Wow, super exciting - I'm looking forward to following your journey.

I'm around academics a lot, albeit in a more casual (west coast) part of North America. One thing I've noticed is that everyone starts out wearing their nicest, dressiest stuff in the fall and then slowly downslides into fleece, Gore-tex, rubber boots and yoga pants by the end of the year (profs included, although not so much with the yoga pants) as exhaustion, burnout, stress and rain set in. It's pretty funny to an outsider because it's so obvious.

At this university, students dress more casually than professors, and the stuff described in your OP would be dressy professor-wear. Dark jeans, tall boots, and a nice knit top would be dressy for a grad student here, in my DH's department. But I hear it's different (somewhat dressier) out east, and I know there are variations from department to department, too.

Wow! What an exciting adventure! Layering is what gets me through the winter up north. Cuddleduds or silk underwear (LL Bean or Lands End) are a good base layer for under jeans and wool pants on the really cold days. Long sleeve layering tees are good for another layer under sweaters and blouses. I like J Crew for wool pants. You can have fun with different color hats, scarves, and gloves to add some pizazz to your coat. If you are commuting on a bike you might check out the winter apparel for biking. I am a winter cyclist and there are special gloves and wicking base layers (wool or poly) so you don't get chilled from sweating. Excited to hear more!