Layering

Winter has finally arrived here in France. One day we were basking in temperatures of twenty plus, the next day it was down to six and we lit the woodburning stove. As the days went by the temperature gauge dropped further down the scale. It is time to dig out the hats, gloves and scarves and try out a few of the thicker tops in the winter capsule collection.

I was delighted when my new Rohan top arrived and, fighting the urge to ‘save it for best’, decided that I would wear it the very next day. I’d been wearing one of the thick woolly non-tech jumpers, with a thin shapeless polo underneath as I can’t wear wool next to my skin. How would I be warm enough in the much thinner Rohan top? The answer lies in layering.

Layering is a principle that is firmly established in the outdoor and sporting community. A thin base layer, thermal in winter, wicks any sweat away from the body; next, a mid-layer or fleece provides a level of insulation and finally for outdoors a waterproof or insulated outer shell layer keeps you warm and dry. I decided to apply this principle to my winter capsule and try out a thermal top under my chosen outfit, even though I was just planning to spend the day in the office.

Surprise, surprise, in addition to the two coloured thermal t-shirts that I included in the capsule there were also a couple of lovely, soft traditional M&S long sleeved thermal tops that I had been – you guessed it, saving just in case they wore out! (I’m not sure how that works either!?!). The very next day I tried out the thermal top under my new Rohan long sleeved top. It was a great success and much warmer than the woolly jumper. Since then I’ve worn the purple long sleeve top under a shirt and the lilac one under the grey Quechua fleece. Toasty!

Which looks the warmest?

I have ear-marked the two woolly jumpers for the clothing bank, but I’ve decided to try and get a bit more wear out of them this winter. I’m not sure this is quite in keeping with the Project 333 mantra of only wearing clothes that you like. It will be interesting to see how many times I do actually wear them, as I’m really enjoying wearing my favourite technical clothes again. Of course, the one in, one out rule still applies, so it was out with the Tesco pink check shirt. It used to be one of my favourites, but was looking distinctly shabby and a devil to iron.

The next problem to solve is trying to keep my feet warm when working in the office. I usually wear crocs as slippers and consider that they fall in the technical category too. They’re also really hard-wearing; I think I’m only on my second pair in about ten years and I wear them every day, almost all day if I am working at home. I am contemplating buying a pair with washable furry linings, but a bit more research is needed in this area - something I'll consider in a future post.