Question for Canadians: long thermal underwear - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Shopping

Question for Canadians: long thermal underwear

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

It is snowing all day today so it looks like winter has come for real. I am thinking of adding some long underwear for warmth. I am intrigued by silk one: I assume it is very thin and nice on the skin. Any clues where I can find it in Canada so I don'[t have to pay huge duties and shipping cotsts especially when I am not sure about the size and fit.

Thanks!

Shopping

17 replies

Latest reply was from Gaylene

Suz

(website)

Veteran

The only ones I have are from Land's End. They are not all that warm but they do offer some insulation and they do feel nice on the skin. My mother also wears and likes them.

I also have some wool ones from MEC and some synthetic ones. I actually wear the synthetic ones the most because they are the warmest. But I don't wear them under regular clothes - I wear them for gear and outdoor activities. The woollen ones I have sometimes layered under real clothes.

claire

I have some silk long johns from a local company called Christine Lingerie (http://christinelingerie.com). I don't see them on their website but it might be worth a call to see if they still carry them. My mom buys a pair from them every year and lives in them. Mine are still going strong and are a few years old. Very soft and lightweight, I layer them under everything. But I do wear technical fabric ling johns for skiing and sports and save my silks for everyday.

Gaylene

Veteran

My silk underwear is from LLBean.
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop.....#038;dds=y The pointelle knit version is far superior to the regular silk underwear in my opinion--more durable and less bagging. LL Bean's Canadian shipping service is relatively fast and quite painless. I've never had a problem with any of my orders and returns are very easy.

The long johns especially have been a total workhorse for me because they provide just enough warm on my legs under a pair of wool pants to walk comfortably in the winter, yet don't get too warm while I'm indoors. I wash them in the regular machine cycle in a laundry bag and then hang to dry. I've had mine for almost a decade now and they are still totally wearable. The only downside is that the long johns are fairly generous in the hip area and, on my non-existent IT hips, that means that the waistband hits pretty high on me. The silk knit is so soft, though, the extra fabric doesn't pose any problems.

I find the silk more comfortable under my good clothing than my Icebreaker merino wool or my synthetic underwear. Those just come out for skiing or very cold temperatures when I'm going to be outdoors for a significant part of the day.

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Thank you ladies for the suggestions!
Gaylene, generous in the hip - sounds like my kind of pants! Are they also generous in the thigh area?
Thy sound like what I am looking for - to wear under pants in winter but not get too hot on the office. I think I will give them a try - how is the sizing for them?

Petite Marj

I have purchased undies from staplesonline.com which has a bricks and mortar store in West Vancouver. I don't have the long underwear but you might take a look at the site to check if they have the style you want.

Gaylene

Veteran

Sizing is pretty generous in LL Bean so I wouldn't size up. I'd say the hip and thigh area is sized more for a pretty pear than an IT since they always were baggy on me. But the silk is so supple that it didn't matter that much. The only issue you might have is with the overall length, but that is so hard to judge until you try them on. I've never had a problem with returns to LL Bean so I'd definitely give them a try.

I was surprised at how much warmth the silk provided under my pants when the temperatures dropped below freezing. I felt comfortable walking to work in -10C to -15C weather, but I never was too warm even when I was teaching in an overheated classroom with 30+ students.

Scarlet

Veteran

Another vote for the silk pointelle from LLBean. I got some as a teenager and am now looking to replace. I have worn them to shreds. They don't add bulk but really make a difference. In Germany a lot of women wear regular tights under trousers. I don't do this because I find the waistband of tights uncomfortable, but I suppose it's also a quick fix.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I have a silk-blend from Costco

RunswithDolphins

I agree that LLBean silk pointelle are the most durable. I've also bought Lands End. There's a BC company, StaplesOnline , that I've bought from in the past but I didn't find their long johns quite as durable as the others. I wear the thin silk long johns under my running tights in the winter and they work just fine.

Just as an aside they make a great Xmas gift. I noticed my DH was wearing the old fashioned kind under his golf pants last weekend (he's a golf nut) so I ordered him some LLBean ones for Xmas this year.

E

Veteran

I love my silk long johns! Mine are from Cabela's (not sure if you have that in Canada; it's a hunting/outdoors kind of store) and are still going strong after 10 years, the first 7 of which saw regular wear every winter. They're also quite forgiving sizewise: mine are a small, which on me (size 0/2 in jeans) fit not as tight as tights but not terribly baggy either, but when I was studying abroad in Russia I let my friend borrow a pair and they also fit her, who wore a size 10 in jeans. I think they're pointelle like Gaylene describes, since they have little eyelet holes in them, so maybe that makes the difference. If these ever give out, I'll have to check ll bean in the future!

Lisa

Veteran

I'm not in Canada, but a great question. I have thermals from Uniqlo and Cuddl Duds.

sarah

Veteran

I really like smartwool for true warmth and uniqlo for a semi-warm layer that fits very readily under jeans, even skinny ones. I would imagine they are available in Canada (smartwool is on Amazon and Zappos).

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Thank you all for suggestions!
I think I will start with LLBean on Gaylene suggestions.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
(That was my kitty doing )

Sarah

This is my first winter in Toronto. Is thermal underwear really necessary?

Emily

Veteran

I have a set of silk long underwear from Land's End, they are lightweight and very comfortable. LE has pretty reasonable canadian shipping and I think they charge $10 flat for returns. I have a few iterations of synthetic long underwear from MEC - including some that are probably a decade old. They perform well and are available locally or online w/returns in store. I wore my LE silk long underwear and 10yr old MEC fleece tights out to shovel/gallavant in the snow Sunday and stayed warm and dry

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Sarah, Sveta lives in London with more snow and cold and she sometimes commutes partly on foot.

In Toronto, I would say it depends on:

Where in the city you live and work.
How you commute.
What fabrics you tend to wear.
How comfortable you are with visible layers (vs. hidden ones).
What the particular winter is like.
How long and warm your coat is.
Whether you spend a lot of time outdoors and need layers for gear or casual outdoor wear for that.

I never wore long underwear in all my years in Toronto -- I was wearing long wool coats as a rule.

Now i live in Kingston and have a more active outdoor lifestyle -- I have long underwear mostly for use as gear but also occasional regular wear (the silk stuff).

Gaylene

Veteran

Sarah, Suz's summary of when and why winter underwear might be useful fits a lot of us who live in more northern climates. I actually only wear my silk long johns a dozen times or so during the winter, but, on those days, they are worth every penny. It's the difference between feeling cold and chilled waiting at a bus stop and being comfortable and able to enjoy being outside. My Icebreaker merino wool underwear would definitely also work outdoors in those conditions, but I'd be uncomfortably warm for the rest of the day in our overheated indoors. The merino stuff comes into play if I know I'll be spending several hours outdoors or if I'm in a damp, cold climate where central heating is unknown.

Our Canadian climates are pretty variable, and our winters vary from year to year. Some are cold and snowy, while others are quite mild. That's why we Canadians tend to have different types of outdoor wear to get us through everything from Arctic blizzards to mild, sunny days where some people get out their shorts and flipflops.