Chic Warm Winter Clothing for Work & Commute: Women Over 40 or 50

Nov 25, 2011
Christina Gregoire

What to Wear to Work in Snow - Elegance

Women over 40 need better clothes. See ideas for cute winter coats, boots, down puffers, hats, and other accessories that will keep you from freezing.

It’s easy to find something warm to keep you toasty in the burbs, but if you are over 40 and you need to look good for snow days in the city, then winter dressing becomes more of an art form. So, here’s to making you a work of art.

How Much Time Will You Actually Be Outdoors?

You need to think about how much time you actually will be out in the biting wind and sloppy slush. Will you be driving your car, or will you be in tears as you wait for your train or bus? Does your city shut down when there’s a foot of snow?

Layering for Warmth

Just like when you’re skiing or snowboarding, you need to wear layers, but most days you won’t need everything on this list:

Thin, Silk Long Underwear: It gets warm inside buildings, so you might want to only wear the top of your long underwear. Tops are easy to remove in the bathroom. Removing the bottom half of long underwear is a pain.
Hue Tights or Pantyhose: In Paris, women (of all ages) wear any color tights with their all-black outfits. If you don’t have a favorite brand, try Hue tights. Pantyhose adds insulation under slacks, but check to see if your clothing clings.
Silk Turtlenecks: If your turtleneck is sheer, wear it like long underwear (under a sweater or knit cardigan). If you have Spanx-style underwear, you can take off your sweater and wear a medium-weight turtleneck for a top.
Cashmere Sweaters: Wear a cashmere sweater, cardigan, or sweaterdress. You can find cheap cashmere at Macy’s or Uniqlo (NY), but if you want luxury that will last, try Bergdorf Goodman’s or get fine cashmere from Scotland (like the photo of a cardi from Johnstons of Elgin). Cashmere adds warmth without making you look fat. And, it doesn’t make you itch.

Outerwear for Winter

If you will be outside in a place like NYC, where the wind is so cold it will make you cry, you will have to cover every part of your body. Even then, you might cry. And, you'll probably need two coats: A gorgeous wool coat for work and a puffer for extreme-weather commuting.

Long Warm Wool Coats

Most of the time, you can get by with a good wool coat. If you spend a lot of time walking or waiting outdoors, get a calf-length wool coat that will come down to your boots, otherwise a knee-length coat is probably fine. Boiled wool or real-shearling coats are extremely warm, but a good (tightly-woven) wool is probably warm enough for most places. (Buy a fitted style so cold air can’t get in, but do get something big enough to wear over layers.)

Not long ago I saw a smashing, red-wool designer coat that was like this Diane Von Furstenburg, but it must be sold out. Black coats are chic, however, I like a burst of red, burgundy, or cobalt, when 99% of your wardrobe is black. And, do check out Overstock and Neiman’s Last Call (or Bluefly if you’re skinny) before plunking down your card. Here are some great, current options for women in their 40s, 50s, or 60s:

Long Black Ann Klein Coat at Overstock
Calvin Klein Long Angora Blend Coat
DKNY Double Breasted Coat at Bloomingdale’s

Down Puffer Coats for Women Over 40

If you need a puffer coat for really immobilizing days, and you don’t want to look like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow from Ghostbusters, get a Moncler coat. Moncler is what jetsetters wear when skiing Switzerland. Yes, they’re more expensive, but most chicks need to spend real money to look halfway decent when they’re older.

Moncler Cyroselle (Collar is nice and high.)
Moncler Moka Down Coat (I don’t like shiny coats on older chicks, but this one's not bad.)
Moncler Quilted Puffer Coat at Saks (This one is cinched in the waist with a belt.)

North Face is almost as chic. It's definitely cheaper, and you can find North Face at REI, as well as, other online stores.

North Face Triple C Down Jacket (Honey, it's going to look better on Angelina than it will on you.)

Winter Boots for Snow, Slush, Ice

Will you be walking in fluffy snow or NYC’s 6-inch puddles? If snow has melted and refrozen, you’ll be walking on ice.

Nice Boots: If you’ll be walking in snow, and you don’t want to look like a dork, you should check out La Canadienne boots. Here’s La Canadienne Vale. These are waterproof and have a shearling lining. Their Bette boot has a wedge if you want more glam and their May style has a stacked heel. But, don’t wreck these great boots if there’s salt.
Rain Boots: If you want something that will stand up to salt and deep, slushy puddles, wear Hunters or Jack Rogers wellies and wool (or smartwool) socks. (I’m lusting after these high-heeled Hunter Lapins at Zappos.) Sorels are also great, but you will want to change to good shoes when you get get to a Starbucks near work. Shove your snow boots into a cheap tote.
City Crampons: It sounds dorky, but you can add crampons to your boots or shoes if you’ll be walking on ice. One brand is IceGrips, but there are many different kinds of snow cleats. Broken necks are less chic than crampons.

Accessories for Warmth

If the wind bites, you must cover your ears, neck, and fingers.

Warm Hats: Personally, I like cashmere hats from Neiman’s or Nordstrom’s (or fleece hats from Columbia) because they aren’t scratchy and they pull down over my ears. If you need more warmth, you can wear a hood or a wool scarf over the hat.
Ear Covers: Women with thick hair can use ski headbands or earmuffs to keep their ears from turning red.
Gloves or Mittens? When I ski, I always wear leather mittens with silver glove liners inside. (Mittens keep fingers warmer.) I have plum-colored leather gloves with rabbit-fur lining that might be warm enough for the city, but I bought them in Canada years ago. Here’s a cross between gloves and mittens that might work for you: Hearthstone Glittens at J Crew.
Long Cashmere or Silk Scarf: Why should you get a long scarf? Because you can wrap it many times around your neck and cover your nose and mouth, when necessary. Some people say wool, but get good wool that’s not scratchy. For bargains, check out Etsy. If you want the best, get something like an Italian Fortuny-style silk velvet scarf from Venetia Studium.

Now that you’re all decked out for work in the big city, you will never be able to retire because your credit cards will be maxed out. On the other hand, according to the book, Dress for Success, you should dress for the job to which you aspire.

Resource:

Malloy, John T. Dress for Success, Warner Books, 1985.