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??

I wonder this as well. I’m from the north of Europe but have lived in the UK for most of my adult life.
It still amazes me how badly dressed Brits are in the winter and how poorly built the houses are.
I think many people think being cold and uncomfortable builds character. 😉

Saw a Russian you tuber in UK basially say this - apparently their houses are really warm and ours just aren't in winter.

The only times I’ve been inside Russian houses or apartments in winter, I found them unbearably hot. I remember going to the bathroom and sticking my head out the window for a breath of air.

I think a lot of people do wishful dressing! Also, as other pps have said, many people have very indoor lives: house-car-work-shops so don't need weather appropriate clothes or register the actual weather. I definitely dressed more for the weather once I no longer lived in London and had dcs, so was out and about more - parks, school runs etc.

It's not that cold in London, so thats why. It's not Canada, is it? If you wrap up properly, you're sweating buckets as soon as you run for a bus.

I don't think we feel the cold the same as other nationalities do.

I have a great picture of my son and a German friend when they were about 5/6 and my son has his coat open, no gloves, no hat and no scarf. German boy is zipped up, hat on, gloves on and scarf on! I don't actually think it was even that cold that day.

I was in Italy one Easter and it gradually got warmer while we were there. By the end we were sitting outside to have a drink with no coats on - the Italians were walking around in jackets and scarves!

I don't think we are badly dressed for the winter as it is usually relatively mild (at least in the southern half of England where I am).

But I do agree the houses are poor quality and badly insulated. No government seems willing to do anything about it. Build build build - ever more crap - but no new rules on quality.

However, it was absolutely freezing over Christmas! I did a Christmas Day parkrun and one on Saturday, wore a wooly hat and Strava told me that although it was about 4 degrees, it felt like minus 4 on both days (in different locations though both in the south of England). I think a lot of people would have been looking for their gloves and scarves - and possibly breaking out the longjohns :)

What I find weirder is when people in France immediately don a navy blue puffer jacket and scarf on 1 September, regardless of the temperature. It’s a uniform and it’s like a switch has been flicked. Is there an announcement on the news on 31 August to remember to find out your navy puffer jacket?

I'm in Tenerife at the moment. It's 22 degrees (warm enough to sit on a sun lounger) and the locals are wearing coats and the clothes shops are full of puffa jackets and thick hoodies! I visited Madrid in December once and it was similar.

This hot/cold thing seems very subjective.

We are trained for it by school uniforms - once you’ve walked through the snow in tights and slippy shoes, wearing only a polyester blazer because there’s nowhere to store your coat and even if you did your headmistress would find a reason to confiscate it, then the British weather can no longer harm you.

Don’t know where you are, but everyone by me seems to be wearing long puffa coats. Like wearing a duvet.

I’m always amazed how unsuitable uk school uniform is for the weather. It’s often cold and wet in Uk, and kids wear black t bar school
shoes outside to play in January, and thin grey school trousers.
Im now in a country with no uniform and in winter children are outside in proper winter boots or snow boots and have slippers indoors to change into so they aren’t dragging muddy wet shoes around school floors.

Uk home are freezing. It’s a joke amongst some other British people how they are so cold every time they return to visit family v here when it’s -15 outside. And heating is expensive here so it’s not like it’s wasted

My 5 year old wears a hat outside almost 365 days of the year. Winter hat now , spring/ autumn thinner one, and then in summer it’s hot and sunny so summer hat against sun.

It's not always that cold at this time of year? If it's over 10 degrees and I'm rushing around I don't really want a big thick coat on.

If I'm going somewhere where I'll be stood around, or it's under 10 degrees then I wrap up more.

I agree about school uniform. My child’s school has recently got rid of blazers and now have a jumper with an embroidered badge instead. The kids actually wear coats now.

I'm in the NW and its only really got cold the last 2 weeks, I imagine its been warmer in London. I get the thermal layers on if I'm volunteering at parkrun or watching the kids football match but day to day ie going to work its sweltering on public transport or in the office.

If I’m outside I’m not standing around I’m either walking to the car or to somewhere else so I don’t need to be that warm. Sometimes it’s quite cold on the walk to the car but it doesn’t last long.
I dress warmer to walk the dog but not too warm as walking makes me warmer

@whattheysay that’s the thing, as long as you’re moving you don’t get cold. I start off my dog walks being actively cold because I know within about 5 mins I’ll be warm. Same applies inside, I spend most of my day moving so when I sit down for lunch I simply put a warm jacket on. I would far rather do that than have the heating blasting away.

Yep! I don’t know. But I always thought I hated “outdoors”. My parents (who had plenty of money) just never bought me a winter coat. To be fair they didn’t have one either. So not neglect. Just a major blindspot.
I now love the outdoors. I just hate being cold.

I’ve been hiking this week. I wore a T-shirt and walking trousers with wool socks and boots. All day, outside.

I’ve been running this week. I wore a vest and shorts.

I’m on my sofa right now with a jumper over a vest and a blanket on my legs and the fire on.

I did actually meet two men in shorts, with bare chests, up Ben Nevis one February. It was a whiteout on the summit- we had crampons and ice axes- these two were rolling in the snow and their skin looked raw.

They weren’t Scottish though.