Dressing Layers: Not Just a Fashion Choice

The layered look was all the rage in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Actually, it never completely faded away. People still dress in layers when they are trying to achieve a certain look. But take it from anybody who values function over form: dressing in layers is not just a fashion choice. There are very practical reasons for wearing multiple layers.

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You do not see many layers at the peak of the hot summer months. You are more likely to see swimsuits and shorts in the middle of July. But come September, summer clothing gets put away in favor of jeans and sweatshirts. That’s when it’s time to start thinking about dressing in layers.

Multiple Layers for Warmth

People who work outdoors dress in multiple layers because they know it is the best way to stay warm. Experts recommend a 3-layered approach once the weather turns cold. Each layer serves a specific function, with the middle layer acting as the insulation layer.

Dressing in layers helps keep you warm because of the relationship between each layer and the air. Even though multiple layers of clothing lie on top of one another, they are not joined by an airtight seal. Air still circulates between the layers. And guess what? Air helps keep you warm.

The idea behind the middle layer is to trap air. That air heats up as heat escapes your body. By trapping the air in place, the middle layer essentially keeps the heat your body generates in place. That is how you stay warm.

Wicking Away the Moisture

As long as we are talking about specific layers, the inner layer of clothing in a multi-layered approach should be of a material that absorbs perspiration. Why? You want that layer to act as a wick that draws perspiration away from your skin. Perspiration seeks to cool the skin, and that’s not what you want during cold weather.

One of the difficulties that comes from wearing a single, bulky jacket in cold weather is that perspiration gets trapped rather than absorbed. That’s why you can feel cold wearing a jacket that is supposed to keep you warm. And if you get too warm, taking the jacket off will expose your skin and the trapped perspiration, making you even colder.

More Efficient Body Temperature Regulation

One last thing to talk about is regulating your body temperature. Even if you don’t work outside, dressing in layers during the colder months help to better regulate how warm you get. Let’s say you have a good selection of T-shirts and long sleeve flannels in the closet. Whether you purchased them from your local Walmart or The Stockist boutique in Salt Lake City doesn’t matter much here.

What matters is that you can add and remove layers as necessary. Are you feeling a little chilly while sitting and reading the morning paper? Put on another shirt. Once the house warms up and your body adjusts, you can take off that extra shirt.

The more layers you wear, the easier it is to regulate your body temperature by adding and removing layers. And yes, the same insulating benefits that keep you warm when you are outside apply indoors too. The middle layer of a three-layer system acts as the insulating layer the traps warm air inside.

Dressing layers is no doubt a fashion statement for some. For others, it’s the only way to stay warm and regulate body temperature during the colder months. Do you dress in layers only for fashion sense? If so, you are getting other benefits as well – even if you don’t know it.