Guys. I never thought that I’d be one of these guys who writes about layering clothes. Before I moved to San Francisco, I lived in Sacramento all my life where it was either hot or really hot.
All we had were shorts vs jeans decisions. When I got to San Francisco for work I kept… half joking… quoting Mark Twain on how “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” Let me tell you. Mark Twain was not joking.
Nothing taught me better than to layer clothes than that first Tuesday morning. Must’ve been around 3 years ago.
I had just started down this path of minimal wardrobe.
Had donated 80% of my closet and felt pretty good wearing my “capsule wardrobe” of mostly similar coloured garments. Had picked up this hoodie-type jacket from REI thinking it would be enough to ward off anything San Francisco would throw at me. I was dead wrong.
It was one of those mornings where you start off with 60 and sunny. So I’m walking to work with just a t-shirt under my cute jacket like a normal guy. By the time I got to work, 15 minute walk – maybe – the temp had dropped 20 degrees with rolling fog and I’m shivering in the lift. coworker walks in like it’s absolutely nothing – “Louise, you ok?” I was clutching my coffee for dear life at this point.
And watch him peel off this fine merino wool jumper under his puffer looking jacket that’s basically my jacket from REI but *way more expensive*. “Dude,” he looks at me, mid-conversation, unzippering his jumper, “Layers, man. You gotta layer out here. It’ll feel like 90 by noon though.” Jake had been living in San Francisco for probably 8 years at this point.
Born and raised in Seattle. So he knew weather. Something about that comment made me consider layers as more of a problem solving method versus an unspoken menswear Packinglist rule.
Problem solving? Sign me up. So I started looking into how to layer properly.
It wasn’t as easy as I thought. Sure, you could just throw on 10 undershirts if you really wanted to. But that wouldn’t be practical.
Doing it right meant wearing scientifically curated garments together. There’s base layer, mid layer, shell. All had different requirements.
Base Layers. Damn. I was rocking cotton t-shirts as my base layer.
What? I didn’t even know that was a “layer.” I thought that was *just how you wore shirts. * Well friend, cotton absorbs moisture. Once wet, cotton takes forever to dry.
Makes you feel cold. Smells horrible. I learned this fun fact as I was riding BART to work once, dripping sweat all over myself.
Lovely. Thankfully, I stumbled upon the magic that is merino wool t-shirts. Coming from the guy who thought wool=tacky grandpa cardigans this small yoga cardigan-looking material was a game changer.
Big appeal for me? Thermoregulation exists. I can wear the same exact merino shirt when it’s 50 degrees and foggy as when it’s 75 and sunny and be comfortable.
Wool also. doesn’t smell. Unlike cotton, it can be worn multiple days in a row without stinking up your closet. Here I was thinking I needed a bunch of shirts for… different weather?
Pssh. didn’t need that kinda worry. I now own about 5 merino t-shirts. Mix of Uniqlo and some higher end brands like Outlier, which make technical clothing designed for city living. (they’re amazing – but their clothing is expensive.
Worth it? Probably? Depends how often you wear it.
I’ll say Uniqlo tees work just fine for most purposes.) Then there was the dreaded mid layer. Sh*t got tricky. At first I was like dudes – jumper.
Problem? BULK. If you layer on a bulky jumper under your jacket you look like a troll that can’t control his arms.
Once I figured out that lightweight was key. That’s when I discovered… wait for it… Cardigans. Who’dathunkit?
I used to think cardigans were for librarians. Not my style. Fun fact?
They’re amazing at being a mid layer. You can remove them as you heat up, they don’t need to be pulled over your head (disturbing your layers) and button closures really help in the middle layer department. Got this awesome cardigan from Everlane and it’s probably been my most-worn piece since I bought it.
Oatmeal colour that matches pretty much everything in my wardrobe. Works as a layer under my shell. Doesn’t bulk up my arm movement.
Clicked so many puzzles pieces together when I found this bad boy. NOW we talk about the shell. Oh the shell.
This is where I learned all about “technical” clothing. That fancy jacket I got from REI? Cotton blend that “kind of sort of” resisted water.
Rained hard that week. Thank God for umbrellas. Real waterproof/breathable fabrics are a game changer.
The jacket I bought from Patagonia is seriously that – waterproof, yet breathable. And that doesn’t even really begin to describe it. Feels like nothing but keeps absolutely everything out.
Sure, isn’t the coolest looking jacket ever, but hey…I’m not going climbing there. Ever since I started implementing this layering strategy, I’ve found myself loving changing clothing based on weather. I go on this camping trip Point Reyes last year and am BOVING.
It was cold and foggy when we got up, sunny by lunch and windy as heck by dinner. Could add layers as we needed throughout the day and never once felt like I was too hot OR too cold. Some of the dudes were sweating because they only wore short sleeves.
Others were freezing without jackets because *that’s how it looked like that morning. * Think of your layers as modules. Base layer: handles moisture-wicking and temperature regulating. Mid handles insulation and can be modified as you scale up or down.
Shell: protect you from the actual elements. Simple concept. Taking the time to get each layer right though takes some tinkering.
Once I had multiple shirts I needed to start coordinating colours. Enter my minimalist wardrobe coming in handy. Stuck to basically navy, grey, olive, and white.
Means any combos I put on look intentional vs waking up like a zombie and throwing on the first things I see. Another cool part about layering? It actually really plays into having a minimalist wardrobe.
You no longer need “cool weather clothes” vs “warm weather clothes.” You have fewer garments that can be mixed and matched to your needs.
Less bulky. Less crap to think about.
Flexible. TLDR: I’ve been wearing this layering style for about 3 years now and love it. Super sturdy setup.
Get too cold? Put on more layers! Warm up?
Take layers off! Fog rolls in? Throw on your favourite jacket!
Hempelize yo’SELF my friends.
