The Curated coat (similar)
Equipment shirt (similar)
Zara jeans (similar)
Aldo boots
Chanel handbag
Celine sunglasses
Mango scarf
Calvin Klein gloves (similar)
Location: The Manitoba Legislature – Winnipeg, Manitoba
When we moved back to Winnipeg after a decade spent living in warmer climes, I’d lost my comprehension of just how cold it gets here. That’s the only way I can explain it. You never really adjust to extreme cold, but you understand what it’s like when you live with it year after year. The memory fades quickly when it isn’t part of your life, though. And so you’re surprised, when you come home for a winter visit, to rediscover the physical pain of going without gloves at low temperatures. The burning sensation in your leg muscles when you don’t wear enough layers is familiar, but still takes you aback.
The memory fades, but that just means the experience of those things is new and awful all over again when you come back for good. I questionned if I would survive the first winter here. The next year, after a couple of brave attempts at snowy snapshots, I swore I’d never go outside for photos if it was below zero. Mostly, I’ve stuck to that. But this year, the winter cold continues to drag on, even though April is just a few short days away. So here I am, eating my words, braving the cold for the sake of a few outfit photos because the other option was to post an nth set of shots from our living room, and I just couldn’t face it.
It wasn’t actually all that cold when we took these photos. Cold enough, to be sure, but not a temperature that would so much as induce frostbite, never mind kill me. Still, it felt a bit silly rushing to take as many snaps as possible while we held onto the heat from the car. In the end, I’m actually glad we did it. These shots convey the reality of just how long it takes for a Winnipeg winter to end, some years. And the fact that even though the temperatures are sometimes so low it seems absurd, life goes on.
These are photos of my real life as it’s happening right now. The regular, work-a-day life that I have to dress for every morning. Which I believe I can do while, to some degree, maintaining sartorial elegance despite the need for an excess of layers to combat the elements. It’s a battle, sometimes. But its possible. I make it work. Do I have to wear practical shoes? Absolutely. Even they can be cute, with a bit of effort.
After two years spent indoors for reasons entirely unrelated to cold, I feel like getting these kind of shots matters more, even if it isn’t always fun. Life is going on, finally, in a way that somewhat resembles the way it used to be. We are, increasingly, getting dressed for it. That’s a victory, particularly after we’ve embraced sweatpants so strongly. And that’s worthy of celebration, even at frigid temperatures. The cold will always be my least favourite thing about living in Winnipeg. But it doesn’t stop me from living.
