Impervious and Nearly Perfect

I live in Minnesota. A wet, snowy, windy, dry, sunny, cloudy place, sometimes all in the same day. It’s hard to buy and put together a good wardrobe for this weather, sometimes it’s even hard to find the right products, but In the last two years I have found some stellar options.

Here’s my list for my best water proof gear (with one water resistent option as well.

Vessi Footwear Trainers (worn in photo) : Honestly these are amazing, and worth the price in my opinion, they are the most expensive shoes I own, but I’m okay with that. They really are waterproof, for starters. I’ve even stuck my foot in a lake with these on, and my foot stayed dry. Plus there’s no obnoxious branding, and they have a very sharp design. They’re also lightweight and slip-on, what more could you ask for? Find them at the company’s website.

These shoes are honestly a piece of technology. They’re still knit and flexible, plus they’re moisture wicking, and my favorite style has laces, if you like that better, but they’re stretchy enough where I leave them loosely tied and slip them on.

Sugar Brand Rubber Chelsea Boots: Short, Chelsea style, boots, but they’re rubber like rain boots, so they’re fine through puddles, albeit a tad cold in snow. (These are the closest to the pair I own that I could find )

Columbia Parkas, with Rain Shells (worn in photo): I got this during a department store sale and I love it, I bring it everywhere, this jacket has been to Europe with me even, the inner layer is light, yet warm, but the outer layer is waterproof, and has kept me warm and dry in rain, and snow! The only thing is I wish it was a clean black design (instead of patterned) with more pockets, but other than that this jacket is terrific. These are more seasonal than the other items, so I don’t have a direct link at this point.

TYR Swim Warm-Up Pants: Here me out on this one, this is a niche find. I picked up pick-up hockey in college, and I have found that these are great for wearing over jeans while on the rink, they’re not as bulky as snow pants, but far better for falls then normal sweatpants because they don’t seem to soak up any water on the ice. I got these as a handy down, and I basically use them as snow pants. (Here’s the closest option I could find, note, they are NOT waterproof)

The weather is somewhat unpredictable where I live but by shopping around and doing research I’ve found a number of solutions. Hopefully my wardrobe only becomes more helpful as time goes on.