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By Request: Millie and Katie’s Guide to Not Freezing Your Butt Off, Part I
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Eeeee! I am honored and educated SIMULTANEOUSLY! I especially appreciate the bits about warm insoles (Mylar? Really?)and sweater tights; two new things to try.
Layering… I could wear slips under skirts. Or pettipants, if I felt like shelling out.
Don’t let Mr. Cunningham steer you wrong: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/dec/17/medicalresearch-humanbehaviour .
Looking forward to your coat post! If you have tips on finding vegan footwear that’s tough enough to survive snow, I’m all ears.
Yay, I’m glad you found it helpful!
Vegan winter boots are like the holy grail of footwear to me. I loooove my Novacas boots, but my feet were clammy for most of last winter. I didn’t have the mylar insoles (mission for this year!) but winter boots they are not. They did stand up though — got some protective spray and sprayed them every couple of weeks, and wiped the salt off them. I got them at mooshoes.com (an all vegan shoe store), and I’d buy from them again. They’re awesome but pricey, unfortunately.
My boyfriend had a pair of dressy Mooshoes, and we were both dismayed at how quickly they disintegrated. I’ll let you know if I stumble upon anything unexpectedly glorious.
Oh, the have a brand themselves? I’ve only gotten other brands that I couldn’t find in brick and mortar stores here through their site. That’s too bad, though.
Haha, I almost rolled on the floor laughing at the leggings bit. I’ve been afraid of that happening to me on so many occasions.
ooh the insoles idea is ingenious. I’d never thought of that! Thanks!
I’d never thought of the insoles either – I think I’m going to try to add those in to my favorite boots this winter!
I’ve found long underwear to be a lifesaver. It’s definitely not the sexiest thing, but I spent years freezing in jeans while trudging around a windy campus. One Christmas my mom gave me long underwear and I laughed at it but OH MY GOD it changed my life. Now I don’t go to any winter outdoor activity without those under my pants.
I am going to look into this mylar insole thing. I hope they also come out with mylar-lined gloves/mittens.
I always get bummed when lists always veer towards things that are wool, cashmere and silk because as a vegan, I will not partake but I will try to work around it!
I agree re the thinner layers – that’s something that took me ages to learn. And long underwear or leggings under everything.
And no, Mooshoes doesn’t have their own house brand, just FYI. I am in that store too much for my wallet’s good and I can verify that! There’s rumors they have some stake in Novacas but I’ve never heard it confirmed.
You’re right; they’re not Mooshoes, they’re FROM Mooshoes. The brand name must have rubbed off, all the shoes say is “Made in Portugal.”
Oh it sounds like they’re Novacas then! I think those are hit or miss for me – I’ve had some uncomfortable boots and some sturdy flats and whatnot from them. All different levels of durability and comfort!
I’ve got a pair of boots and sandals, I love ‘em both. I guess I’ve had good luck with them, then!
Yeah, I totally understand that, and I’m waffly about my wool/silk clothes too (no leather except a coat I’ve had for years, before I went vegetarian, and no cashmere cause I can’t afford it anyway). I’m not vegan, so I sort of lump the wool in the category of eggs (and plus most of my wool clothes were hand me downs), and I kill bugs in my house with abandon (ugh, fruit flies!) so I feel less ill at ease about silk. I’m not that wild about synthetics, either — they’re often extremely toxic to manufacture and not remotely biodegradable, so I try to avoid them where possible too. It’s quite the balancing act, for sure…
I’m not vegan— as long as I live with someone else’s family, I’m in no position to complain about the free food— but I’ve been inching in that direction for a year or two. I don’t own any leather now, but I do have wool coats. If you ever need a vegan resource, I LOVE theppk.com’s forums— lots of cooks, consumers, and funky people exchanging stories and advice. I go there when I need to find a vegan lip balm, a natural deodorant, vegan wardrobe ideas, no-poo hair stories… they ever had a thread about IUDs that changed my life. Great site!
So, I’ve done some poking around re mylar insoles (since they sounded like heaven) and I only found these guys:
http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3655607
I’m wondering if using regular insoles makes sense and just lining the bottom of the shoe in mylar? Does that sound like a really bad idea? I’m guess it’s okay as long as it’s sheet mylar and not insulated mylar (which is slightly bulky and needs some air space between 2 sheets to be insulating) – can you tell I use mylar to insulate feral cat shelters and this is how I know any of that?
Ooh— lots of Superfeet on Ebay! Some good prices, too.
I’m having a hard time telling which have the foil and which don’t but good idea! I might just try some cheap mylar with regular insoles first since they’re so dang cheap.
It doesn’t sound like a bad idea, and if worse comes to worse you can just use the insoles as regular insoles for squishiness only, since the sheet mylar is pretty thin (or at least all the sheet mylar I’ve seen/handled has been). I’m not sure what the structure of the insoles I’m thinking of are — they were in a pair of winter boots from years ago, and I saw them again at the shoe repair place across the street from me a couple of months ago. I’ll investigate and get back to you!
Good tips for us, coldies
Thanks, though I use all of the above (minus the cashmere/silk/wool layers, because that is just too expensive). My typical winter attire thus consists of cotton/spandex cami (long enough so that it stays neatly tucked even in low-rise jeans, since I find these most comfortable), thin viscose/spandex turtleneck (I have an assortment of colors) and cardi or a pullover (most are acrylic mixes) and on the bottom I usually put on tights + socks or leggings + socks and pants; sometimes if I know there’ll be lots of walking I put on two pairs of socks in addition to the wool lined insole I bought for my boots.
Las year I did a post on how to stay warm in the cold and I think it was the best thing I ever put on my blog. Kudos for you for helping others, too. We’re so helpful, aren’t we? This clearly contradicts anyone who ever said that fashion blogs aren’t helpful!