There is an equivalent for the medieval monk’s habit, a garment designed for reading and working while sitting still in cold rooms. That garment – ideal for studying or other knowledge work – is the hoody. As winter wear goes, it’s cheap, easily available, and very effective indeed.
It’s much maligned as the clothing choice of the teenage delinquent, of course. This is because it hides the face – but that which hides the face can also protect it from draughts and cold. It’s usually made of heavy fabric, and it often has big pockets. The heavy fabric is an obvious advantage, and the pockets do very nicely to put your hands in when you’re not turning pages.
There’s also the fact that blocking out some of your peripheral vision cuts down on distraction. This is a huge advantage if you’re trying to concentrate. I’ve recently begun studying again, and the hoody has contributed a great deal to my comfort and serenity.
This ties back to something I’ve been thinking about – it’s a lot cheaper to warm yourself by wearing an extra layer than it is to do so by heating your environment. If we get more winters like 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 in these islands, it’s something most people are going to have to look into.
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on Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 at 10:51 am and is filed under Commentary.
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Winter Wear: The Hoody
There is an equivalent for the medieval monk’s habit, a garment designed for reading and working while sitting still in cold rooms. That garment – ideal for studying or other knowledge work – is the hoody. As winter wear goes, it’s cheap, easily available, and very effective indeed.
It’s much maligned as the clothing choice of the teenage delinquent, of course. This is because it hides the face – but that which hides the face can also protect it from draughts and cold. It’s usually made of heavy fabric, and it often has big pockets. The heavy fabric is an obvious advantage, and the pockets do very nicely to put your hands in when you’re not turning pages.
There’s also the fact that blocking out some of your peripheral vision cuts down on distraction. This is a huge advantage if you’re trying to concentrate. I’ve recently begun studying again, and the hoody has contributed a great deal to my comfort and serenity.
This ties back to something I’ve been thinking about – it’s a lot cheaper to warm yourself by wearing an extra layer than it is to do so by heating your environment. If we get more winters like 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 in these islands, it’s something most people are going to have to look into.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 at 10:51 am and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.