It's Cold Outside!

It's cold in the Northern Midwest, REALLY cold.  It was -20 degrees Fahrenheit last night, and when I just checked the local 24/7 weather channel it was 8 degrees.  I even told Husband to take the car to work, instead of me dropping him off, because there was no way I was going outside.  So, in between reading science and history articles on Cracked.com (God, I'm a nerd) and thinking about how cold it is, I decided I wanted to write about some of this.
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Just through my regular browsing throughout some of the online Lolita community, I've noticed that many ladies don't wear their Lolita clothing in the winter time.  The main reason is that it's too cold.  I, personally, would be more concerned about getting salt stains on my shoes, but that's just me. 
I don't think it's so unreasonable to wear Lolita in the winter time, in fact it seems much better time than the summer.  I feel that with some minor creativity, this type of clothing can be very well layered and worn in the cold weather with the right articles of clothing.

Article 1: Tights
Really, it's a no brainer to wear tights once the temperature starts to drop.  Even stopping at your local Target you can find a good variety of colors and types of tights. 
There is one thing to make sure of in cold weather, though.  Make sure your tights are THICK.  I have a few pairs of tights that are thinner, and I might as well be wearing knee socks with bloomers (not a pleasant experience when it's cold and windy).
Article 2: Leggings
No, really!  I have two pairs I can't live without that I wear under my OTK socks.  One pair is a full length pair in black.  I like to wear these with my solid black OTK's.  I'm short enough that you probably wouldn't know the difference.  The other is a skin-tone type color pair of capris. I wear these with any of my other colored OTK's.  Unless someone is really paying attention or looking for it, most people probably wouldn't even notice I'm wearing them.  Due to personal experience, I prefer the capri type because I am short and they tend to make my socks wrinkle oddly around my ankles. 
On a side note, I wouldn't recommend doing this with plain knee socks.  Odds are the leggings would wrinkle around the knees giving a weird look.

I'm wearing OTK's with leggings AND boots!

Article 3: Boots
If for no other reason, than to keep your socks dry.  Seriously, I don't think there's an ickier feeling than wet socks.  I looked all winter for a nice pair of black, fuzzy, warm snow boots as and add-in to my wardrobe, but was unsuccessful.  However, I've seen lots of ladies on Daily Lolita Coordinates using them and looking so cute!  I do have my little ankle boots (seen above) but I generally only wear those the day after in snows when most places have plowed, but I still may get unlucky.
Article 4: Cardigans
If you're going somewhere that you won't need a coat but it's cold outside, wear a cardigan.  If it's not the perfect match to your outfit, so what.  Take it off when you take off your coat and put it back on before putting your coat back on. 
There's lots of cute brand and non-brand stuff out there that you can wear to go with your outfits, but if you don't have any, at least put something on under your coat for that chilly trip outside!

Alright, that's all of the stuff I was thinking on today.  I hope some of you find this helpful.  Keep warm!!