For as long as I can remember, Halloweekend has brought in the cold for New York City. Perhaps its the weather gods’ way of ensuring that we all wear jackets with our sexy pirate/police officer/Disney princess costumes, but this year has proved no exception. As irritating as cold sometimes is, there are quite a few things that I love about this season.

I. Tights

[Tights, Commando via Shopbop]

Aren’t tights great? Winter opens up so many clothing options that I could never even consider without tights: namely, dresses that are extremely snug, and dresses that are really shirts. I like my tights black and opaque, but will sometimes branch out into tights that are black and patterned when I feel like getting crazy. Commando makes excellent black tights, as does the cheaper Hue. When I lived in Copenhagen, I had a pair of cashmere Wolford tights that to this day are my favorite thing I have ever owned. They may have been made from the wings of virgin angels. Unfortunately, they met their demise when encountering an unfriendly chair at a bar in Prague, and I really can’t validate paying $200 for new ones now that I don’t reside in the Arctic Circle.

II. Soup

[Perfect French Onion, Image c/o Baking With Rose]

Soup may be my favorite food. There’s nothing as filling and delicious as a warm, hearty bowl on a cold day. My go-to, absolute most-loved soup in Manhattan is French Roast’s French Onion Soup. For an everyday lunch or a quick pick-up, I like The Original Soupman, which rotates between 10-15 delicious soups every day. I think I may go ask one of our interns to wait in line for some right now.

III. Man Food

[Cheddar and pork sausage/beer that I can’t pronounce at The Standard Biergarten]

Other than soup, most of winter’s most delectable foods are man foods–meat, potatoes, stews, beers, and bourbons. I like a good summer salad and Pinot Grigio as much as the next girl, but there’s something about a hearty slab of juicy meat and a hot toddy that’s uncomparably satisfying.

IV. Fur

[Furs, Hell’s Kitchen Flea]

I adore fur. I think I inherited this undying love from my Ruski ancestors. When I was a wee Russian tot, I liked to dress up in my grandmother’s fur coats and hats (paired, of course, with at least 5 necklaces) and stomp around the house. I wish I had a picture at my apartment–I was pretty freaking cute. When I lived in Nashville and Washington, I had to take it easy on the fur, which looks as ridiculous on a college campus as it does amid D.C.’s sea of black peacoats and sporty Northfaces. Luckily, absolutely nothing looks ridiculous in New York, so I am ready to bring on the fur vests, coats, scarves, and hats. Paired, of course, with at least 5 necklaces.

V. BOOTS

[Clockwise: Stuart Weitzman, Michael Kors, Betsey Johnson, Aldo, Stuart Weitzman (All from Nordstrom Shoe)]

Yes, all caps. Boots are the freaking BEST. I don’t love summer shoes–most people’s toes are pretty gross, and I have seen many an unpedicured toe ruin a perfectly good pair of strappy wedges. This is never the case with winter shoes. Winter shoes hide all, and are so much more fun to buy. There are booties, boots, over the knee boots, heels, flats, wedges, suedes, leathers, furs–winter footwear options are really endless. For everyday work-wear, I have been rotating my Bottega Veneta brown leather boots, a black slouchy pair I inherited from my mother, and rich chocolate Sam Edelman boots that just cover my ankles. This winter, I am in the market for a flat, black, over the knee pair, a heeled furry pair, and a badass studded/sparkling pair. I’ve been lusting after all of the above options.

Happy Halloweekend, and Merry Almost-Winter! Remember to throw on a cardigan over your Slutty Toddler in Tiara ensemble while day drinking this weekend, ladies.

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