Dressing appropriately for Canadian winters is inconvenient and ruins outfits, students report

By: Nika Petrosian

There’s no need for introductions when it comes to Canada’s notorious winters. This winter, parts of Ontario received the biggest snowstorm in decades. In Toronto, where we typically experience more mild winters and snowfall, 55 centimetres of snow fell in some parts of the city, which is more snow than the city typically receives during the entire month of January, according to CTV News Toronto.

Every year, crisp white snow places itself on the roofs of neighbourhood homes, in the curves of bare tree branches, and all over the ground. Temperatures drop below zero. Car doors freeze shut. Slick patches of ice coat driveways and hide under blankets of snow, and — wait, what?

Running shoes? Windbreakers? In the middle of winter?

It’s quite common to see students and young adults underdressed during the winter months walking through the streets of big cities in Canada, standing on the train, or waiting for the bus.

Maybe it has something to do with resilience — some people are able to withstand the frigid temperatures better than others. Maybe they’re secretly wearing layers and layers of clothing underneath their light, airy-looking jackets that we just can’t see. Maybe it’s something else entirely.

One thing is for sure — many young people in Canada don’t dress warmly enough for the weather. Why? In a country where it isn’t uncommon for temperatures to drop below 20 degrees Celsius, it’s a fair and intriguing question to ask.

Danielle Martin, a fashion professor at X University, says the high cost of winter clothing may be one of the reasons why this trend is so common.

“Properly warm winter boots and decently warm winter coats are expensive investments,” says Martin.

And it’s true — even after clearance sales, warm, high-quality items like winter boots still cost upwards of around $120 in many of Canada’s most accessible shoe stores, like SoftMoc or Brown’s.

Factoring in the two years spent in and out of lockdown, Martin says many students and young adults don’t see investing in winter clothing as a pressing necessity — we have been venturing out into the cold weather far less than usual.

“For two years, due to the pandemic, we have been isolated at home. Therefore, it is not necessary to go out often,” she says.

Martin also says that, especially in southern Ontario, the inconsistent winter weather over the past couple of years may have played a role in deterring young people from purchasing and wearing appropriate winter clothing. “Unpredictable colder winters are probably a stop for purchasing expensive [winter gear],” she says.

Some experts in the industry have recommendations to work around this, however.

Natalie Michie, a Toronto-based freelance journalist, suggests thrifting winter coats as a more affordable and accessible option. Michie suggests Value Village and Black Market as good starting points.

“As a student, I used to thrift — I still do thrift a lot of my winter jackets,” says Michie, who is a regular writer for FASHION Magazine. “I've gotten some great winter coats there,” she says.

But sometimes even second-hand options for winter attire can run on the expensive side. For this, Michie suggests investing in warm, inexpensive pieces that keep your head, hands and feet warm, like gloves or a balaclava.

“Right now, there’s a big balaclava trend going on where people are opting for this scarf-slash-hat accessory for winter time,” says Michie, “they protect your ears, and your neck, and your head, and those can be a relatively cheap option.”

Alternatively, experts at Chatelaine recommend investing in timeless staple pieces that won’t fall victim to the ever-changing trend cycle.

Unsurprisingly, fashion and aesthetics also play a huge role when it comes to young people’s clothing choices during the winter months.

“I always do this and it is 100 per cent for fashion,” says Andrea Llorens, a third-year psychology student at X University. She says that during the winter, she’ll often opt for a scarf when she’s outdoors since she usually spends more time inside rather than outside.

For Jessie Y, a Grade 12 student, the bulkier silhouettes that are often seen in winter fashion came along with body image issues.

“It’s silly in retrospect but I was willing to risk my health for the sake of a thinner silhouette,” she says. “It sucks that I was very likely not the only girl who mentally dealt with this.”

Despite her struggle in the past, however, Jessie says she is in a place where she feels comfortable enough to dress warmly.

“I rarely underdress now, and if I do it’s for fashion purposes,” she says. “When I plan an outfit I always aim for a mix of aesthetics and practicality.”

But aside from fashion and affordability, it seems that convenience is one of the more prominent reasons behind young adults underdressing for the winter.

For some students and individuals who find themselves commuting often and spending the majority of their time in classrooms or attending lectures, they feel that it’s just not practical to be lugging around winter gear all day when it’s only going to be used for such a short amount of time.

“If it’s too cold I just deal with it, and if it’s too warm I just unzip,” says Grade 12 student Livia Whynott. As a high school student, it’s just easier for her current lifestyle to dress lighter.

Especially with the pandemic and social distancing regulations, access to lockers and other school facilities are sometimes limited. “It’s inconvenient to carry around extra layers at school since there’s only so much space,” says Whynott.

Winter gear also tends to be bulky, meaning getting dressed takes even longer than usual. “I haven’t had my own boots in ages, mainly cause it takes so long to put them on and take them off,” says 22-year-old Navseerat Pandher.

Like Whynott, Pandher is also okay with the short-term discomfort if it means longer-term convenience and comfort. “I just deal with the snow hitting my ankles,” she says.

There are a plethora of reasons as to why young Canadians refuse to dress appropriately for the winter – the cost of winter clothing, aesthetics, convenience – and it’s hard to directly pinpoint any one specific reason.

The one thing that is for certain?

It’s hard being a student and finding your own personal style. Exploring and expanding your own sense of fashion takes a lot of experimentation – figuring out what works best for you and what doesn’t. And sometimes a variety of barriers can get in the way of that, making practicality and functionality fall lower on one’s list of priorities when it comes to how they dress.

“In fashion, there is a trend of wanting to wear the cuter coat as opposed to the more practical coat,” says Michie.

“People might opt for the coat that is a button-up trench coat as opposed to a puffer zip-up coat that goes down to your ankles because it just looks cuter, even though it might not protect you against the cold weather,” she says.

As young people venture out into the cold and experience early adulthood, many of them want to look their best while doing it, which doesn’t necessarily always include warmth or comfort.

“When you're thinking about how you want to portray your outfits aesthetically, often we don’t factor in comfort. This is true more so for students,” says Michie.

So I think it’s safe to say that we will be seeing this continue for generations to come. All we can do is brace ourselves – Canadian winters are snow joke!

By Mia Maaytah

It is half-way through my third year of university, and once again I am experiencing that same dwindling in my creativity that I face every winter season.

As an artist, I am finding that in the winter my creative side is very much unreachable, and though this occurs every year, I still try and hold on to my optimism.

I buy a canvas. I mix my paint. I fill a dirty cup with water and a clean cup with tea and I begin staring at the fresh, stark-white square in front of me finding no inspiration in my head whatsoever.

During this season, I find no encouragement from my surroundings. I enter a routine of only existing in my lecture halls and across from the television, resting my hands on my laptop, and feeling ever so secluded from the world of imagination I’ve been locked out of.

The isolation from “art-ing,” however seems to be universal. It is as if Instagram feeds bloom in the summer with finished paintings and new poetry, yet in the winter we only speak of art through festive decorations and the blank pages and notebooks are seen as something you’ll eventually get to.

Bella Giammarco, a cosmetology student at Sheridan College, finds that the winter season is a time that holds minimal artistic excitement due to its desolate climate.

“I like to work with colour, so during the winter it’s kind of hard to be exposed to all of those vibrant colours that do inspire me,” Giammarco said.

Specializing in makeup, Giammarco’s style is full of exaggerated pigments and heavy contrasts between bright and subtle shades. In many of her looks, she focuses on incorporating environmental influences, inspiration from fellow makeup-artists, and seasonal depictions.

“My favourite place to create and perform is in places that I’m surrounded with good energy,” she said. “I think that flowers or just colourful environments inspire me and I just find that in the winter I’m not as exposed to it.”

Giammarco explained that during the winter, there is not much activity within the wilderness, where she would usually find her muse. Thus, when she finds no luck outside or on the internet, this leads to a lack of idea development altogether and hinders her artistic progress.

Many artists view summer differently. Where some, like Giammarco, use it as inspiration to feed off from and translate into her creations, others use it for the environmental freedom and energy that allows them to create within it.

Toronto-based visual artist, Ziggo, said that the summer season offers a wider range of how to conduct a creative session.

“I like to paint outside sometimes, and that’s not possible in the winter,” he said. “My favourite place to create is spray painting outdoors. [It’s] kind of hard to do indoors.”

Ziggo is a street-artist that specializes in making massive murals that he strategically installs around the city and also commissions to clients. His inspiration is said to come from hip-hop, Indigenous culture, and street-culture.

“I find in the summer I just have more energy and feel more inspired by living life more versus the hibernation of winter,” he said. “I need to be excited and happy about the idea.”

For myself, summer is an awakening of ideas. It is the time of celebration where I can come back to myself and forget the dreadful cycle of school days and work nights. Whether I am outside painting or painting the outside, the summer allows for a sense of flexibility in my process.

However, not all artists find solace in the summer. As many attend school to study their art for the majority of the year, summer may come as a time of separation from the nagging obligation to create and a time to rest.

Calvin Rea, a fine-arts Ryerson University graduate, said that due to the nature of school, young artists may be trained to think more creatively during the winter due to mandatory assignments, yet lack that motivation in the summer because they are not used to it or may need some time away.

“Having gone to theatre school where eight months of the year are kind of a boot camp, by the time the summer hits you want nothing to do with creativity,” said Rea.

Rea, who spent his time studying acting and playwriting, also suggests that for him, creativity coincides with mood, and that not every project is dependent on the same external force.

“I think a huge factor in fluid creativity is feeling good,” he said. “Summer and spring are more conducive to that kind of environment because it’s nice outside; you don’t feel so claustrophobic and you feel good in the sun. But also sometimes the projects you’re working on can be a bit of sanctuary from the weather or season outside.”

For some, winter is a time that brings people together through family gatherings, holidays, and an opportunity to wrap yourself up in a blanket and forget about the world.

For artists, however, this seems to be the time for a lot of thinking and minimal doing. For me, I understand that there may be no end to this art-block, but perhaps I could benefit from my time away from the dirty hands and the paint-ridden floor.