What kind of coat, boots, layers, etc? Please help me not freeze due to stupidity! (Denver: luxury, construction)

[popalina]

Gawd I can't believe I fall into the category of mom in the suburbs who won't be doing anything but grocery shopping! 2 years ago before daughter was born I was living downtown and climbing Half Dome in my off time!

Seriously, though. It's not like I don't plan to spend time doing other things, but most of the time yes it will involve my daughter. Think: replace "climb Half Dome" with "go hiking someplace where an 18-month old could walk."

[maciesmom]

Life changes when you have young children. Most places that 18 month olds are going to be walking or where you'll be hiking with her in a backpack, are not going to require serious coldweather gear. Think Castlewood Canyon this year. As she gets older, if you still live here (although considering you seem to think that anything below 60 deg is ridiculously cold, who knows...) then you'll be doing more and will be more knowledgeable as to whether and what kind of gear is appropriate for your family and lifestyle. Just trying to save you some $ at this point. If having a bunch of expensive gear makes you happy and feel less "suburban mom"-like then go for it.

[popalina]

No, I think having unnecessarily expensive gear would make me feel more "suburban mom," actually. Thx all for the suggestions! I definitetly appreciate it!

[popalina]

Not that there's anything wrong with being a suburban mom. I'm happy with my life, I was just commenting on how odd it felt to be categorized as such since I am such a new mom going from a drastically different lifestyle. That's all. Just wanted to clarify. Being a mom is the best thing I've ever done! Tops Half Dome by a million times.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by maciesmom

Of course...I was thinking she was asking it in the context of winter outerwear....

Honestly. The OP stated she wasn't planning on doing much, if any, skiing or other mountain sports this year. She also has a young child. GoreTex and NorthFace outerwear, while certainly nice and a good thing if one is skiing or snowshoeing regularly, or working outside for extended periods, is not necessary to run to King Soopers or the mall when you're living in Parker. She'll be living in an apartment so she won't even be doing much shoveling....

I agree! If you do go hiking with your child, OP, it won't be far and you won't go in extreme weather. Whatever you have will work.

[DenverLawGal]

Katiana's right in what I was proposing, a dressy, sleeveless top worn underneath a sweater. I should have clarified that more. What I mean by sweater is most often a cardigan. These are my winter staples. These items are generally light in texture as I wear them under a wool pea coat.

See the link below for an example of what I wear most winter days:

Talbots - Drape-collar cardi | Cardigans | Apparel Discover your new look at Talbots. Shop our Drape-collar cardi for stylish clothing and accessories with a modern twist at Talbots

This way, if I'm hot on the bus or in the office, I can easily remain professional wearing just my "shell". I can also remove the cardigan and put on my suit jacket. Or if the office gets cold I have the cardigan. This is what most people mean by layering. Keep in mind, I'm talking about my work week days. Although same applies for me on the weekends since I'm not an avid winter outdoorsy person.

[popalina]

That seems pretty "normal" to wear- not too wintery... I can handle that. So wearing snow boots would be overdoing it? What about jeans, snow boots over them, sweater, pea coat, scarf/hat/gloves. Enough for even the snowiest day?

[DenverLawGal]

popalina:

For the snowiest day - yes. Boots, scarves, gloves, are all a must.

Also, someone else mentioned on here the importance of waterproof boots. I can't stress this enough. Getting your feet wet and cold at the beginning of the day is horrible. And this is definitely where I spend money on a brand. Usually Columbia.

[maciesmom]

Originally Posted by popalina

That seems pretty "normal" to wear- not too wintery... I can handle that. So wearing snow boots would be overdoing it? What about jeans, snow boots over them, sweater, pea coat, scarf/hat/gloves. Enough for even the snowiest day?

Most days that would be fine. Cold doesn't really have much to do with how snowy it is by the way. It can be very very cold with no snow and it can be snowy but not "that" cold.....and because of the elevation and sun, I would invest in some good sunglasses. You will need those no matter where you live or what activities you participate in.

[Snikt]

You'll probably have to feel it out, some people wear jackets when its 70 and some are in short sleeves when it's 20.

Kinda like LawGal said though, you don't want to get wet. This is why cotton is horrible if you're going to be outdoors for extended periods of time. If you're in the city just driving, bouncing from shop to shop or whatever it's fine though.