How to Dress Warm for Winter

Dec 22

As the temperatures continue to drop, you might be wondering if it's time to put away your modest fashion staples like the abaya, maxi dress, or long skirts. In short, no, you need not resign your favourite modest clothing essentials. However, it is important to learn how to dress for maximum warmth. The way we dress for winter can have a significant impact on our overall health and well-being. Trying to stay warm drains the body's energy supply, and in the upper respiratory system, cold air can reduce immunity, increasing the risk of developing a cold. But there is a way to keep enjoying your favourite abaya and modest dresses. In this article, I will explain how to keep warm while dressing modestly.

Base Layer: The Key to Staying Dry and Comfortable

You have probably heard that you need to layer for warmth, but there is so much more to it than simply throwing on an extra T-shirt and leggings under your maxi dress or abaya. The first step to staying warm is to ensure that the base layer—this is the fabric that is in contact with the skin—keeps you dry.

One of the ways our bodies regulate temperature is through sweating. The process of sweat evaporating from our skin requires energy, which it draws from the heat energy of our body. This is why we feel cold whenever we are wet (after a shower, out of the pool, etc). Sweat-wicking fabrics are materials that are excellent at keeping us dry because they:

Quickly wick the sweat away from the body to the outer surface of the fabric. This allows the liquid to evaporate from the surface of the fabric and not our skin.

Dry quickly, preventing the liquid from saturating the fabric, so we are not walking around in damp clothing.

Fabrics such as cotton absorb moisture, but it gets trapped in the fibers of the cotton, causing it to dry slowly. Synthetic fabrics usually dry quickly (have you noticed how quickly your gym gear dries compared to cotton clothing?). This is why it is important to layer with the right fabric. Wearing a cotton T-shirt or leggings under your modest dress will not help keep you warm because cotton is extremely poor at wicking away liquid and dries slowly.

So, which fabrics should you wear to help you stay warm in your modest dress this winter? If you have the means, go for wool. Wool is the best natural fabric for sweat-wicking but also has many other qualities that make it great for winter wear. If you are on a budget, synthetic fabrics are also great at sweat-wicking. Just avoid cotton and linen; there is a reason they are summer fabrics.

Insulating Middle Layer: Trapping Warmth

The second step for staying warm in your modest dress is to wear insulating fabrics. These are fabrics that reduce the movement of heat energy from our skin to the outside environment. One way of measuring insulation is using thermal conductivity. The lower the thermal conductivity number, the slower the movement of heat through the fabric – the warmer the fabric feels. Silk and wool are excellent natural insulating fabrics, as are synthetics that mimic wool, such as fleece. Synthetic fabrics like acrylic blends and acrylic itself are also great at insulating. It is important to shop around for quality modest fashion pieces made from warm insulating materials like wool. Wool is a great insulating fabric due to its scaly fibers that help create air pockets that trap warm air close to the body and slow down its movement away from the body. The great thing is, it's fairly easy to find modest dresses made of wool, and I've curated the best modest dresses for winter for your convenience here.

Weather-Resistant Outer Layer: Protection from the Elements

Finally, the third step is to wear fabrics and accessories that are resistant to the environment, and I would add, of appropriate length, especially when wearing a maxi dress, skirt, or abaya. Long coats provide more coverage than shorter coats, which can be beneficial in colder weather as they offer more protection against wind and cold air. They also provide additional insulation to the lower body, which can contribute to overall warmth. The best fabrics for the outer layer are materials such as Gore-Tex, but wool, again, performs well. It is both water and wind-resistant, breathable, which makes it better at reducing odour. The latter, in particular, sets it apart from synthetic fabrics, which tend to cause worse odour as they are typically non-breathable materials.

To stay extra warm, consider adding a wool hat to wear over your hijab, and wool: scarf, gloves, and socks.

Wool base layer is best - but synthetic will do

There are a lot of assumptions made online that natural fabric is always better than synthetic. This is like saying that a screwdriver is always better than a hammer; it depends on what you are trying to achieve. There are many valid reasons to avoid synthetic fabrics. The demand for synthetic materials increases the overall demand for plastics, and this adds to plastic pollution and the glut of fast fashion. However, they are useful at sweat-wicking. If you are trying to stay warm on a budget, synthetic fabrics can be an option.

That said, wool is the king of fabrics, and it offers many benefits that synthetics do not. For instance it is both warm and sweat-wicking, soft yet durable, breathable, water proof, fire resistant, and if sustainably sourced - better for the environment.