c/o Olivia Drake

Over the past couple weeks, winter weather has descended on Connecticut faster than Canada Goose jackets have flown out of summer storage and onto students’ (guilt-ridden) bodies. Passing strangers on campus paths exchange looks of mutual woe, as if to say “I’m not enjoying this either!” and “I would love to be touched!” and “There is no ethical consumption under late-stage capitalism!” But if you just can’t with the Canada Goose, the Features Section has plenty of ethical alternatives, just in time for the turning of the seasons. 

• Layers! Whether it’s wearing long underwear under jeans or bundling up in a long sleeve shirt, two sweatshirts, and a coat, layers are one of the easiest ways to keep your body warm throughout the winter months. This season, let us give thanks to Uniqlo’s HEATTECH collection. 
• Wool socks are a must-have. You know what they say: You lose the most heat at your feet. 
• Hand and toe warmers are also not a terrible purchase. Enough heat to last you 8 to 10 hours. While you’re at it, throw on a pair of snow pants and make a point of sledding to class. It’s like scootering or skateboarding, but even quirkier. 
• As the air gets dryer, our lips fall victim to the cold air. Lip balm is more important than ever, especially if you’re trying to get booed up this cuffing season. Flaky lips are never cute. 
• Soup soup soup! All kinds of soup—but hopefully Usdan Café has butternut squash! 
• If you’re looking to be winter chic, head-to-toe flannel is definitely in this season. (Is this just pajamas? The Features Team has been thrown into chaos by this dispute.)
• No need to walk all the way to Freeman Athletic Center—keep yourself warm by dancing or hopping up and down or performing your own Zumba routine. Talk about a workout!
• If you’re lucky enough to live in a program house or a house built in the 19th century, you may be blessed with a rustic and unusable fireplace. Use it. Will you set off the fire alarm? Get kicked out of school? Burn your house down? C’est la vie. You are cold—be resourceful. 
• If Seasonal Affective Disorder is making you SAD, there’s a simple cure: more lamps. No, more than that. One of the true pains of winter is the lack of light. When daylight saving time ends and the sun bids us adieu before 5 p.m., the darkness can be truly depressing. Strike back at the winter blues with man-made sun. Get as many sources of light as you can in your room: LEDs, incandescent bulbs, sconces, string lights, those electrical candle things, the whole nine yards. Wallpaper with aluminum foil to increase reflection. You want entering your room to have all the blinding power of encountering Zeus in his true form. Then and only then can February be bearable. 
• Fuel your inner fire with rage against the patriarchy. Indignation will keep you warm all winter long. 
• Denial. Flip-flops and shorts are more stylish than your old coat that more closely resembles a sleeping bag than a wardrobe choice. Fashion is pain. Put on your favorite swimsuit and have a beach party! Coldness is just a state of mind; temperature is a social construct.