Wrapping up this winter

Winter woollies are a great way to repay your body for holding itself together despite the excesses of the festive season. Keeping the extremities somewhere close to body temperature is a really good idea and since hands and feet are the first to feel the frost, that is where we start.

Gloves
Leather gloves are a very practical buffer between perishing hands and the Arctic nylon plastic of your average steering wheel on December mornings, or nights for that matter. They can also prove most useful when tackling the job of splashing lukewarm water on the ice sheets covering the windscreen, keeping the hands both dry and comfortably warm.
Mittens too, have their place in the glove hierarchy. While not very useful for tasks that involve finger dexterity, mittens have the advantage of looking very cute and kooky and can be worn when fulfilling less hand-reliant commitments like walking, sitting or even cycling.
Fingerless gloves are a must for those intending to keep their hands warm but also hoping to do such precise chores as taking change out of a purse, turning pages of a book or even typing.
Lace or satin gloves are very pretty but aren’t hugely effective in keeping out the cold. Rubber gloves are just wrong outside of cleaning duties.

Socks
Often scoffed at as unoriginal, humble socks are one of the most important parts of the average wardrobe.
Everyone knows that the bottom of the bed is the hardest place to keep warm and so bed socks offer the ultimate in luxury, keeping toes toasty through the night.
As well as the clichéd novelty sock, there is a huge selection of practical footwear to keep all tootsies warm, whether they are worn in designer boots or Wellington boots.
Slippers too are hugely underrated. Nothing says chilled out but still nice and warm like a good quality, comfortable pair of slippers. They are especially great if they come with support, for aches and ankles, not morals. They are brilliant on days over Christmas when feet are tired from extensive dancing in gravity defying stilettos.

Ear muffs
What is to say? So cute and so snugly. There are loads of adorable ear muffs in the shops at the moment. They are great for kids and adults alike, though admittedly, not everyone would happily wear a pair.
Today’s ear muffs come in lots of styles, from check to striped, knitted or fur. Even boot legend Ugg do a line of lightweight ear muffs, while other designers offer leather, fleece and embellished ones.

Hats
Beanies and trapper hats are great this time of year, especially for those without ear muffs. While sparkly berets tick the boxes when it comes to Christmas nights out, for winter mornings, a cable-knit pom pom or an oversized crochet beanie could be considered life savers.
Indeed, what is a hat without its natural ally, the scarf. Often overlooked in the style stakes, it keeps the neck warm but is also great for adding a bit of a statement to a plain coat. Bold stripes, a solid pastel, an animal print or a pretty floral, scarves are an easy-to-wear addition to any winter outfit. Whether wool, silk or jersey, scarves are perfect for all ages.

Snoods
As the name implies, a snood is of course a combination of a scarf and a hood. To give a more physical description of it, think of a short, wide scarf with its two ends joined together. The tube of fabric is pulled over the head to the neck, then the back is lifted up and rested on the head. It is elegant, although the explanation fails to communicate that. Everyone probably already knows what they look like because snoods are everywhere this winter. They are warm and woolly and very now.