It seems as though any time the temperature dips below 50 degrees, the simple act of getting dressed becomes a months-long battle between looking good versus staying warm. Do I want to spend the evening shivering in a too-thin, seasonally inappropriate dress that garners an onslaught of compliments? Or do I want to pile on everything I own and become a Joey?
Throw in a situation, like the first holiday fête you’ve been invited to in years, and the whole thing feels exponentially difficult to navigate. But don’t stress: Aesthetics and warmth don’t need to be opposing forces nor are they mutually exclusive. With the right layers, brought to you by Cuddl Duds, every hard-to-dress-for winter scenario is all at once very achievable. We pinpointed four such instances, from dining outside to first-date hikes, and pieced together the outfits that do it all. Click through to shop our winter outfit ideas, ahead.
Scenario: You still don’t feel comfortable dining indoors, but you feel bad canceling plans with friends again. It’s about 27 degrees outside (and that’s without wind chill), and no matter how strong or state-of-the-art the outdoor heater is, you know you’ll freeze by the time your entree is served.
What To Wear: The goal here is insulation, and the key to warmth is to double up on everything. Start with a fleece-lined base (a long-sleeve crew and leggings) and pile on a darling cardigan, roomy white wide-leg jeans (perfect for layering), and a puffer.
Cuddl Duds Fleecewear with Stretch Long Sleeve Crew Neck Top, $, available at QVC
Cuddl Duds Fleecewear Stretch Leggings, $, available at QVC
Ganni Poplin Collar Cardigan, $, available at Ganni
Frame Le Italien Wide Crop Blanc, $, available at Frame
Banana Republic Plaid Water-Repellent Long Puffer Coat, $, available at Banana Republic
Loq Georgia Boot, $, available at LoQScenario: Your office is throwing its first holiday fête in two years and as much as you want to roll up cocooned in something equivalent to a sleeping bag (because you basically hibernated all of last winter), you know you have to look at least somewhat decent in front of your colleagues.
What To Wear: It’s all about strategic layering with first, a foundation of base layers that promise to retain body heat without adding bulk. Opt for a knit dress as opposed to a cotton or satin number that’ll do nothing against a cold forecast. And to finish, a super-sleek camel coat and a pair of over-the-knee boots for another layer of insulation.
Cuddl Duds Softwear with Stretch Long Sleeve Crew, $, available at QVC
Cuddl Duds Softwear with Stretch Legging, $, available at QVC
Toteme Belted wool coat, $, available at Net-A-Porter
Jordan Road Emma Hoops Medium, $, available at Jordan Road
Nomasei Black Over-the-Knee Boots, $, available at NomaseiScenario: You can’t remember the last time you were this excited about a first date with someone you matched on a dating app, but much to your chagrin, they suggest a leisurely hike...in the winter.
What To Wear: A leisurely hike means you can forego the hardcore, not-so-cute winter gear (which is fine for, like, the 50th date). Slip into a pair of plush velour leggings and a pretty floral-laden turtleneck as your base, and to ensure maximum warmth, layer up on a fleece pullover, which allows your turtleneck to peek through.
Dauphinette Chinoiserie Sophia Turtleneck, $, available at Dauphinette
Cuddl Duds Soft Terry Anklet Lounge Socks Set of Three, $, available at QVC
Cuddl Duds Double Plush Velour Leggings, $, available at QVC
Cuddl Duds Fleecewear with Stretch Mixed Media Top, $, available at QVC
Telfar Embroidered Beanie, $, available at TelfarScenario: You absolutely adore your nieces and nephews but they have boundless energy and all they want to do is spend hours outdoors building snowmen and making snow angels.
What To Wear: Brace for the cold and the inevitable soaked-through outfit by layering a thermal set underneath a sweatsuit (perfect for peeling off afterward once you’re back inside). Finish the look with a puffer, sherpa-lined socks, and waterproof footwear.
SOREL Women's Kinetic™ Caribou Boot, $, available at SOREL
In October, Stella McCartney’s spring 2022 show opened with the voice of American mycologist Paul Stamets. It wasn’t the first time the British designer referenced fungi in her work. McCartney, known for pioneering sustainability in fashion and using cruelty-free materials in her work, previously unveiled a sports bra and leggings made from mushroom-based “leather” in March. But, with the debut of the label’s first-ever bag made from Mylo™, a trademarked mycelium-based material created by the biotechnology company Bolt Threads, the show felt like an announcement of the material’s official arrival in the luxury fashion space.
Mushroom leather is made from mycelium, the vegetative part of fungus that’s been used since the late 20th century by artists and scientists, who grew it for design and medicinal purposes. While PVC and polyurethane leather have been widely used as a cruelty-free alternative for the last decade, including in luxury fashion, the material has been rejected by some for its environmental impact: pleather production releases harmful toxins because of its plastic component; requires high amounts of water, energy, and chemicals to make; and doesn’t biodegrade at the end of its life cycle, which means it will fester in the landfill long after it’s been ditched. Since then, naturally-derived alternatives, including mushroom and cactus leather, have entered the conversation. In addition to Stella McCartney, biotechnology companies like MycoWorks and Bolt Threads have partnered with brands like Hermès, Lululemon, and Adidas on mycelium collections in the last year alone.
“There’s a lot of effort around using biology to either create totally new things or replace the old products we’ve maybe made with plastics and other chemicals [ie. insulin, ethanol],” says Eben Bayer, the co-founder of Ecovative, a New York-based biotechnology company focused on creating sustainable alternatives to materials like foam and plastic.
Is mushroom leather the future of sustainable fashion then? It’s complicated. For one, each company has its own formula for growing and processing mycelium, which may include chemicals that alter the product’s organic composition. This brings up questions about the sustainable and non-toxic properties of mushroom leather. But, as companies like Bolt Threads argue, adding these chemicals is necessary. According to Jamie Bainbridge, Bolt Thread’s vice-president of product development, mycelium is fine enough to mimic real leather, but it’s hard to guarantee a durable product that can rival animal-derived material without adding any synthetics using the technology available at the moment.
While Bainbridge declined to disclose which synthetic materials the company uses in its production — “If I shared that, it’d be a little bit like giving you the recipe” — she points out that consumers not only want a cruelty-free product but a long-lasting one: “When you build a luxury handbag and it lasts you a lifetime, biodegradability is not your top of mind issue.” Still, she says the company is working to increase the amount of organic materials in its production over time. “We first have to get a material to the market that is made of good chemistry and biological inputs,” she adds. “If we do those two things right and we make a durable material, then the biodegradability will come down the line.”
According to a statement from MycoWorks, the company “doesn’t need synthetic materials for its process.” Instead, it employs “mycelium, byproducts of agriculture and lumber waste, and cotton.” MycoWorks’ CEO Matt Scullin explains that the company’s “secret sauce” is in its ability to grow dense sheets of mycelium that are later turned into its patented finished product called “Reishi Fine Mycelium.” Once it’s at this stage, the mycelium is sent to the company’s tannery partners, which Scullin says use a “chromium-free chemistry” to process the leather. Bayer, whose company originated the technology used by MycoWorks, believes that, when kept in its organic form, mushroom leather does have the ability to be the future of sustainable fashion: “I think that the holy grail in this space is going to be the combination of bio-based chemistry that gives the consumer a reasonable durability rating for a handbag or an accessory or even shoes without pumping it full of plastic.”
Then, there’s the conversation around accessibility, as many of the mushroom leather products that are currently being touted are in the luxury market. And while it’s almost guaranteed to trickle down if it takes off at brands like Stella McCartney and Hermès, there are still few instances of material making its way down to mass-market brands. The exceptions so far are Adidas’ Mylo-made Stan Smiths, Lululemon’s mushroom-based yoga accessories, and Ganni’s just-announced mycelium-based capsule collection, made in collaboration with Bolt Threads and expected to be released in 2022. (While no specific details have been revealed yet, it’s safe to assume that the prices won’t be too far from the brands’ usual offerings.) “If you can provide a material that can be adopted by high-end luxury and mass [market], now you’ve really done something,” says Bainbridge.
Though, according to Bayer, who launched Ecovative in 2007, the use of mushroom leather could bring about a more environmentally sustainable future, he notes the importance of opening the doors to natural leather alternatives for artisans around the world, who may not be able to work hand-in-hand with companies like MycoWorks or Bolt Threads in the same vein big retailers and designers do. In his ideal scenario, mushroom leather companies would create enough material to be able to supply independent artisans with textiles that would enable them to move away from animal leather while still maintaining their craftsmanship and practice.
As with other types of material science innovations, like 3D-printing, electromagnetic weaving, and self-laced products though, it’s still early to say if mushroom leather will hit the mass market. As Bayer puts it, “Unless this is something that can reach the masses, it’s kind of just cool PR.”
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