<p>Hello Parents,</p>
<p>I am originally from Central America but I’ve lived in Virginia for a couple of years. I’ll be attending Amherst College in Western Massachusetts.</p>
<p>I was just wondering what types of clothes I would need to purchase to survive the winter at Amherst. I own a couple of light winter jackets and a peacoat, but that’s about it. I’m a male btw 
I don’t know anything about winter clothing so I really appreciate the help!!</p>
<p>I grew up in Western Massachusetts and although the winters are not as cold as they were when I was young your present wardrobe is going to be totally inadequate for winters there. I remeber times when the temperature went down to 40 degrees below zero and storms that would cover the ground with a meter of snow. You will need a very heavy winter coat or parka, flannel shirts, courdary pants with long thermal underwear. For your feet you will need heavy wool socks and winter boots that will protect your feet from extreme cold and wet snow and ice. You should have heavy gloves or mittens for your hands and a wool stocking hat and scarf to protect your head and neck. Earmuffs are needed if your hat does not totally cover your ears. Also, you should get some sweaters to wear inside since people in New England probably keep their thermostats set at lower temperatures than you are accostomed to. </p>
<p>I would suggest you get a mail order catalog or go to the website of LL Bean&Co. located in Maine who carry a full line of clothing of the highest quality appropriate for New England winters. With what you have now you will not survive through December.</p>
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<p>I figured That’s why I asked!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the suggestions Lemaitre!! :)</p>
<p>Few pairs of jeans, hooded sweatshirts to wear inside the jacket, one of those 2 layer jacket which can be combined to use in winter and separately for Spring and Fall, gloves, hat, thick socks and snow boots.</p>
<p>JasmineRose’s advice is more on point than Lemaitre’s, I’m afraid, since global warming has taken its toll. You absolutely do not need long underwear in Amherst unless you are planning to ski cross-country for six hours, and even then I suspect you’d be quite hot. There will be some snow, and plenty of ice, but the sidewalks will be shoveled and salted, and there is virtually no place on campus that can’t be reached in ten minutes or less. My main advice would be to make sure your winter coat is waterproof, as wet wool smells disgusting and isn’t very effective in the cold. But winter clothes can all be purchased upon arrival.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Layers. A couple of Underarmor pieces would be really nice, but not strictly essential. Don’t forget your legs.</p></li>
<li><p>Gore-Tex, especially in an outer layer (coat) and boots. Gore-Tex is great because you can wear it when it’s NOT super-cold or wet, too.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t like hats, either, but you should have one, just in case. Wool, knit.</p></li>
<li><p>And a pair of warm gloves or mittens.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You really don’t need that much. Many, many kids don’t go overboard about it. I don’t think the temperature at Amherst has really hit 40 below in a long, long time. Like, not since the last Ice Age. You can get a meter of snow on the ground – although it will more likely be called three feet something – but the Amherst maintenance staff will clear the walkways PDQ, and you won’t actually want or need to go anyplace else for a while.</p>
<p>EDIT: I’m generally with jasmineRose and Sop14’sMom, but lifelong experience says a layer for under your jeans comes in handy sometimes. You won’t need it to get to class and to breakfast, but you will be happy to have it when you have your massive snowball battle. Which you will.</p>
<p>Congrats on getting in to Amherst!</p>
<p>I went to Smith in the '80s and I definitely think winters were colder then. Does Amherst give you a long break in January? If so, you might be doing an internship near home and you’d miss some of the coldest weather. Even so, December and February can be pretty cold. You might want to get a thing called a “gaiter” – it’s a tube of fleece that you wear around your neck and it makes a very effective air dam against the wind, and it’s less bulky than a scarf. You might also want to get a couple of underarmour long sleeve shirts (like the kind you’d wear if you played soccer in a cold climate) – they make a good base layer and they keep you warmer than just piling on a big sweater. Earmuffs help too.</p>
<p>an umbrella.</p>
<p>i’m in the 5 college area and literally half the people from california forgot to bring umbrellas this year. it’s ridiculous.</p>
<p>see you round next semesterˆˆ</p>
<p>40 degrees below zero? It’s Amherst, not Antarctica! In my experience, college kids, especially boys, under dress for the weather (I think it’s a macho thing). They don’t go from dorm to class swaddled in multiple layers. (And I’m guessing no one owns heavy wool socks unless their mothers snuck them into the suitcase at the last minute.) In any case, you’ll have plenty of time to buy outerwear after you arrive–see what others are wearing and order what you need online. It will be balmy when you arrive–plenty of time to plan purchases before the winter weather hits. Long underwear isn’t needed unless you plan to do outdoor sports in the winter or go hiking. Your pea coat will do fine on most days with a sweater underneath and a scarf–a hat if you like them. You’ll want warm gloves (some waterproof ones for snowball fights) and water resistant boots with good traction for snow and ice. Honest, it’s just Western Mass., no need to dress like a Sherpa. And if this coming winter is anything like the last one, you won’t be wearing half the stuff you buy.</p>
<p>Time for data. Average January temperature: 23.5F (high of 33F, low of 11F). In 2007, January temperatures swung from -1F to 70F. Average precipitation: 4 inches every month but February (3 inches). What this means is a lot of mixed precipitation in the winter. Oh, and lowest recorded temperature: -30F in 1961.</p>
<p>Don’t wear a hat WITH ear muffs. Definitely not cool.</p>
<p>DS goes to UMass Amherst, which is right down the street.</p>
<p>We got him insulated waterproof boots - Hermans Survivors - I think he’s worn them twice.</p>
<p>A hat? Fuggetaboudit. Won’t wear one.</p>
<p>Umbrella? Wouldn’t be caught dead.</p>
<p>Gloves? Sometimes.</p>
<p>He has a light to medium weight winter coat. No down, no Ice Station Zebra parka.</p>
<p>He won’t even wear long sleeve shirts in the winter, it’s all tee shirts all the time.</p>
<p>Males that age have an internal furnace that is amazing.</p>
<p>I second MommaJ - wait until you get here, when it starts to get cold see what you really need, and go to Walmart or Target. Don’t listen to all the old people on this thread. ;)</p>
<p>
And it was up-hill both ways to class, and we had to walk for miles in a blizzard. Dining halls? We hunted our own food. That’s the way it was, and we liked it.</p>
<p>[Grumpy</a> Old Man - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N2E93VzQSA]Grumpy”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N2E93VzQSA)</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>I should have been a bit clearer. I’ve been accepted as a Spring Transfer so I’ll probably be at Amherst in mid-January, so I don’t think waiting until I get there is an option :)</p>
<p>What’s a decent price for a winter coat/parka?</p>
<p>Think about layering. Start with a long sleeve shirt or underarmour with a sweater over it. Nice to have a sweater that zips (1/4 zip is nice) so you can keep your neck warmer when needed. Then a jacket on top. You could try one of the new down jackets or down sweaters from Patagonia or North Face (review on the internet) that compress to a small size. They are really nice to wear outside or inside to take the chill off without being too hot. However, when you go outside, you would need a waterproof layer on top of them (such as a waterproof ski jacket) as down does not do well with moisture. So your layers would be 1. long sleeve shirt 2. sweater or 3 down jacket or down sweater 4. waterproof shell with a hood.
My S likes the lined jeans from LLBean. They are lined with fleece & take the cold away from your legs. You could add some originality with your gloves, hat and scarf choices. As we are starting summer, it’s a good time to get some amazingly low prices on winter items left over from this year. Look at some of the waterproof boots - google best winter boots for men-on the internet and go try some on at REI. Eddie Bauer had a great shirt this year with flannel on the outside and fleece on the inside. Great to have a few comfort items to cuddle up to in the colder weather.</p>
<p>Men’s Snow Squall winter jacket currently on sale at Lands End for $59.99. Not too dorky looking, and “TEMPERATURE RATING — WARMEST: -20° to 5° Fahrenheit.”</p>
<p>LLBean has Down jackets on sale for $64.99 - $69.99.</p>
<p>This time of year you can get a great deal online on a previous season winter jacket - if you really don’t feel you can wait until you go up to Amherst to see what others are wearing.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! 2boysima, what’s the difference between Squall and Down jackets (is it a type of jacket or is it just a brand)?</p>
<p>Jeez…Amherst isn’t a tundra, even in the coldest of winters. Northface jacket , maybe, and it’s a big maybe…a hat …and something a little sturdier than flip-flops for your feet ;)</p>
<p>This past winter my son wore sneakers, shorts and a hoodie for most of the winter in Worcester which is not that far from Amherst (about 50) miles. There were only a **handful **of days when he wore a winter coat, boots, and gloves. It was a very mild winter. Then again, the winter before that was more typically cold and snowy ;-)</p>
<p>Unless you are into winter sports, you won’t be outside for that long while going to classes, so don’t go crazy with too much winter clothing…</p>
<p>DON’T GO SHOPPING NOW FOR WINTER WARDROBE FOR WESTERN MASS. DO NOT! DON’T DO IT.</p>
<p>OK, end of shouting :). Wait til you get there. It will not be 40 degrees below zero when you arrive in early September. It may well never be 40 degrees below zero. Anyway, it will be comfortably warm, possibly even hot, when you first get there.</p>
<p>Wait to see what other guys are wearing. You will find that many of them NEVER wear parkas/boots/gloves/hats unless they are on the ski slope. You might not be able to adopt that (just see that BeanTownGirl is saying similar just above me) attitude toward winter wardrobe, but you do NOT want to spend a lot of money on stuff you won’t need and/or won’t want and/or won’t like the style.</p>
<p>If places to shop for what you <em>do</em> need are not handy, you can use the LL Bean or Sierra Trading or many other online/catalog options once you’re there. </p>
<p>Start with a couple of hoodies and some jeans. Wait on all of the rest.</p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>
<p>Hi jmmom, I’ll probably be going to Amherst in mid-January so it will be in the middle of winter :(</p>