OOTDs : Winter Special (and Tips on How to Dress for Winter Holidays)

So in the ideal world i would be dressing up to the nines every single day on my trips (preferably in floaty, dreamy tutu with uber cute heels and novelty purses) and take amazing OOTDs in various amazing background. But in the real world? I prefer to dress for comfort during my travel and having a little boy means i would have barely enough time to slap some BB Cream and slick some eyeliner on, definitely no time to doll up like i could back at home (not to mention my legs would fall off if i have to travel in heels and novelty purses can only hold lipsticks!)...

Still, i am OCD enough to prepare sets for every single day of my trip so i can just wear them in the morning (without having to go through the process of panicking if this top doesn't go with that skirt, etc... I prefer to spend every spare second to zzz!) and if possible, pack cute but comfortable clothes so i can still look nice enough in my pictures.

And during our trip to South Korea last December, we went to some places with the most breath-taking backgrounds and it'd be a real shame not to snap some outfit pics! I also would be sharing a little bit on how to dress for a winter holiday, again it's for dummies one la (my only type of advise hahaha)-so mostly for those of you who have never been for a winter holiday before. It was also my first winter holiday and thankfully i packed rather well (we went to Europe during spring and the closest we got to winter was when we were at Glacier 3000 it really was freezing, with the snow storm and all!)

Here's outfit number one :

And tips number one : buy a nice heat tech undershirt and long johns. I was too cheap to buy branded long johns and only bought some pairs from ITC Mangga Dua, but then i was starting to doubt myself when i saw the others buying heat tech ones and decided to get one for each of us too at Uniqlo. It was the right decision! While the normal (without heat-tech) ones are okay for milder winter temperature (in the picture above i was at Nami Island and despite the fine coating of white snow, it was actually rather warm! The temperature here is nice enough to wear cheapo long johns underneath haha), for the bitter, super strong windy days (like when we were in Jeju Island), long johns with heat tech is the only thing keeping me somewhat warm! 

So my advise? Buy at least ONE heat teach undershirt (it's winter, you're not going to sweat a drop, you can definitely reuse them as long as you do not have body odor. Oh, and spray lots of perfume, of course haha). I recommend Uniqlo, during promotion their stuffs are insanely affordable!

Personally i find normal long john pants are enough to keep me warm, i only wore heat tech tops and i was totally, absolutely fine.

Do you see the pink turtleneck i am wearing underneath my cardi and jacket? That's actually my Uniqlo heat tech undershirt. It is pretty enough to wear as inner top that's peeking out of your layers!

Tips number two : pack jeans or comfy skirts. Of course you shouldn't wear your long john pants only and run around, although for a tropical creatures like us it might seem okay to wear leggings out, people from four seasoned countries would stare at you like you're a lunatic (or laugh at you. Happened to KC various times during this trip haha) because it's essentially your... well, underwear!

For those of you who are comfortable in jeans (coz i am not), it's crucial to bring a comfortable but nice fitting one (loose jeans wouldn't help to keep you warm, dears!). They are sturdy, warm and goes with every style. But for those of you who cannot stand the thought of wearing jeans every single day of your trip like me, you can wear comfortable skirts to layer with your winter legging instead. You can see from most of my Korea trip posts that i almost always wore skirts! Wearing legging by itself, while not any less warm than wearing a skirt over it, is not something i'd suggest. I'd like to avoid camel toes at any time!

Next tips : Layer, layer, layer. Although you already have you heat tech undergarments and long johns, that doesn't mean you can wear thin, cotton clothes on top and be warm! I packed a lot of knitted tops, knitted cardis, sweaters, light jackets and warm leggings (you need at least two layer of leggings! The long john one+the normal warm legging). I know winter clothes can be very expensive, and it would hurt my heart to buy lots of expensive clothes only to wear once or twice (i am the queen of bargain, after all!), but trust me, you do not have to spend a fortune on warm clothing! Go for those cheap, local replica clothes online shops sells for IDR 40.000-IDR 60.000, i practically only wear those type of tops while i was in Korea and i was plenty warm! My knitted leggings are also from local shops for less than IDR 50.000!

And that brings you to my next tips : get a nice padded jacket (preferably waterproof). Because you'd be wearing that jacket everyday, follow your guts. Get a nice one, it's probably the one thing you need to splurge on (mine's from Mango and it's around... 1.5mill?). Get a padded one to stay warm (please ignore people's "But you're going to look so bulky!". You need to be WARM! The last thing you wanna do is fall sick in the middle of your trip. And a good fit padded jacket can look good, i think I look pretty nice!) and choose one style and color you really like. 

I really love this white padded jacket that i had so i didn't mind wearing it everyday. It comes with a detachable fake fur line on the hoodie, the sleeves got really dirty after two weeks though so if you're not the neatest person on earth, it's probably better to get a dark color. I don't mind though, because i'm vain and i like the white color better than any dark colors haha.

I find bringing extra jackets unnecessary and a total nuisance, they're huge and heavy, better save the space for your shopping! And if you're going to meet snow and rain, it's a good idea to buy a jacket with waterproof material!

Outfit number two :

It is also essential to wear a proper waterproof winter shoes! You can see that i wear this flat baby pink boots (that my gals got me as my bday pressie last year, they're from Gosh!) in my every pic and they're PERFECT. They're insanely comfortable (no feet pain like how i experienced in Europe with my hidden wedges boots), they're made of synthetic leather (we sprayed it with an extra protector so the faux leather wouldn't be stained from moisture) so they're actually very warm and keep wind away from my feet (and the color is C.U.T.E). 

It is very important because once you feet and hands are warm, you'd feel much warmer! Again you DO NOT need to spend a fortune (i know most winter boots are selling for more than 1 mill), this boots were like... IDR 480.000? It was under IDR 500.000 and not even specifically classified as winter boots, but they serve the purpose wonderfully! So : waterproof+comfortable+warm, that's the formula!

I watched CL and Au having problems with their cheapo winter boots CL ordered from China *LOL*, how CL's was not waterproof so her feet were kinda blue when the snow seeped in and froze her toes off hahaha. Then Au's had those cheap soles that were GLUED to the boots, it was flapping off and i accidentally stepped on it LOLOLOL FHL. Glue didn't work when it's dead cold and wet so she ended up discarding the cheapo boots (that became very exp after KC had to buy overpriced glue that didn't even work hahahaha) and getting an expensive one in Seoul!

Also do not forget to pack your warm, thick socks to wear with your boots! They don't only give you the extra warmth you desperately needs, they also act as extra cushion so your shoes would be even more comfy.

Get a jacket with hoodies because they can protect your ears from cold and also v cute hahaha

As you can see from this picture, i also packed a jegging to alternate with my skirts

You can still be playful too, i wore this silly girraffe jacket (again, it's the cheapo, local made replica that couldn't cost more than IDR 60.000). Light jackets are perfect to layer with your heat tech undershirt and thick winter jacket!

Outfit number 3 that was not supposed to be in this outfit post because it's only snapped with my Iphone but it's good to illustrate my next tips!

As you can see from this pic, i wasn't wearing my hoodie because it's not always convenient. When then wind is piercingly cold but not necessarily strong enough to blow your hair away, you can just wear a nice ear muff. As far as i am concerned, if you have long hairs with the style that covers your ears like me, you can choose one : hoodie, ear muffs or beanie. There's no need to wear all of them at once unless there's a snow storm! Mine's from a local chain accessories store and it was enough to keep me warm although of course it's not as good as those fur ones. It is after all, only around IDR 38.000 and they still work!

What's even more important is wearing a nice pair of gloves! As you can see from the pic above, i was wearing fluffy, pastel colored gloves that i bought from errr... Daiso. Yes, they're cute and cheap as hell, but it's not a good idea for a harsh winter!

A closer look at the cute but impractical gloves

One, they're not waterproof so most of the time they ended up very wet, and wet hands means : freezing. Two, the pastel colored cloth got dirty very easily. Baby Boy wore a similar and managed to puke all over it in Busan, it was a goner. It was already very fugly with black marks all over it, but with puke on it? I'd rather throw it to the bin than try to clean it.

My hands were very very cold the first few days so i gave up and purchased a proper ski gloves that are waterproof and super warm. It wasn't very expensive either (KRW 20.000, if i remember correctly) so it's better to hunt for a pair of proper gloves first so you don't need to suffer like i did hahaha. Try to find a not-so-expensive one too because it's super easy to lose one of them-CL bought a pair of branded leather gloves and proceed on losing one of them THE VERY NEXT DAY. The heartache, oh the heartache.... (PS : if all fail, get yourself a hotpack hahaha)

Outfit number four :

This is the pair the gloves that i was talking about, the perfect ski gloves that kept my hands dry and warm from that day on. I was never too cold that i wanted to die ever since hahahaha

And yep, i was wearing a beanie that i bought primarily because it was pink and affordable! I got it from Uniqlo as well btw.

I personally didn't find the beanie to be very important, especially because i don't particularly like to wear hats. I ended up only using it twice because i prefer to use my hoodie or ear muffs instead. But if you don't like ear muffs or hoodie's not enough (if your hair's short), then a beanie can be a good choice to protect your ears.

Also bring a waterproof crossbody. I am done with wearing expensive bags on travels, there's a chance of ruining them and it's an unnecessary heartache for me *LOL*. Instead i prefer wearing cheap but cute bags that i can easily discard (usually i pass it to my maid or something haha) when i got home since expensive or cheap, they tend to be a bit battered and dirty after traveling with you. Especially during winter. I prefer medium sized crossbody for my travels (not too big that it's a burden and not too small that you cannot fit you essentials in it), i like the freedom they give me to hold my son, snap a pic, or shop!

Outfit number five :

Didn't wear my jacket because we were in Lotte World, an indoor theme park so it was warm!

My last advise is to bring a nice scarf. They help to keep your neck warm, but in my case i didn't really need them since i was already wearing a very warm turtle-necked heat tech top, it was more for style. I can't really wear the thick type in Indonesia without looking crazy (i still wear light cotton ones though!) so when else can i wear them? LOL. Don't get a very expensive ones because they're the next easiest thing to lose during the trip. I didn't lose mine but Baby Boy lost the one that i wrapped on him because it got caught somewhere and he didn't even feel it zzzz. I got most of my scarves from Payless, they have nice, affordable ones-especially during promotion!

Extra outfit :

Airport outfit!

Once in the airport, remove your long john and heat tech undershirt to avoid baking *LOL*. Airports are usually very warm and you can still survive with your jacket when you dash in the airplane (nope, you don't always get to use the elephant trunk, unfortunately. Not even in Korea, it turned out) and you can be comfortable in the plane and in your destination (assuming you live in warm climates like me, of course). Do not use heat tech or long johns for a long haul airplane because they're usually snug and might restrict your breathing and cut your circulation. I was in pain on the way to Korea because i wore one and my arms kept on falling asleep and i kept getting out-of-breath. No such problem on the way back so i am pretty sure it's the long john. Wear a light, loose knitted top with comfie legging, that's my uniform for long haul flights!

That's all i can think of for now, i hope you find this post useful! It's already September, maybe you're already planning for your winter trip at the end of the year? I sure am! (i actually just made a deal for another winter trip! I can't waitttt!!!)

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