HOW-TO-SURVIVE-WINTER-BEST-SKIING-OTTAWA

HOW TO SURVIVE CANADIAN WINTER WITH SPORTS AND FASHION

I have never been a winter sport person. In fact, I have never been a winter person period. Though we’ve pretty much grown up in Canada, I’m just going to blame the fact of having been born in an island somewhere south of the Equator that it’s not really a big surprise that I have always been avoided (at all costs including purposely sucking) anything that has to do with skating, skiing, curling, snowboarding and anything that involves a whole lot of snow and ice and being outside.

I know, I know… it’s sacrilege and so not very Canadian of me.

YOU CAN EITHER FIGHT WINTER OR GO SKIING DURING WINTER

Lately, that strong urge to run away from winter has reached its freezing point when we’ve reached record lows of -40 degree Celsius in the nation’s capital. I kid you not, the cold reaches all way into your bones that any sense of fashion you may have left goes out the door as you reach for your bulkiest parka, your shapeless snow pants and add on layers upon layers of chunky scarves and balaclava that you only see the fading glimmer of your hopeless eyes as you long for the golden rays of the warm sun.

Considering we’re only January so we’re looking at a thousand (though it feels more like a million!) more days of Canadian winter, this bleak attitude just won’t do. I reckon the best way to alleviate the pains of winter is to – as they say, don’t fight it but just go with it!

That’s why on a bright Sunday afternoon, you’ll find me, ML aka Twenty York Street aka @20YS on the slope of Sommet Edelweiss in between the massive expanse of Gatineau Hills and the picturesque little village of Chelsea, Quebec, signing up for ski lessons. Admittedly, I wasn’t fidgeting about the fact that I have absolutely zero skills when it comes to any winter sports but I was honestly more preoccupied with the fact that I didn’t know what to wear!

That said, brace yourself for next post as this is not a story of my humble fall during my first time ever skiing but it’s a story about what I wore to said ski hill, which I think it’s just as, if not, more important.

WHAT DO THE COOL KIDS WEAR TO GO SKIING OR SNOWBOARDING

More than worrying about stumbling and falling down the mountain where my face meets the snow, WWE smack down style, I was worried that I didn’t have the right outfit. I wanted to be too cool for school just like the seasoned skiers and the really cool snowboarders and I especially want to master the après-ski look that’s oh so nonchalant and just wonderfully elegant while I sip my hot cocoa as I talk and laugh with my group of equally cool imaginary friends! (Full disclosure: I went with my family, who are we kidding. So when I say my friends Angelo and Chee Chee, I really meant my nephews who are 6 years old and one-year old respectively. Yes, my so-called friend is a little baby. Shhh…)

I wanted so bad to fit in.

So the night before of the very first day of our ski lessons, I frantically rummage through my closet for anything remotely close to what cool people wear when they go skiing or snowboarding. Since I have no snow pants, I chose these leather pants and in retrospect, I may have been better off with these leather leggings from Dynamite. Unlike my rigid black denim pants, these chic coated leather leggings has more give and flexibility, which conforms a bit more to your body as you swoosh your way down the mountain. Not to mention its flattering high rise cut gives both added comfort and style up in the slopes or down at the chalet.

KEEPING WARM AND FASHIONABLE FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

I may have a winner however with my smart choice for outerwear and my truly adorable pompom hat and Nordic style boots from Skechers Canada. (You can find more winter perfect boots from Skechers here, here and here.) I went with this statement piece of a bold red and black plaid fur jacket. It is indeed a very Canadiana look in a lumberjack kind of way.

And since I’m one scaredy-cat when it comes to cold and freezing to death, I actually have a teddy bear coat underneath it too. Needless to say, I was positively way too warm and way too bulky with two jackets on.

But hey, now that I think about it, I could’ve probably worn something that’s more breathable while doing winter sports by wearing something like these leggings from Garage. I absolutely adore these leggings with built-in mesh panel twist details. They’re so unquestionably stylish and versatile that I can probably wear them while teaching yoga or perhaps even running outside during spring.

IF YOU CAN’T ESCAPE WINTER, EMBRACE IT

Though let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Like I said, we still have like a thousand more days to go this winter so let’s just try to take it all in and if at all possible, find ways to actually enjoy it like fusing sports and fashion when the weather is cold outside. Take up a winter sport or two. (Wait does shopping for winter outfits online count as a winter sport?) Gather up your family and friends and try skating on the canal, snowshoeing through the woods or skiing up the mountain.