Look Hot but Feel Cold?

by Jennifer Gan | Design by Emma Hill | Photography by Andrew Burke-Stevenson

Have you ever wandered around campus and encountered students wearing skimpy outfits in Boston’s winter season? I have. Whenever I walk past people in crop tops or shorts, I always exclaim to my friends in awe: “They look amazing, but aren’t they cold?”

In a recent study conducted in 2021 discovered that people who focus on their appearance do not feel colder when wearing less clothing, because they have lower awareness of bodily sensations. Thus, according to the study, women high in selfobjectification report not feeling cold at all when exposing more skin. However, I don’t think women who pay extra attention to how they look should be classified as self-objectifying people. Can’t girls dress to define and please themselves?

“It’s unfair to ridicule women who are trying to assimilate to unrealistic beauty standards. A lot of women can’t help but feel they need to sacrifice comfort for fashion because a lot of how women are treated in society is based on appearance,” said Ariyana Aghazadeh-Bonab (CAS ‘24).

Society often places a high value on appearance, and can create pressure on women to conform to certain beauty standards. This pressure can lead some prioritizing their appearance over warmth, even if it means sacrificing comfort. One can guess that women who sacrifice warmth for beauty in the winter probably feel external societal pressure to be beautiful.

It is also important to note that for some people, fashion and style are important aspects of their identity. Believe it or not, the clothes you wear each day can have a great impact on your self-esteem. Going around in a snazzy outfit on campus helps people build the confidence that needed to look and feel the part. Those who dress for their best self might not always want to cover it with a big puffer jacket.

“Honestly, it’s not even that cold if you commute to school in a shuttle or the T. Compared to feeling cold for a few minutes outside, I need that self-confidence in classrooms and studios,” said Claudia Zhu (CAS ‘24), who feels like her outfit is an integral part of her. However, bundling up for winter doesn’t always mean dressing up like a marshmallow — one of her favorite jackets looks thin but blocks so much wind.

In the end, fashion is ultimately a form of self-expression. Whether people choose to prioritize beauty or comfort is really their own decision, but it’s also important to have in mind the clothes’ practicality and your personal well-being before diving into your wardrobe for the “perfect” outfit. Staying stylish and warm is certainly not mutually exclusive.