Adults who don't dress properly for winter

[Bearpawk]

Driving me mad.
I work in an office where must people have a commute or a decent walk to get to work . I'd say about 90% can't dress themselves properly.
Young woman next to me ankle trainer socks. Midriff showing. Pissing and moaning about being cold. It's 1 degree outside and it's December.
It's raining and they come in wearing canvas shoes and a fluffy coat. No umbrella or waterproofs. Then expect to have the heating on full whack all day to dry their coats and shoes out.
In a training room all day where the lead trainer (middle aged, old enough to know better) insisted on having the heating cranked up all day because she's wearing a thin acrylic jumper and got cold to the bones on the way to work and can't warm up.
Everyone without exception has access to the weather forecast via their phones. It shouldn't be a shock when it's raining or cold. Yet they dress like it's May, all year round.
They earn decent money and aren't hard up so it's not a financial issue (maybe with some of the VERY junior/ young ones fair enough )

AIBU to fed up of people moaning about being cold or wet but making zero attempt to dress appropriately for the weather ?

Naptrappedmummy - it's easy to add an office appropriate layer and look professional. You don't need to have all your clothing for all purposes, e.g. office and dog walking. Your summer office clothing doesn't.

You don't say what level of formal your office is, but your normal office suit with a fine knit jumper, camisole underneath should keep you warm.

Or just personal preference????

@JudgeJ I think you may have some faulty measurement going on or live a very active indoor life because 16 degrees is considered to be the minimum working office temperature in the UK 😂

https://www.acas.org.uk/extreme-temperatures-in-the-workplace#:~:text=Although%20there%27s%20no%20legal%20maximum,environment%20and%20type%20of%20work.

This is an interesting read. Suggests that 22-24 is ideal.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160617-the-never-ending-battle-over-the-best-office-temperature

Man in town today (2 degrees) wearing shorts, t shirt and flip flops). Knobhead was a word that sprung to mind when I saw him.

Well presumably he was happy to be walking around like that and didn't complain to you that he was cold whilst wearing shorts, t shirt and flip flops?

I mean if it doesn't impact on you in any way and you just want to judge people for not feeling the cold in the same way you do, then you crack on, but you'd be the one sounding like a knob, tbh @NorthernSpirit

Sorry OP but you sound middle aged 😂

I don't think that 'warmth' was something that I factored into my outfit choices until I hit my 30s. Even then, it came secondary to style.

I would expect those over 35 to know better

@Nospecialcharactersplease did you really need to be told, at age 30, that to avoid being cold in winter you should wear more clothes ?

Do you not just wear the clothes you wore last year, and the year before, and the year before that? I probably buy about 3 items of clothing per year, and I’ve got stuff for all weather.

I am torn because I think you are being massively judgy and yet I also agree with you 😬

I don't care ehat people wear but I care when the constantly whine, if the temp is kept so all people need is a jumper/cardigan I think that is fair

no one should have to wear a winter coat at a desk for example, but if you come to work with hardly anything on don't whine it s cold

Surely you don’t expect the indoors to be at 1 degree just because outside is? You are bound to be hot if you don’t take your extra layers off.

I agree. Even the jumpers are thin these days. I went to several shops looking for a THICK jumper and they don’t seem to exist anymore. All the woolly jumper and even hoodies are so thin!
I saw a St Micheal cardigan in the charity shop yesterday, which I would have bought if it wasn’t a bit worn out, and it was 3 times as thick as modern ones!

This is just nonsense. The thickness or otherwise of your walls is irrelevant. 16 is 16 and is not hot. It’s 2 degrees below the minimum recommended temperature for your health and that of your house. Is your thermostat in a cold hall? If so, 16 there could easily mean 22+ in a room.

Woolovers… they have been cheaper in the past but still good quality for the current price.

Same. Our CH thermostat is set to 17.5°C, which is toasty. I think depending years in the 70s in a freezing totc house with no CH or DG, ice on inside of windows, frosted breath etc. may have a lot to do with feeling warm at (relatively) lower temperatures now. I'd be in t-shirt and shorts at 22°, and positively sweltering at 25.

Where is your thermostat?
Mine is in my living room and set to 18. I need a long sleeved top and an oodie to be comfortable. If it drops much lower (such as times the heating isn’t on) I need a fleece blanket too. Or else to advance the heating. Anything below 18 in your actual living space isn’t warm - or particularly healthy.

Everyone has a different optimum temperature.

And some people prioritise fashion over warmth.

Moaning is what’s annoying. If you are cold because you are not wearing enough clothes, just own it and laugh at yourself.

The smug, ‘I dress appropriately for the cold, anything above 20C and I am passing out, young people are fools’ lot are equally annoying.

YANBU, OP.

Sure, thermals aren't available to everyone (although you can buy them for £6 on Boohoo) but if someone turns up in summer clothes because they thought they looked cute then I'm afraid that's on them.

Our CH thermostat is set to 17.5°C, which is toasty. I think depending years in the 70s in a freezing totc house with no CH or DG, ice on inside of windows, frosted breath etc. may have a lot to do with feeling warm at (relatively) lower temperatures now. I'd be in t-shirt and shorts at 22°, and positively sweltering at 25.

Some people feel the cold more than others. My bedroom was 19° today and I was frozen. I put on loads of layers and I was still cold.

Because I was working at a desk and not moving around.

I'm 54. I couldn't afford central heating until I was 30. I spent plenty of time with single glazed icy windows and frosted breath and frankly I think this sort of 'oh I'm just made of tougher stuff than you' rot is really unhelpful.

It's almost like, I don't know, human beings have a variety of experiences or something

Close-fitting anything makes my skin crawl, wool makes me itch, tops tucked into my waistband make me feel claustrophobic when I reach, and I find my chunky (acrylic) knitwear quite cosy... I don't give a fig about looking chunky at this time of year either - it's clearly layers of clothes. What seems obvious to you and your circumstances doesn't work for everyone for a variety of reasons.

I can understand OP being annoyed having to listen to constant complaints and by the office having humidity levels akin to a jungle with all the drying clothing, but there are a number of PPs getting het up about seeing others just going about their business without any complaint or impact on the PPs' comfort. Who cares if a man in the shopping precinct is wearing shorts? Does it affect you if another mum on the school run isn't wearing socks?
I spend a large chunk of my working week outside. I have plenty of work wear for every possible combination of temperature, precipitation, and activity that works with my preferences/sensory needs. I don't feel the cold as much as a lot of people, but I hate the feeling of wet clothes on my skin. Depending on the circumstances, I might work around this with waterproof clothing to keep the wet out completely, or I might go with minimal thin clothing as it will dry fast and my bare skin even more quickly than that. I don't complain and am quite happy at a comfortable temperature. I had no idea people were annoyed by it or judging me - that's a really odd thing to do!
FWIW I hate socks too, and avoid using them outside of work (my work boots would rub blisters without them) until the temperature is around zero. I've been wearing thin 3/4 length trousers and trainers (barefoot, no less! So even thinner and poorly insulated than your garden variety) with no socks for the most part of the autumn term.

I don't think 22 degrees is too hot for an office either, given most people in there are sat for the greater portion of the day. It is warmer than I'd like or choose at home, and would definitely be unpleasant doing my very physical job, but it is still within the normal range of indoor temperatures.

Depends if they're complaining they're cold or not
A male friend lives in shorts and flip flops all year round. He's never cold
I'm allergic to heat and haven't worn a coat in years because I get too warm, and then end up covered in hives so I have to keep myself cold mostly

Having lived abroad in various countries it definitely is a UK idiosyncrasy to underdress for the weather and it catches my eye as it would be unusual anywhere else. People without a coat, or in ballet flats, schoolboys expected to wear shorts as a uniform as it’s “traditional”, in the middle of winter. A new one for me is the socks and sliders in rainy weather. It’s one of our quirks. Compare that to Eastern Europe which has higher poverty rates than ours and temps vary enormously across the year but where everyone has the same idea of what a winter coat and shoes are.

Totally outing but, raining all day the other day. Went to pick up DC from school, not one single other parent had an umbrella, about a third had coats.
It is bizarre.

Agree with OP really though it is quite hard to dress for this time of year! I was toasty on my walk to the train station today in wool and sensible layers. But then suddenly sweltering on the tube/bus for 1.5 hours home (train strikes today) Tomorrow is meant to be much milder - I’ll probably get it wrong again!