Of Jackets, coats and sweaters

[sammyyummy]

A friend of mine asked and I figured getting as much feedback would not hurt. My friend is moving for further studies to a country that has cold winters.

So his questions are:
1. Is it socially acceptable to wear the same coat, jacket or sweater to classes and laboratory work everyday?
2. How many days within the same week is it acceptable to wear the same outerwear?
3. Same goes as to gloves and knitted cap
4. If one only has/ or can bring two jackets/coats/sweaters, what would be good points to consider when
a. selecting which outer wear to bring (like muted or bold colors, plain or printed ones, "statement" types etc)
b. how best to "schedule" wearing each within the days of the same week without seeming "unhygienic"?
c. should he purchase a "nicer more dressy" coat/jacket for dinners or night outs etc?

Thanks!​

 

[tonka]

Socially acceptable would vary from place to place.

The one suggestion I have is to layer clothes. It allows for more flexibility.

For the last several years, I have used hoodies as my go to item. They're very practical.

 

[mattla]

I think that one heavier winter coat is good enough - I suppose if it is somewhere that is very cold and the cold lasts awhile maybe two, one for everyday and one nicer one. When it is cold enough for that I don't think most people are being overly judging anyway because everybody is just miserable. I have one heavier wool coat that I wear for work and one nicer looking wool coat that I can wear for more social type things (although I very rarely wear it so I would not say that was necessary for me). I also have a couple of mid weight jackets and sweaters that I can layer if I am going out or the weather isn't too cold.

 

[topdog]

For a college student one heavy coat (for snow) and one lighter coat (for blustery Fall and Spring weather and rain) should be fine. It is always nice to have two items, so you can send one to the cleaners and still have something to wear. But no one expects a full wardrobe when in college. You are making do with a few carefully selected pieces, and filling in with what you can find in thrift stores. Everyone has their "starving artist" phase and that is nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[anarren]

Start with one heavy coat. Sweaters, have a few but wash them less (especially if you're using they layers described above, they get less dirty).