Lopi - walking in a winterwonderland
I walk to work; which is nice, if only because I then don't have to pay homage to the all-powerful Parking Nazis who secretly rule all academia...
But, sometimes it is a wee bit cold.
Then there's the whole sledding, building snowmen, occasional actual skiing etc and so forth.
What to do? Well, the ultimate garment for cold is "lopi" - which is the wool of the Icelandic sheep.
A "lopapeysa" - heavy sweater knit from this wool, is the perfect warmth layer, when combined with a windbreaker. If you have cold, windy weather and you need to be outside, you want this a layer with GoreTeX shell or equivalent, also combines with fleece. If the wind is low, it will do on its own.
A good sweater can last decades, if kept carefully and handwashed as rarely as needed.
Auxillary "lopa" items are also good - the socks are perfect (but will wear through). Gloves are good (but not for making snowballs, strangely). Hats and especially scarfs are wonderful made out of this stuff.
Traditionally you should have natural colours only, grey, white, black or maroon; although vegetable dyed stuff may be tolerated if you are not a purist. Designs ought to be traditional, although I have to admit some of the new modern stuff is cool.
Combined with 66North fleece and polartec stuff, you can get through anywinter weather. And enjoy it.
But, sometimes it is a wee bit cold.
Then there's the whole sledding, building snowmen, occasional actual skiing etc and so forth.
What to do? Well, the ultimate garment for cold is "lopi" - which is the wool of the Icelandic sheep.
A "lopapeysa" - heavy sweater knit from this wool, is the perfect warmth layer, when combined with a windbreaker. If you have cold, windy weather and you need to be outside, you want this a layer with GoreTeX shell or equivalent, also combines with fleece. If the wind is low, it will do on its own.
A good sweater can last decades, if kept carefully and handwashed as rarely as needed.
Auxillary "lopa" items are also good - the socks are perfect (but will wear through). Gloves are good (but not for making snowballs, strangely). Hats and especially scarfs are wonderful made out of this stuff.
Traditionally you should have natural colours only, grey, white, black or maroon; although vegetable dyed stuff may be tolerated if you are not a purist. Designs ought to be traditional, although I have to admit some of the new modern stuff is cool.
Combined with 66North fleece and polartec stuff, you can get through anywinter weather. And enjoy it.
posted by Steinn at 12:44 PM
1 Comments:
I rather like cool weather. I dress for it when I am going to be out in it, though. That means warm clothes, layers, etc. However, my college keeps its buildings HOT during the winter (my office and the classrooms are often in the upper 70s), so I burn up if I dress warm, and freeze outside if I don't. Conversely, I keep a jacket in the office for the summer when the temperature is often in the mid to lower 60s.
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