It’s the epitome of a Winter day. I’m sitting in my girlfriend's bed, cozied up in my half-off J.Crew cashmere socks, a vintage green wool sweater (purchased for her but often stolen), and boxer shorts. My coffee is next to me on the bed, balanced carefully on our white cotton sheets. I never had a fear of stains. I was taught early that stains either meant you had a considerable amount of fun in your clothes OR you were about to be in the delectable position of haggling down a price at the thrift store. Stains could only mean something good.

However something with a less positive evocation, for me, is Winter. Winter is a time of year that makes us fight for balance, which, perhaps, is why it can be so unpopular. In the era of impatience we hate to be made uncomfortable, and all of the little inconveniences of a winter day—needing to remove a glove on the subway to skip to the next song or the never-ending dance of adjusting the heater between turning your apartment into a toaster oven or an icebox—can simply be too much to bear day after short day. But for whatever reason, this year it became clear: my problem with winter wasn't the darkness or the cold. It was that my Veruca Salt–tainted mind and need for immediate comfort were keeping me from appreciating it.

There are certain joys in Winter dressing that simply cannot be indulged in any other season. Pants under thick skirts layered with chunky sweaters. Precious hand-knit accessories made by friends, meant to swaddle you when they're far away. Clothes that, by nature, hold you, instead of stick to you or slide off like the water I never seem to remember to drink enough of.

Winter consists of clothing and accessories you have to think about. You can no longer dress with the ethos of wearing as little fabric as possible you truly have to work the puzzle pieces. Scarves and hats, socks and gloves, t-shirts under sweaters, all maintaining their cohesiveness when you arrive at the café, sit down, and frantically dismantle your masterpiece before the indoor heating cooks you alive. Somewhere between 50 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit, our outfits skew from clothes to quantum physics.

Every year, when daylight savings hits—a day that's marked in my calendar like an elusive black spot I feel my body plunge into a bowl of Jell-o, and my closet along with me. I’m dragged through the days at half speed, exerting what feels like double the energy for half the result. Too tired to pull a jacket over my shoulders, let alone style a multi-piece outfit. Dressing simply in the pursuit of not freezing. I decided this year I would take a more gratuitous approach to winter, highlighting all the winter fashion I love and why. So, if you're not too busy, I present to you:

A List Of Winter Clothing Dedicated To All The Winter Fashion Moments No Other Time Of Year Can Provide

Saturated Leather Gloves

To me, there is something so chic about a glove that forces you to detach from your phone. A physical fashion item that separates you from a screen and puts beauty above ease of access. When we started integrating technology into fibers so we didn’t have to take an extra second to remove a glove to text back, I knew we were fucked. Slipping my red leather gloves on before leaving the house, knowing a bright pop of color is the last thing that caps the visual extension of my frame, and also, in a small way, forces me to be more present, is just oh so satisfying.

Cashmere Hoods

I never bought into the balaclava trend. I love the look of them, but I always worry that with such trendy pieces—so clearly attached to a certain time—I’ll lose interest in my investment by the next season. This is how I felt with ballet flats and fur coats as well. Perhaps it's because I have an army of gay knitting friends who produce bonnets at the speed of light. Never felt the need to outsource. However, a detachable cashmere hood—a squishy, soft, and slouchy thing cupping my cheeks and seamlessly blending into whatever coat I’ve paired it with—has felt like a much more digestible purchase. Maybe it's the less fitted, less severe lines around the face that make it feel more timeless to me, but whatever it is, I can confidently say I will look forward to pulling this out of my winter box with just as much gusto next year.

Fur-Detachable Collars

It has undoubtedly been the season of the collar for many seasons now. With Damson Madder leading the pack and cult aesthetics like Eclectic English Countryside running rampant on Pinterest, I don’t know why it took me so long to realize detachable collars don't just have to be a fistful of lacy, frilly fabric. They can be strong and bear-like or even made of hard leather or glass in some cases. And slapping one of these bad boys on a long-sleeve t-shirt just might be the lazy-girl remedy I’m looking for to soothe my winter styling blues.

Cashmere Socks

Cashmere accessories are the one case where I will allow myself to sound like an elitist piece of shit. (Don’t worry, I don’t have health insurance; it’s just when you mention cashmere accessories, it can quickly be assumed. A girl likes to indulge, sue me.) The great thing about cashmere is there are tiers to it, you see. One-ply up to four-ply, cashmeres mixed with wools for durability, and many other fabric concoctions. I personally prefer mixed cashmere for durability, which coincidentally also tends to make it much cheaper. The luxe softness of slipping into a cashmere sock almost makes the inconvenience of my freezing toes something to look forward to. I think, when I am nestled into wherever it is I’m meant to die, I’d like my loved ones around me, a nice candle lit, and a pair of cashmere socks on my poor, decrepit feet.

Layers

Now, while this isn't technically a piece, something about the freedom the cold of winter gives me to run absolutely rampant with the amount of layers I can wrap around my body is the most scrumptious gift in the WORLD. Mini skirts become aprons, jackets become tops, and fabric upon fabric is piled onto my body to create enough shapes to make me look like a cake fit for Marie Antoinette. While I often bitch about how annoying it can be to think through the entirety of a winter outfit, I must admit there is a deep pleasure I feel when it works. I’m sure when the days start to warm and I look back to just a few months earlier, I’ll be longing for the days I could frivolously throw a mini skirt over a maxi skirt for fun.

Every fruit is not meant to be available year-round. Movie collections shouldn't be splayed out across 10 different streaming platforms, and seasons are not meant to be skipped. Every season provides something necessary, or else the season would not exist. I try to remember this when I wake up on particularly nippy mornings. When I look out at the empty trees that used to be lush and green, and I saunter over to my closet with frozen toes. I no longer reluctantly drag sweaters over my head, pointlessly longing for warmer days. I just look at my closet and smile. Because having limitations can be good. And having to be present can be excellent. And sometimes, in moments when we simply can't have what we want, if we’re open to it, we can feel more balanced than ever.

The Case For Winter Fashion