Business Formal Travel and Cold

I am hoping you all can help me. I will be traveling on business to some cold destinations, like Chicago and Maryland during the winter. I need to be able to pack light but warm.

Most travel will entail very conservative "business casual", ie slacks, button shirt, but no tie or jacket. Some will require a full on suit.

What do you recommend to actually stay warm but that is easy to pack? I see peacoats, overcoats, etc, but I'm not sure how warm they will be. If I bring a large coat then I can carry that on.

Sadly I'm allergic to wool and down, so if you have suggestions about hypo allergenic products - I'm all ears. I can however "tolerate" wool.

Thanks for suggestions!

To clarify - I am good with the inside attire - it's the coverings that I will need to stay warm outside - ie coats, etc.

First thought ... a lot of time travelling will be spent inside ... inside planes, cabs, airports, hotels, meeting rooms ... so the amount of time spent outside will be likely not all that much. There is probably less clothing adjustment you need to make than you think.

Second thought ... a good trench coat (most come with zip-out winter liners nowadays ... I hate that, but it helps with winter) will do well ... casual enough to wear over casual, and still formal enough to wear over a suit. Get a longer one, to protect you from cold wind, snow and rain.

Leather dress gloves, with a lining. Most linings are synthetic nowadays, so hopefully that helps.

Get a good scarf. A good merino wool scarf is, IMHO, ideal (if you can stand the wool aspect.) Skip "cashmere", which is mostly crappy fourth-rate stuff sold based on the name alone. There are lots of "cheap" fleece scarves out there that will do just fine.

Get a good hat with ear protection. I recommend an aviator/trapper style, with ear/cheek flaps that can come down for really cold weather or come up for not-so-cold. Cheap ones will have a synthetic lining, which may be "warm enough" for you, since you won't be outside for long periods of time. Better ones have shearling (lamb's wool right on the hide) which are fantastically warm ... but "wool" so ...?? Otherwise, you spend a lot for fur of some sort or another.



Dress boots, with a rubber sole. They look like dress shoes, but ... they continue up the ankle and turn into boots. This gives you a bit more "walk through slush and step in a puddle" capability. And they are dressy enough to walk into any meeting with a suit and look just fine.

Edit: boots example: http://www.grenson.co.uk/en_us/shop/joseph

Great - thanks for the suggestions.

and or silk, wool, synthetic light to medium weight long johns under the business casual will work wonders as well. I've got all three in various "weights" if you will. even silk long johns will make a difference outside, and tend to not over heat me inside. silk is thinner than your underwear/undershirt if they're cotton.

a light or mid weight layer is not likely to show as bulk under your clothes either.

As Doc said, the actual outside time won't be that much. Peacoat/Covert Coat/Overcoat will all be fine.

The boot suggestion is probably the most important. I have a pair of Dubarry Kerry Chelsea boots that are full leather sole with a thin outsole of rubber. You can't tell they are rubberized at all just looking at them unless you turn the sole up.



They come in black too if necessary.

For Chicago you definitely want a good pair of gloves and I like the 360° ear muffs.

Good stuff. I'm always happy to add another pair of shoes! Some Chelseas sounds nice if I can find some - but anyone use Tingley overshoes? The thermals in these parts are made for "barely cold" weather - I'll probably need to add to my collection at the destination! TLentz, on the 360 ear muffs - did you mean 180 by chance? I couldn't find 360 but did see 180.

IMO a scarf goes a long way to staying warm. A good scarf with lighter jacket > heavier jacket without.

overcoat all the way. I wear mine with jeans when not on business.

Great advice Doc 4! I wear Uniqlo Heattech undershirts (http://www.uniqlo.com/us/men/innerwear-and-loungewear/undershirts.html) and a similar product from Patagonia under my suits when it gets really cold. Definitely falls under the "light but warm" category.

Doc pretty much summed it up. I would add are warmer socks if you wear the thin dress hose (either a heavier weight or thin designed for colder temps). I travel to those areas for work and I also use a flat cap with ear muffs to cover my head.

Sasquatch said:

... I would add are warmer socks if you wear the thin dress hose (either a heavier weight or thin designed for colder temps).

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Oh, yes ... if you are going to go for warmer socks, that probably means thicker socks (hard not to) and that might mean you need a half-size larger on your footwear if you are going with "dress" shoes/boots.

That said, "it depends". Unless you intend to spend long periods of time out in the actual cold outdoors (especially inactive ... walking helps keep you warm a lot), a good pair of dress boots and regular dress socks will probably be all you need as the "foot" part of your winter-appropriate attire.

I'll echo everyone else here with, thicker/warmer socks, good hat/scarf/gloves (I'd suggest shearling gloves, but you didn't say which wools you are allergic to or if the allergies are all encompassing), and rubber soled footwear (check out the JC Penny Deacons, they're $50 on sale). I'd recommend a nice waxed canvas coat with lining since you can't use a wool coat. Finally and super important imho is thermals. Rock the hell out of thermals under your clothes.

I highly suggest picking a pair of Icebreaker Merino long johns if you're going to Chicago, if they have a cold snap and even if you're spending the majority of your time indoors, it's going to be traumatic going outside, this from a Canadian who also lives in the Great Lakes region. I would go with the Chelsea boots they are great for air travel as you don't have to mess around with laces unless you have one of those VIP TSA passes.

Great tips. I made my first trip with a temperature minimum of 9 F - probably amateur for what is possible. I need a much thicker and bigger scarf - better socks - and have a pair of Rockport Chelseas on the way. I didn't have ear protection but that will be critical. I also like to take walks after dinner - so I'd like to be able to maintain outside. When I walked one night - I could tell a casual stroll could get very serious - very fast - as the clothing only delayed freezing rather than maintained warmth. I'll be more prepared next time.

Matt_Bloodletter said:

Sadly I'm allergic to wool and down, so if you have suggestions about hypo allergenic products - I'm all ears. I can however "tolerate" wool.

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Ahh, that's too bad! I was about to say down is the way to go. Down is ultra-light and compressible. I have an expedition grade down parka that can literally be compressed into a shoe box. Question: what kinds of down have you been exposed to? My grandmother's duck feather pillow would make me sneeze like crazy, but a quality 900FP hypoallegenic down jacket doesn't bother me at all. There is a big delta in quality for down on the marketplace, and you might not be allergic to some of the better stuff. A lot of the cheap down coming in from China isn't washed properly, and that's what causes the allergies.


First of all you need a good baselayer. I was going to recommend merino wool (nothing beats it for a warm base layer), but again, your allergies. Merino is a very soft wool that isn't itchy for a lot of people. So maybe you'd be ok with it. You should go to REI or some outdoor store and feel the fabric and see how it is for you. If you can't do merino, there are some synthetics that are nice. Check out the Capilene 4 from patagonia. NorthFace makes a good baselayer too.

If you can't do down, get something with Primaloft insulation. It's the next best thing if you can't get down. I don't really know of any primaloft jackets that are suitable for business clothes. Most of the time they use primaloft in poof jackets.

I did a google search and found this:
https://www.norrona.com/en-GB/Products/1040-13/2325/29-gore-tex-primaloft-parka-m/
Waterproof, windproof, primaloft - I'm sure it's very warm.

If you want to give down a shot Canada Goose makes some really nice options. The "Chateau" parka looks really sharp. It's about $700, but you will have a jacket that will last the rest of your life.

They also make a really nice business class jacket, but it's really expensive:
http://www.barneys.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-BNY-Site/default/Product-Show?pid=503605161

Oh and for socks check out "Darn Tough." 100% made in the USA merino wool socks. They have a lifetime warranty and are basically indestructible. They are pretty warm too. Especially the mountaineering sock.

+1 on the scarf. I never owned or understood the need for s scarf until moving to Chicago. Since wool is only tolerable, I would go with a nice fleece one. Pretty cheap and almost as soft as a nice merino.

I would definitely go with an overcoat or trench coat. While the previous posters have stated that most of you time will not be spent out doors, the time that is will seem so much longer if you are under dressed. There will be time spent waiting for cabs or waiting for trains so keep that in mind.

If you are going to wear slacks you will want silk for a base layer. I've found that most of the other materials will stick to the slacks and you will be constantly adjusting your slacks to address this.