Function over style

I’ve already said it’s been a pretty mild fall so far in Iqaluit. Other bloggers have comments on how late the ice has been in arriving in their communities. The bay is just starting to freeze in Arctic Bay and the same is happening in Igloolik. There’s no sign of it happening any time soon in Iqaluit, although I imagine that will take place by the end of November.

As a result, myself and Cathy have probably been pushing our luck a little bit. For example, we weren’t wearing out winter coats. As an early Christmas gift to ourselves, we order some clothing from L.L. Bean (free shipping with code number, although they nail you on tax and duty. Still, it wasn’t a bad deal) and we both got a couple of nice coats good for wearing in the fall. And it’s been “warm” enough that with a fleece on underneath the coat, you could do just fine.

But the temperature snapped over the weekend. It was about -20 yesterday with wind chill and it’s only going to get colder. So we woke up yesterday morning, basically said to ourselves “who are we kidding?” and dug out the ugly Arctic winter coats.

Cathy still has some bitter resentment issues towards the ugly winter coat as it cost more than her wedding dress. Still, it prevents frostbite, so that’s a good thing.

That’s one of the nice things about Iqaluit, actually. I am, as others will readily pile on and note, fashion impaired. For years I just decided my best option was to grab a female friend and drag her along shopping with me. I got some interesting results, but it was certainly better than if I had gone alone. I have tended to view buying new clothes as a necessary evil.

I dislike fashion. I will never be dressed stylish or cool. If Cathy let me, I’d still be wearing trench coats, because I think I look cool in them. I’ve been told that I have an active imagination in that regard.

But in Iqaluit, no one cares about fashion. You’re too busy trying to keep warm for eight months of the year to worry about getting the latest trend. And I assure you, no one is out there trying to get the most stylish coat rated for temperatures as low as -80. “Will it keep me warm? Ok then, give it to me.”

I’m considered a bit of a freak at work because I wear dress pants four days of the week. Many just wear jeans. So it’s quite relaxing in Iqaluit. It’s a real plus for me. It’s going to be a shock if/when we move south and suddenly I have to worry about putting together an ensemble.

Oh, it’s also worth noting that we turned on the heat in the apartment yesterday for probably the rest of the winter. The fact we made it to November 8 before we had to do that is quite impressive to me. It might be a small place, but it’s certainly well insulated. And, I suspect, being right on top of offices with heat on all day helps as well.