Thread: What should I wear?

forgive me if this is a silly question. but i go to moscow tomorrow. and the online weather says it is -21 centigrade. what is normal wear for around moscow - i am middle aged male. i was planning boots? thick socks? jeans, foot less tights???? under jeans, vest, shirt, sweatshirt, parka, hat with ears, gloves. any comments??? )) thanks

Yes, I think that would be adequate. The warmer you're dressed, the better. Footless tights is a good idea. You can actually survive without fur hats and fur coats at minus 20 centigrade... if you don't stay out for too long. But it'll probably get warmer in a few days? It seems as though it's much warmer in Moscow than here in Siberia... We've had minus 30 almost all January.

many thanks
peter

The important thing when it is really cold is to wear:

warm boots with double socks
warm gloves (lined)
scarf
hat
double layers of clothes under your coat. I.e vest, shirt, jumper.

It's not a disaster if you miss something as long as you are in a big city - you can always get out of the cold one way or another.

People who die of exposure (cold) are usually very drunk when it happens (fell asleep in a snow drift and never woke up...) Or they get caught out: Their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and they don't have sufficient clothes.

You won't die, but can get a cold injury (ears, cheeks, fingers) if you are exposed for too long to the cold wind.

Use shoes with think soles - it's only their thickness that protect you from cold actually, you can put on two, three, even four pair of socks but if your shoe soles are thin your feet will be freezing anyway.

And take a hat that protects your ears - ears are the first thing that freeze.

You won't probably be outside for too long so I don't think you'll be too cold. Also keep in mind that night-time and early morning are the coldest times of the daily cycle.

They say that it'll be warmer in a few days (at -10-15 it's tolerable to stay outside for prolonged periods).

If you don't wear a дубленка these days in Moscow, you can die from cold!
Even with a дубленка on, you can be strongly frozen if you're standing at a bus stop waiting for a bus and not walking somewhere. It's a terrible winter.

P.S. -10 or -15 is more or less okay, but a lower temperature is harsh.

Originally Posted by Оля

If you don't wear a дубленка these days in Moscow, you can die from cold!
Even with a дубленка on, you can be strongly frozen if you're standing at a bus stop waiting for a bus and not walking somewhere. It's a terrible winter.

P.S. -10 or -15 is more or less okay, but a lower temperature is harsh.

A parka is ok, no дублёнка necessary.
http://www.google.com/search?q=parka&so ... f8&oe=utf8
I think that a good woolen sweater must be added to the initial Peter's suite. As well as thick woolen socks unless the boots are winterised (this means thick sole and fur inside). A woolen scarf. Warm gloves. If you have a knitted hat, make sure it's double-layered like those used for skiing in cold temperatures. That should be enough for a common city dweller.

interesting information thanks so much - this forum is so useful! ok i have now packed extra socks. my headgear is not up to skiing standards but i have hat with ears and a lined hood on my parka. but.. i think my gloves are useless. its too late to buy in the uk now. where is a good place in moscow for thick gloves? also my face. my cheeks easily go red - rosacea. so what do people do? cream of some kind?? also i am going to bolshoi. is it the thing to wear warm boots with your suit and change into smart shoes at the theatre?

thanks again everyone

Any fat cream will do, but this is probably not necessary unless your skin is very sensitive. I use cream only if temperature drops below -30 which is a rare occasion in Moscow and I plan to stay outside for a long time.
As for gloves - I think the ordinary leather gloves will protect you to some degree (despite everything you might have heard about Russia it's not THAT cold - we survive somehow, after all).
It is uncomfortable, but it's not so severe as in Siberia or in extreme North where temps may drop below -40 or even -50. A usual frost of -15-20 isn't all that dangerous. You may feel cold but you will survive without any bad consequences. Protect your chest and neck with a scarf though. Pheumonia is a real thing.

If you come outside and immediately get into a warm car and then you go straight from the car into some other warm place (i.e. a theatre) you shouldn't probably dress very warm since you'll be sweating all over during the performance. 5-10 minutes outside (or even less) can be tolerated even without the outer garments (I usually do not put my parka on when I go outside to smoke).

Originally Posted by peternorhtampton

... and the online weather says it is -21 centigrade.

Yeahh. It is not the best time for sightseeing.

Originally Posted by peternorhtampton

where is a good place in moscow for thick gloves?

That's a too broad question. There're places near, but they're expensive like everywhere in the Moscow downtown. There're cheap options but one needs travelling by metro or even by car to get there. (like Auchan). I think this chain is somewhere in the middle for the knitted variant (which is the cheapest) http://finnflare.ru/stores/moscow

But as it was mentioned previously, thick-soled boots are more important since you can always keep your hands in pockets even in thin gloves unlike your feet.

Parka's hood is a good solution, morever you can find suitable hats in the same place.

Originally Posted by peternorhtampton

tights????

Haha!!!! If you are a transvestite i'd recommend the wolly tights at Marks & Spencer's!

Otherwise if you are just a regular bloke then the product you want is called "long johns" in English. I don't think it's sold in the UK because there is no need. It never gets cold enough here. Buy it instead when you get to Russia. Unfortunately i have no idea what this is called in Russian.

Originally Posted by Johanna

Originally Posted by peternorhtampton

tights????

Haha!!!! If you are a transvestite i'd recommend the wolly tights at Marks & Spencer's!

Otherwise if you are just a regular bloke then the product you want is called "long johns" in English. I don't think it's sold in the UK because there is no need. It never gets cold enough here. Buy it instead when you get to Russia. Unfortunately i have no idea what this is called in Russian.

Do you mean these?


Well, I beleive 'a regular bloke' would look funny in Russia if seen in these . The lower part of the suite you mentioned, in Russian would be either 'подштанники' or 'кальсоны'.

Originally Posted by Ленивец

'кальсоны'.

Yeah that's right. Long ones that cover the entire legs!

I just realised: Maybe PeterNorthampton is American and not British as I thought. "Tights" might mean something else in American in English. I don't know.

I know that Americans say "pantyhose" about the item that is pictured above. In Britain it is called "tights" and no normal man would wear it..... I was surprised that Peter mentioned it at all!

Just checked the Russian link at wikipedia and checked it's English equivalent and it's titled Long Underwear.

Everything that needed to be told was told. I just want to emphasise a few things again.

Three most important things (in my opinion)
1) Warm thick sole boots with fur (faux or natural) or warm lining inside, OR some modern tracking boots with insulation and stuff. The soles should not be slippery.
2) A scarf or outwear, that keeps your throat warm.
3) A warm hat, that protects your ears.
There's nothing more unpleasant than frozen feet or painful otitus.

Gloves are optional in my opinion. It's good to have them, but you always can warm your fingers inside your sleeves or pockets, and frozen fingers usually do not have any consequences.

PS. I know two guys who wear tights in winter. They do not advertise this fact, of course, because they are all macho, but tights can be very handy, and they are easily obtained. Those are warm tights, though, not this useless shiny thing. ))

Relax ppl, peternorhtampton is probably in Moscow already.

Damn !! winter in Moscow like whoaa ! Wearing tights would be tight Long boots with fur covered inside may help and long furry coats and should help

well i am back and i didnt freeze! just my fingers a little bit. and my cheeks when it was -21 !!
actually when it was so cold and i was outside for a long time i could not speak properly afterwards
tights. ok i meant long johns and i found some in primark quite cheap. however, i wore them with tight jeans/trousers and the long johns and trousers kind of pulled against each other a little bit which was slightly restricting. but... i was very warm so i am glad i bought them. i shall be back in primark buying a couple more pairs soon. thanks for all your help. peter