How to layer for a cold city winter

Cold in a city is a different problem from cold on a mountain. You walk, you stand on a platform, you step into a warm tram, you walk again. The answer is not one heavy coat. It is three light layers that each do one job — and that you can open, close or take off as the day changes.

1. The base: something that sits close and breathes

Start with a heavyweight cotton tee or a long-sleeve. Heavy cotton holds its shape under other layers and does not cling. Our Native Heavy Tee is 300 gsm cotton jersey with a dense ribbed collar, so it still looks right when the jacket comes off indoors.

2. The middle: the warmth you can unzip

This is the layer that does most of the work. Fleece and sherpa trap warm air without weight, and a zip lets you vent heat when you are moving.

• Col Contrast Fleece — 300 gsm anti-pilling polyester fleece, full zip, nylon chest pocket.
• Ridge Sherpa Quarter-Zip — high-pile sherpa with a stand collar for the neck.
• Meridian Cable Crewneck — a wool-blend cable knit if you prefer knitwear to fleece.

On mild days the middle layer is the outer layer. That is the point of it.

3. The outer: wind, rain and real cold

The outer layer should stop wind first. Wind takes heat faster than low temperature does. Pick by weather, not by habit:

• Dry and freezing: a padded jacket. The Datum Puffer Jacket has a high stand collar and wide quilting; the Ridge Padded Anorak is a pullover cut roomy enough to wear over a fleece.
• Wet and windy, above zero: a shell. The Weather Softshell Jacket is wind- and water-resistant with an adjustable hood.
• Somewhere in between: a vest over a fleece keeps your core warm and your arms free — try the Datum Puffer Vest.

The small things

Most heat leaves through the head, neck and hands. A beanie, a balaclava on the worst days and a pair of thick socks change how a whole outfit feels. A chest sling keeps your phone and keys out of cold pockets.

A simple rule

If you are warm standing still, you will be too warm walking. Leave the house a little cool and let the walking do the rest — then open the zip of the middle layer, not the outer one.