Why do British people always under-dress in winter??

[Newmeagain]

This has always puzzled me. I have lived in the UK for many years and so often in winter see people wearing inappropriate clothing and looking very cold - e.g. a thin raincoat, bare legs or uncovered shoes.

Was also just reading a thread where the OP was asking for recommendations for a short winter jacket to wear in Paris in January and lots of people were suggesting the kind of cotton jackets I wear on cooler summer days!

Why is this??

😁

It is true though! 😆

I'm currently fat and have some lovely thick stylish coats I seldom wear, because when out walking in them I overheat very quickly, even in the coldest weather.

Agree with this.

My husband is from a Mediterranean country. He and his family seem to think I’m abusing the children by taking them outside in winter, even if they’re well wrapped up. I’m sure MIL has considered calling social services when we go to the park. They have the heating on full blast and are positively terrified of a spot of drizzle.

I thought they were all mad, until I realised that between June and August the tables briefly turn. They are serene in trousers and long sleeves. I am a melting mess, spraying factor 50 at anything that moves and fretting that the kids will get sunstroke.

Absolutely. You’re far better off with a light rainproof coat you can layer under if needed.

Actually this thread has just reminded me of noticing winter clothing differences after I moved out of London to an east midlands village — that people were essentially only wearing indoor clothes to go to work in because they were jumping in a car and just walking a few feet from a workplace car park at the other end. I think I hadn’t been consciously aware of how much my winter London clothing choices were dictated by the fact that I would be doing a combination of walking and public transport to get to work, and often going on to do something social or cultural immediately after work. So the same outfit needed to work for walking, tube/bus, work, going to an opera/play/bar/ restaurant afterwards etc.

Tbh I hate the cold in my house but when I'm out I can just wear a long top and hoody. It isn't too cold it's 6 degrees here.

Maybe they go for a run before work, or gym on the way home, or keep the coat in the car so they can put it on if they do go out. My colleagues probably think I never take a coat to work but I just don't like driving in one so it is always on the back seat of the car, I don't need it to get from house to car or car park to office but will
stop at the car and put it on to go out at lunchtime.

Generally I think it's the other way round, people in huge thick coats, scarnes, gloves, boots when the temperature is still around 12°C. But I'd always rather be slightly cold than overheated and only wear a thick coat once it's below about 5°C. Each to their own.

I see you're unfamiliar with the phenomenon that is "it's only October, and really quite mild, but I've got a new arctic winter coat that I just really want to wear now". Second only to, "I've got an amazing wool cardigan in the summer sale, and it's every so slightly breezy out so I'm gong to wear it". Basically, we wear what feels right in the moment.

I went from Brighton to Edin uni. I couldn't believe how few layers the Scottish locals were wearing, it was impressive! Nobody looked cold, unlike me. I just laughed at my michelin man coat, wooly hat and called myself a rubbish softy Southerner.

But nobody actually walks that far in London - anything more than 10 minutes you take the tube or a bus.

It's usually warmer in London than elsewhere, walking makes you a bit warmer and if you go on the tube wearing a giant puffer coat you melt from the heat.

I think it is a British thing, Europe has a different climate to us and a different approach to clothes/fashion. A couple of years ago we took the kids to Rome in February. Checked the forecast before we went and it was clearly hoodies and jeans weather so we packed appropriately for us and off we went. We got so may odd looks from the Italians in their duvet coats, a couple of comments from strangers about our smallest and as soon as our Italian friends saw us they laughed and joked about how the English just don’t feel cold (or wet apparently as they also find our country’s limited use of umbrellas highly amusing). I am sure to those around us we looked cold but I promise you we weren’t at all and it took considerable energy to get the smallest to keep her hoodie on as she kept complaining of being too warm.

I moved to Leeds a few years ago, just for a couple of years. The winter there was snow and minus 10oC.
That seemed proper cold to me!

Always OP?

Why do people move to the UK only to judge us on how we live our lives??

It’s not been cold in London yet this winter. I went out for a couple of hours from 8.30 this morning and wore jeans and a warm jumper (outside the whole time). Other days I wear a thinner jumper and a jacket. Will get out the big coat next month if the temperature drops

I don’t. I love winter clothes. Chunky jumpers, thick socks, boots, down jacket, wooly hat. Love them.

But nobody actually walks that far in London - anything more than 10 minutes you take the tube or a bus.

Well that's a sweeping statement and a half 😂

I live in Barbican and always walk into the West End (and home again). One way takes around 35-45 minutes depending on route and speed etc. etc. As Barbican has a micro climate, it is a few degree warmer than the rest of London, so once I've left the highwalks and am walking through the city streets, it is noticeably colder, so am usually glad that I have worn something super warm.

I'm n Wales and really feel the cold. But I walk fast when I'm outside. This week I went for a walk in leggings, thermal long sleeve top and hoody. I felt perfect. There was a frost People were out in hats, gloves and thick padded coats. They must have been roasting.

Went for a run yesterday. Thick frost. I had leggings, t shirt and thin gloves. If you'd watched me walking to where I wanted to start running you'd have thought i was mad. But within 1km running, I was warm.

I do agree with this

Why are rain pants not more popular in the UK??? It rains all the time, not just when you're hiking!

I think the opposite - so many people wander round in those gigantic puffy full length coats that look like they've belted a duvet around themselves, from September to April, despite it being comparatively mild over recent winters in most of the UK. I bought a lighter version to go to Denmark in December and I was boiling wearing it so no idea how people don't overheat wearing them in the UK. Same with wearing dry robes - they were intended to keep you warm after cold water swimming, not wandering around tesco!

It's a compromise in my case. I much prefer being too cold to too hot, so if I'm going to be in a situation where I'm going to be in and out of places all day, I'd much rather be a bit cold outside than sweating in a million layers on the tube or in a shop.

Because they're not very practical unless you plan to spend hours outside. You sweat in them, they rustle, they're not breathable and it's much easier to wear quick-drying trousers (or bare legs).

I own a pair and wear them for work (dog walker) because I'm out all day, but otherwise - meh, waste of time.

I wear a raincoat to walk my dogs, short coat for other outings, and only really wear proper coat from January to end of Feb.
now that the days of standing around watching my children playing sports in cold wet fields are over, I possibly won’t bother with hardcore coats

Because they are sweaty and make your legs moist (sorry).

Because if you're out walking and moving around, you don't need loads of layers or a thick winter coat etc.

We went to Keswick yesterday - the car said about 5 degrees but it was sunny and we were walking around constantly so you really didn't need loads of layers. We even sat outside for lunch and were fine in regular clothes and just a warm-ish coat.

Exactly. In fact, the rustle annoys the living shite out of me when hiking, so I’m definitely with the ‘wear quick-drying shorts or trousers’ posse on that.

The U.K. is often quite mild in winter- it hasn’t really been that cold yet where I am (car rarely needed defrosting in a morning. I get really hot if I have too many layers and find big coats and lots of hat/gloves etc very bulky and annoying.