Cold stress injuries and illnesses, such as watery eyes, numb faces, and developing hypothermia can occur due to very cold winter temperatures, as stated by Safety+Health Magazine.
Looking professional and remaining warm tend to work against each other in the workplace. What’s an ambitious professional to do? Here’s 3 Tips For Looking Professional When The Weather Turns Frigid: 1. a knee-length coat.
1. Don’t Forget Your Coat
Remember your coat if you’re planning to go somewhere – whether the mailbox, the coffee shop or the garbage. It’s nice to take a walk year-round, but when the wintertime temperatures drop below zero, a person risks ‘cold stress’ injuries and illnesses such as ‘hypothermia, frostbite, coma and even death’, according to the published guidelines of Safety+Health magazine.
Fortunately, there are plenty of winter coats that will keep you warm while also looking great. Look for the same kind of coat that, in its less-insulated version, you wear to work. If you wear navy blue or charcoal suits to the office, find a navy blue or charcoal coat to go out in. If the suit is grey, also get a grey coat.
You’ll also want to have a black blazer at work or a black shawl (which can work in a pinch for the black blazer). This way, you can look professional if you are stuck in your office when the cold snap hits, and your shawl can also be a blanket if need be. Just be sure to wash it often so it doesn’t collect musty smells and be sure to wear it again within a few days so it isn’t sitting too long. Don’t get caught with a shawl that looks too dirty at the client meeting!
2. Don’t Forget Your Hat
A drop in temperature causes your body to lose its ability to naturally maintain an effective body temperature, putting you at increased risk for cold stress injuries and illnesses, including hypothermia, frostbite and even sudden unconsciousness, says Safety+Health magazine.
Make sure your hat is bone dry before you leave in the morning, because your hair dries and shrinks as it dries – and it dries into the shape of your hat. ‘Hat hair’ is certainly a thing. Take off your hat once you’re inside (train, bus, car or office) and let your hair breath.
If you are prone to hat hair, carrying a travel-size dry shampoo in your tote or desk drawer will give your hair new life and a boost of volume by absorbing excess oil while you brush it out. This again will come in handy this winter when you’re trying to run out of the door right after the heat dries your hair.
3. Don’t Forget Your Shoes
Getting dressed professionally for winter weather can be a bit of a challenge: how on earth are you supposed to look cute when you have to layer 18 items just to stay warm? But it is doable to look good and be put together even when the outside temperature feels like antarctica – a little planning and a few staples in the closet can make the move from cool to cold all the more easy and comfortable, especially if you’re going to be navigating the winter cold in snow boots on your commute. If this is the case, I always store an extra pair of shoes at work so I can get my snow boots off and pop on a pair of work shoes so I won’t be dripping wet and cold in the office. You’ll feel more professional and less gross in your swampy boots. I also like to wear black flats – really, any simple black shoe – that will match just about any outfit so you don’t end up sweating while you work, either. And, they’ll stay dry and not get those battery acid kind of smells going.