The way you wear your winter coat could be stopping you from feeling the full benefits. If you’re planning on going for a walk to stretch your legs after hibernating at home over Christmas, or you want to see what the shops have got in their end-of-year sales, then you’ll likely want to wrap up warm to face the chilly winter weather.
For many of us, that means wearing a coat with a ring of fur around the hood and some padding or fur inside to keep us warm. But if you’ve ever put your coat on and still felt cold, it could be that you’re not actually wearing the garment properly, as one woman on social media has claimed.
Jessica Alzamora shared a video on Instagram in which she insisted most of us don’t know how to wear our coats properly. She said there’s a specific way to make sure you stay warm – and it’s all to do with your hood.
In her video, Jessica argued that when you put your hood up and have the layer of fur sticking out, that isn’t doing as much as it could be to keep you warm. Instead, you need to tuck the fur inside your hood so that it sits against your ears and on top of your head, as this will help to trap the heat.
She said: “This is not meant to be stylish, it’s meant to be functional. You’re supposed to fold it in, like this. It covers your ears and it blocks air. You zip your coat all the way to the top, and it blocks air from coming in, so you stay so much warmer. If you leave it like this [untucked], all the air is still hitting you, and you’re not warm.”
In her caption, she added: “You’re wearing your winter coat wrong, and I’m sorry to be this person, but it’s 8°F [-13°C] in Chicago, and you need to stay warm. This is how you wear the fur part of your coat properly.”
Commenters were left gobsmacked by Jessica’s video – as many said they had no idea that they could flip the fur inside their hood to make their coat warmer.
Meanwhile, others couldn’t believe no one had taught them this before, or that their coats didn’t come with instructions on how to properly wear them.
One person said: “I was today years old!! Where was this information in 2008.” Another added: “I literally learn that I’m doing life wrong every single day.” And a third posted: “All my life and no one could have mentioned this or put it in the coat’s description?”
However, some noted that the fur actually serves another purpose. In countries where it snows regularly, fur hoods are designed to catch snowflakes to stop them from falling onto your face and making you colder, so in these cases, the fur is supposed to stick out and frame your face.
Someone noted: “That is not correct at all. The fur is meant to face out. It breaks wind and keeps snow off your face. That’s literally why it exists. That’s why you wear a beanie underneath. The fur blocks wind, it’s not ear insulation.”
Another person wrote: “This is actually not correct, but it’s a great idea if it’s cold and not snowing. The fur is designed to catch the snow before it collects on your face.” As someone else agreed, adding: “Actually, the fur is supposed to catch snow. So it’s meant to be worn either way, depending on conditions.”
Jessica later took to the comments to address conflicting opinions about how to wear winter coats, as she said she was given the information by her child’s doctor and it has worked for her entire family so far.
She posted: “It’s what my paediatrician told me years ago and has worked for us. I don’t have any answers. I didn’t expect this to blow up. I have 80 followers – I was just talking to my friends. I was just sharing how I keep warm.
“It came off the way it did because I was literally talking to my five friends that always watch my videos, and I somehow ended up on the explore page in the North Pole. Look at me! Do I look like I would advise people in Alaska on how to fight a blizzard? I’m meant to be on a beach with a mojito, looking at Christmas lights on palm trees.
“Do what feels good to you. There are multiple ways to do things. What works for some doesn’t work for others. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.”
