Must-have clothing items for Northern England?

[halfpintmama]

Hello! We’re relocating from the southern United States to Northern England in the next couple of months. The climate is obviously very different and I have no idea what we absolutely must have in the sense of clothes/shoes for the day to day in England. We are coming from a very warm climate ☀️ 🌵 and are so not use to cold and wet. Jackets, boots, etc are obvious needs, but what kind? What am I looking for?

Halfpint I just missed your last post. Manchester is the best place for beer. I can recommend a few brewery tours.
Lots of excellent gin everywhere, and I have a good wine cellar, you're welcome 🍷

There's a Seasalt shop in Harrogate that'll see you right. Though if we get a repeat of the beast from the east, hie thee to Cotswold.

I live in NE England and rarely wear a coat. I'm not even sure where it is... Think it might be in the car.

I think you’ll fit right in as you get the sense of humour on this thread...
Just remember that there’s no where colder on earth than the side of a rugby/ soccer pitch watching your dc play - Landsend as mentioned upthread should be fine.

Yy to that last message about standing on the touchline. A footy pitch, any footy pitch, is actually the coldest place on earth. There I wear approx five layers including big fleece lined waterproof and scarf and gloves.

The rest of the time I wear trousers and a hoody, maybe a gilet. Never a hat! Oh and I run in capris and short sleeves, wear my running tights about twice a year.

I live in Derbyshire so not really the North, but, y know.

(aghast that the UK can fit into texas! Is that true?!)

The comments regarding wippets and flat caps refer to Yorkshire. They are generally made by Southerners who have never ventured further north than Watford. If you are moving to Yorkshire, and I wouldn’t be surprised because it is an amazing part of the country, then please also consider sports gear. If Yorkshire was a country we would have come 12 th in the medals table in the Olympics. Generally hoards of people out on bikes, playing football, jogging. A warm coat, a rain coat, layered tops, jeans , trainers , boots. Compared to the USA we tend to put more thought into what we wear (not an insult just an observation).

I live in slightly warmer climes (although not Texas)
I visit North UK regularly - this thread is hilarious!

@BlueCowWonders @clary it must be a universal thing because the same goes in the states... unless it’s warm and then there is no place hotter than the side of the soccer field... lol, I mean footy pitch!

And yes @clary... it takes 13-14 hours to drive Texas E to W and 8-9 hours N to S. Everything is BIGGER in Texas (American saying)

@LoveWeekends10 already ordered matching flat caps for me and my DH. We will be trading in our black lab for a whippet before the big day...

Glad to hear that Harrogate is an outdoorsy place.. we are outdoorsy people but the Texas summer heat can really put a damper on that.

I live in Yorkshire now but I used to live much further north, and I agree with pp, it's actually not that cold here. Most of the winter I just wear a leather jacket over what I'd usually wear. I maybe add a scarf if the wind is coming from the north. I do have a big coat but that only comes out on the odd occasion that it drops below freezing.

Ooh, should add, the exception to 'it's not that cold here' is the north coast, it's fucking freezing there. You need thermals in August. But inland it's quite balmy.

I'm a Yorkshire lass and what's all this about wellies? The only people I know who wear wellies (and I'm in semi-rural Yorkshire) are farmers and folk mucking out stables. Everyone else wears either leather boots or soft Merrell-type outdoor walking boots.

Jeans or warm trousers, top, a jumper-thingy and padded coat with some decent boots will see you through. Wool coats tend to be for work where you have to be a bit smarter because they get too damp after a while if you are outside a bit. You'll probably need a scarf and some gloves.

For proper outdoors, you'll probably need a waterproof and some heavier walking boots, but might get away with the softer Merrell type boots.

The problem with wellies is that they are not very practical for the undulating Yorkshire landscape. You need flexibility and support around your ankles.

Other welly problems-cold and unforgiving if you are generous of calf.
My DC never played footy, so never suffered the sideline freeze, but my dH is a birdwatcher, so contender for coldest place in planet has to be whatever godforsaken place on the east coast he'd drag us to on a "bracing" February day. Some of the places up the dale could give Antarctica a run for its money.
But wherever you are, you are definitely going to feel it after Texas!

Put your LL Bean or Dicks order in for a waterproof coat before you leave!

11 degrees here today according to the bbc website so not exactly the frozen north although it sounds windy, I’m still in bed. Don’t worry about too warm a coat, just park your 4x4 on James street and run into shops. It’s a beautiful place though with quite a lot of Americans, the two lots we have known have stayed way beyond their original intentions.

QuestionableMouse
But what about your 'big coat' for the bad weather?

It's like the share joke-
Weather warning
Southerners are advised against all but essential travel
Northerners, you need your big coat

Agree on morning sporting fields being the coldest place on earth. DH and I have spent too long supporting each other whilst freezing in the bracing winds.

Another Welly/footy problem - it is impossible to keep your feet warm whilst wearing wellies whilst standing on a touchline. No matter how many pairs of socks you wear.

We lived in Texas for a while when I was a child. I remember my dad telling me that Texas was 2.5 times bigger than the UK in terms of area.

Live in W Yorks now. OP, yiu siund like you’re swapping places with my friend who has just a few days ago moved from Yorkshire to Texas. Pretty sure they took their big coats.... 😊

I was going to add to thread, but I think my suggestions are middle aged and mumsy (guess I am)!
I can't do with being wet though..
I love my new merrell boots, warm coat, over skinny jeans and well cut tops.

Same here Cotton, I wear my brasher super lights a lot, even when shopping in York and Harrogate (I give them a clean and even a polish ). I can walk six miles on a day in York and have learnt that if my feet are warm and dry the day is a good one.

Skinny jeans, didriksons parka, nice scarf, fancy socks peering out of said walking boots and normal clothes/top/jumper depending on the weather.

Worth a drive to Fountains Abbey for the Saturday morning park run if you are runners (and a bacon sandwich in the cafe afterwards), amazing place to run and a really friendly bunch of runners. I hated running but put myself through couch to 5k just so I could join DD at Fountains every Saturday.

OP, get everyone something like the Seasalt Janelle coat to start with.

Some leather boots and woolly sweaters (this is what British people mean by jumpers, not a pinafore dress).

Wait until you know what your dc’s School uniform is before you invest too heavily in their outdoor clothing.

Harrogate is full of clothes shops. Cheap n cheerful clothes easily available from supermarkets. More technical stuff from Cotswold Outdoor and Rohan if you need it. Harrogate even has one of the few Gap shops in the UK. Gap and Lands End both have UK websites if you want familiar US brands.

Two simple questions OP ..........

Do you get the US post box benefit?

Are you a REI shopper?

If yes and yes you are sorted!

I've lived in Harrogate and New England. I was colder in Harrogate due to the damp. Make sure your house has central heating and good draft free windows and you'll be fine!

I love this thread, great attitude from the OP 😄😄

Agree with whoever said that about the north coast, I lived in Whitby for a while and I have never been as cold.

Great post from packingsoap, my DC are teens and there's been no wellies in my house for many years, you can't walk in them, you need proper walking boots, that's what I wear to watch football. Also yy your wool coat is for work and going out, if you like walking in all weathers you'll need some kind of goretex cagoule thing. Lots of good ideas on thus thread tho.

Agree with whoever said that about the north coast, I lived in Whitby for a while and I have never been as cold.

Aberdeen is worse. That is all.

Agree with whoever said that about the north coast, I lived in Whitby for a while and I have never been as cold.

That was me - I lived in Whitby for a while, also in Scarborough, and the latter was the coldest place I have ever been. Colder than the Northumbrian moors, colder than a German forest in the depths of winter. When I lived there, we had a postman who'd recently arrived from Poland, even he complained about how bloody cold it was.