vest I wear under my peacoat ( although they also sell peacoats made with thinsulate- which I don’t suppose would get much use in So Cal)</p>
<p>But hands , feet & head be warm- it will be easier to keep the rest cozy.</p>
<p>I also have a really cute Patagonia down vest & I bet a lot of teens can get away with wearing kids sizes- they are the same thing ( although you do get the little tag to write your name & address on) & lots cheaper.</p>