
Going somewhere cold for your annual family holiday? Then it’s time to trade your T-shirt, shorts and slippers for some winter wear. When travelling to a colder climate, it’s essential to check the temperature before going. It’s also important to layer so that you keep yourself warm outdoors, yet are still able to peel off extra layers in restaurants and indoor areas where there is heating.
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Material: Check what the item is made of before you buy. Natural fibres like wool, cashmere and down will keep you warmer than synthetic ones like polyester and acrylic.
Layering: Put together ensembles that enable you to add or remove multiple layers as you see fit. That means that instead of just relying on a coat to keep you warm, you’ll also want to put a cardigan underneath it, and perhaps two to three layers beneath that.
What to cover: We tend to focus on the jacket to keep our torso area warm, but neglect the head, neck and hands. Keeping these areas wrapped up with a beanie or hat, scarf and gloves will ensure you can stay toasty for longer periods of time.
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A Simple Guide On What To Wear:
15 to 20 degrees: Sweater or hoodie.
10 to 15 degrees: Trench coat, wool blend coat, light puffy jacket or leather jacket; cardigan or sweater for layering; scarf.
0 to 10 degrees: Wool coat or puffy down jacket; cardigan or sweater for layering; scarf; beanie; gloves or mittens; thermals; boots.
Below 0 degrees: Same as previous, but add more layers. Thermals and boots are essential.
Here are some budget-friendly places to get winter clothes so you don’t freeze to death:
Text: MoneySmart
This site is like the Taobao of Singapore, with just about any product you can think of. They’ve got a huge range of winter fashion, with many of their items aping the Korean style and going at bargain basement prices – as little as $25.
This is a good place to hit up if you’re shopping for trendy pieces to complete a look, but you’ll have to come to terms with the fact that most will rely heavily on synthetic materials and the quality might not be up to scratch.
Ever since Decathlon hit our shores, Singaporeans have realised that they offer some of the best deals on sportswear and sports apparel. You can get a ski jacket for about $65 to $100. Gloves can be as cheap as $12.
They’ve also got a few winter items such as warm jackets for skiing and mountain trekking, and can be a good option for those who intend to do sports on their travels or who just like to rock the sporty chic look.
This multi-brand online store has all types and styles of coats at a range of price points and quality. You can get a trendy coat that will make you look like a Korean drama idol but will cause you to freeze to death, or a luxurious designer piece – but beware of becoming a magnet for pickpockets. The cheapest coats are about $80 to over $100, while the more expensive ones can go up to hundreds of dollars.
H&M isn’t exactly where you go for ultra-functional clothing, but they do have some serviceable cold-weather items during the winter season.You can get a trench coat or parka for about $90.
Just be aware that there’s a high chance their sweaters and coats will be mostly made of synthetic materials, which will means they won’t keep you as warm as you think. The jackets here are probably okay for a holiday to Hong Kong or Taiwan but not the harsher winters in Japan or Korea.
While many high fashion brands carry trendy fall-winter clothing like trench coats and boots, most of these items aren’t designed to weather sub-zero temperatures.
For clothing that can help you weather seriously low temperatures, go to Winter Time. You can get down-stuffed parkas, winter boots and thermal wear.
There are Winter Time outlets at Suntec City, IMM, Parkway Parade, Jurong Point, Tampines Mall and Vivocity. View all Winter Time locations at their website. They’re online shop is much more built out than before and you can find down jackets from $99.
With the more heavily padded jackets can cost over $200, and those are definitely for people who have bigger budgets, and travel to cold places often.
Like Winter Time, Coldwear is another specialty store that stocks items appropriate for anything from mild winters to harsh sub-zero temperatures. They’ve got padded down jackets, woollen sweaters, fleece jackets and thermals.
Their price point is similar to Winter Time, and you should be able to find down jackets for around $99 on sale.
There are Coldwear Singapore outlets at Plaza Singapura, Orchard Gateway, IMM, Changi City Point, United Square and Causeway Point. View all their outlets. They also have a wide range of items in their online store.
More than one Singaporean has shown up at Changi Airport with a puffy Uniqlo jacket in their arms. The Japanese label offers very good value for money, considering many of their jackets use 90% down filling, which is normally quite expensive. The ultra light down jacket is priced at about $100, and is able fold and fit a small bag. Uniqlo is also the to-go place to get thermal wear with Heat Tech technology.
This travel supply shop might be better known for their suitcases and water bottles, but they’ve also got a range of winter apparel which includes thermal wear, fleece jeans, padded jackets and sweaters.
At first glance, their products might seem a bit more expensive than Winter Time and Coldwear’s. But they also offer some pretty deep discounts off-season, so do your shopping in August or March if you want to snag some good deals.
Right now, the most affordable padded jacket is going for $151.20 on discount.
They also have a LazMall shop on Lazada, so if you have LiveUp you can make use of that by shopping for Universal Traveller jackets on Lazada.
Zara is a fast-fashion favourite with a higher price point than H&M at about $120 to $180 for a coat. In return, you get slightly higher quality, and the jackets look a tad more dignified looking than H&M’s.
Still, most of their coats are probably made with synthetic materials like polyester and will not be able to keep you warm in temperatures under 10 degrees.
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