It's been miserably cold here all week, so I've been breaking out all kinds of layers and heavy things.

1-2: On Thursday, I don't even think it ever got above freezing all day, which is pretty extreme around here.

[pause for any Canadians reading this to stop laughing]

Rather than wear wool pants and a high-necked sweater like a normal person would do in weather like this, I naturally decided to wear a lightweight short-sleeved dress sandwiched between as many other pieces of clothing as I could find. There's a long-sleeved Uniqlo heat-tech shirt under here, and my tights are crazily thick fleece ones. On top of this is a cozy wool cardigan and a scarf tied to maximize the surface area covered. The boots are the warmest I have -- tall fleece-lined La Canadienne suede.

3-4: This new sweater dress from Target is maybe only the second sweater dress I've found ever that fits without being too clingy in the usual places where things are clingy and/or too sacklike everywhere else. So, yay! It's a very dense knit which seems to give it more structure, and I think the pattern keeps the eye traveling vertically rather than noticing any lumpiness. I went for a simple look with black leggings, black Frye moto boots, and black druzy studs. Was considering belting it to give it more shape, but decided to save that for next time.

5: Here's an extra pic of the heavy coat I've been wearing all week. It's a Lands' End puffer in, yes, aubergine. This is probably the first puffer I've worn regularly since I was young enough to have my mom making my outerwear decisions. I've pretty much always had one in my closet, but I kept buying shorter ones in super! bright! sporty! colors! that looked funny with dresses or longer tops, and then repeatedly concluding that I'd rather be cold than wear them. It's amazing how much better this one works for me.

As always, thanks for looking and I appreciate any comments/suggestions/whines about the cold!