Hoodies vs hats, winter wear 2016

I shall turn back to another very popular topic on my blog which constantly gets a lot of hits: that of winter wear. Here's today question: "I have a sweater with a hood (also known commonly as a hoodie), is this going to be sufficient? Do I still need to buy a winter hat if I have that hood over my head?" Please note that we are going to be talking specifically about protecting your head (especially your ears) in the cold in this article, if you wish to get more information about dressing more generally in winter, then may I refer you to some of the other articles I have written on the topic please. 

That's me wearing a hoodie over my hat in Austria.

My answer is that it depends on a few factors really whether or not a hoodie will be sufficient: firstly, what kind of winter temperatures are we talking about? In London right now, it is about 7 degrees in the day, 3 degrees at night - so yes it is somewhat cold and I would probably want to wear some kind of hat to protect my head if I were to venture outdoors for an extended period of time. If it was above 8 degrees though, I would probably forgo any kind of hat or hoodie as my head wouldn't feel cold. Secondly, how tight is your hoodie? A hat would protect your head by wrapping around it very tightly and protecting it from the cold air - if you have a loosely fitted hoodie around your head, then cold air may still circulate around your head especially if it is windy, so a loosely fitted hoodie offers little or no protection in those circumstances and your head will still feel cold. For a hoodie to keep your head warm, you really need to do it up very tightly and that might feel restrictive and uncomfortable.

Thirdly, you need to look at the weather forecast. If there is rain, then your hoodie will soak up the rain very quickly and there's nothing worse than a soaking wet hoodie on your head - it will make you feel incredibly cold and uncomfortable. With rain, you need an umbrella, really. Furthermore, if you are expecting snow at between -2 to +2 degrees, you will get very wet snow that will melt very quickly upon touching the surface of your hoodie, again, soaking it and turning it very wet. Some winter coats are more waterproof than others and indeed, some come with hoodies and you have to double check just how water proof your hoodie is. A hoodie will be fine with snow once it drops below around -3 degrees, at those temperatures, it is cold enough that snow won't melt that quickly. It will probably hit the surface of your hoodie and and fall off rather than melt instantly - but if it is going to be -3 degrees, you will definitely need more than just a hoodie to keep your head warm - if it is that cold, then you must get a decent winter hat!

Wearing my hoodie in Poland where it was so cold

Am I giving you the impression that hoodies are pretty much useless? Well, I would say that they are no substitute for good hats at the end of the day in cold weather. I may use it when it is in spring, when temperatures dip at night time but for real winter weather, you need a hat. Heck, in the UK, we have pound shops where everything costs just £1 (approx $$2.05 - depending on the exchange rate) and you can get cheap hats for just £1. Yes they are that cheap, sure you can get some fancy, branded hats for a lot more money of course, but if all you are after is something that you are going to use for a few days whilst on holiday, then get a cheap one and it will still keep your head warm. Sometimes, I would double up on windy days: I would put my hat on  and then pull my hoodie up tightly, just to give my head just that little bit more protection against the wind. Oh and please, baseball caps were designed to keep the sun out of your eyes, not to provide any kind of protection against the cold - they are totally useless and to be avoided in winter at all costs. And IMHO, they look ghastly. Just don't even go there.

Lastly, you need to be aware of the cultural implications of wearing the 'hoodie' in the West - one would associate wearing a hoodie with lower working class males, particularly those with criminal tendencies. It is a sign of rebellion, you see social convention would require males to dress presentably for school or work in British society and wearing a hoodie (which at best can be associated with very casual sportswear for colder, winter months) is at best considered only appropriate for the most informal occasions, at worse, highly inappropriate and sending all the wrong messages for polite/formal company. Our social convention also requires all males to remove any kind of headwear (caps, hats, hoodies etc) when indoors - so wearing a hoodie indoors is the ultimate symbol of showing the third finger to established social norms and rules. Hence if you are watching some kind of British drama on TV and there is a drug dealer, he will almost certainly be wearing a hoodie indoors. It almost feels like a stereotype for the costume designers, that making the actor wear a hoodie will tell the viewers that this guy is a very dangerous criminal and a menace to society. Indeed, there are some criminals who use tightly done up hoodies to conceal their faces when committing crimes: so if you have absolutely nothing to hide, then why are you trying to cover your faces like that?

Is it a cold and windy day or are they dealing drugs?

However, please note that not everyone who wears a hoodie is a drug dealer, a rapist or a thief - many people including myself wear hoodies to keep our heads warm during winter, particularly on windy days. Nonetheless, I usually would avoid someone who wears a hoodie during warm days, clearly it is not cold enough to require any kind of protection for one's head. And if one wears a hoodie indoors, then clearly they are trying to send some kind message of rebellion. British buildings are usually very well heated, so nobody has any reason to need a hoodie indoors! Ironically, when I am walking down the street alone at night in the wrong part of town, I would usually put up my hoodie to send a message that I am the wrong kind of guy to mess with and I actually feel safer like that. Tourists usually don't have to worry about things like that - just be aware not to commit any fashion faux pas and always take down your hoodies from your heads when you are indoors. Nobody is going to mistake you for a drug dealer.

Okay so that's it from me for now on this issue - if you have any other questions about hoodies, hats or winter wear in general, then please feel free to leave a comment below and I'll answer your questions. Many thanks for reading.

Wearing two hoodies in Scotland