I grew up in Wisconsin. Midwest winters are a primary reason I moved to the West Coast. Even in Washington it doesn't get that cold. I wear shorts and flip flops almost all year. Below 40 I start wearing shoes and pants.
Hahaha... Can relate. Visited a brother in the UK during winter from the tropics. So on board I was in jeans and a t-shirt. Only the airport didn't have the boarding tubes, so we had to walk from the plane to the bus, then from the bus to the terminal. I severely underestimated the distance, had no jacket (in my luggage) and was just trying to maintain 'cool' the whole time, controlling breathing and fighting the shivers the whole time.
It was pretty damn cold yesterday in SoCal and still cold right now. I'm wearing full fleece pajamas and snuggled under my warmest winter blanket. It's April 6th for crying out loud.
Good news, about 11:00 a.m. we'll be back in the sunny '60s.
It hit 10 degrees one day this week and I thought I was free from pants. Went to Costco in an Asian area and everyone was dressed like it was -40 and I was getting incredulous looks but it was so nice out it wasn't even chilly
I wore shorts and flip flops to a grocery store in the dead of winter. Guy asked if I was cold, and I was like "I went from one climate controlled box into a drivable climate controlled box, and now I'm in this climate controlled box"
Yeah, things could go wrong like a car wreck or something where I get stuck outside for an extended period of time and would become uncomfortable. But it is what it is.
I remember going for a walk with a friend midwinter, underestimating the distance, overestimating the temperature (i mean, it -was- snowing, but that meant nothing... right) So we went out in our tshirts and shorts.
In the end, my mum spent 2 hrs trying to turn 2 goth smurfs back into human boys. I'd say I learnt a lesson that day, but one must not tell lies.
Speaking of going to the gym... I did another dumdum yesterday.
I biked to the gym in my gym clothes as I do when its good weather... but it wasn't, it was raining, one of those that feels like a drizzel but within 5 minutes you are soaked.
So I worked out while soaked, full soak (now sweat) biked back trough the wind and raind, bought breakfast, biked home, waited an hour to shower... and now im sick :D Like I said, I'll probably never learn -.-
I'm the opposite: I wear long pants, shoes, and socks year round, only my upper garments change for the seasons (T-shirts in the summer, long sleeves in the spring/fall, hoodies/jackets in the winter).
90°F outside? I'm in jeans. Going to the beach? Socks and sneakers, baby (though I'll wear bathing trunks). Even when I was a mail carrier walking literally 10 miles a day in 90% humidity, I was wearing long pants. My coworkers/customers thought I was crazy, and maybe I am, but that's just how it be.
Does it have anything to do with not having to deal with change? The amount of coverage/protection/insulation ect. being consistent rather than changing with how you feel like dressing that day?
I catch myself, while shopping clothes, always for the same cut of clothes for the same reason, even going as far as getting cranky if the material/thickness of fabric I am used to is not available for the print I'm liking. Maby an extreme example...
But all the people I know personally who stick to either shorts or long pants come high or hell water tend to have a lot of traits where they either appreciate consistency or... no mainly that now that I think of it.
Could be, I've honestly never given it much thought, it's just what I tend to be most comfortable wearing. I wore shorts growing up and through my time in the military, but after that, I kinda just... Stopped? I am definitely a creature of habit, so probably subconsciously it's a consistency thing for me.
I'm also pretty skinny, so I get cold easily and prefer the warmth that long pants provide regardless of weather, and the protection they offer from nature and the elements (hence why I wore them year round at the Post Office). But fabric doesn't matter to me, or brand or any of that, just that they're the proper length.
For shoes, I just don't like having my feet out in the world, and don't like how loose sandals/flip flops feel while wearing them. I also don't like how the interior of shoes feel against bare feet, hence why socks and shoes go hand in hand (no boat shoes for me). Now that I'm typing that out, I just don't like my bare feet touching anything, really, like, I'm one of those people who wears socks in their own home constantly except when I'm sleeping.
It does simplify dressing myself, since I know it's always gonna be socks+jeans/pants+T-shirt/long sleeve/hoodie. I've also had to wear long pants at every job I've ever had (minus the Post Office), so at some point it may have just set in that it's easier to just wear pants regardless of what I'm doing. 🤷♀️
its funny how relatable your logic is even though your preferences are practically perfect opposites.
I wear sandals and shorts whenever I can, and ideally i switch to pants/shoes and back just once per year :') And I love to have my feet exposed (even within the house, I do have flipflops though)
I'm a school bus driver and I pick up many kids in Winter wearing only Summer clothes and no coats. What amuses me the most is how much energy they put into complaining about how cold it is. I guess that's how they stay warm.
Pretty sure they're issued to staff and you can't buy them, they do seem to be higher quality than the usual corporate branded sheite. Had them for a few years now and my plums remain well secured.
LBJ's presidential tapes had him talking to some trouser company, and it's hilarious with "And another thing...the crotch, down where your nuts hang, is always a little too tight" while letting a couple belches out. Teach played it in our Vietnam War class in college to demonstrate how he was a crass character.