For those who know what long Johns are, they will be saying., "What ever next is he going to talk about?
Well , it's been very cold here for about a week. We've had lows of minus 37 38 C ( minus 40 F). It warms up very little in the daytime
I still have to go out. I can't stay in the house until it warms up. I had a medical appt. The Micro Manger had a physiotherapy appt. We had to get groceries and oh ya we had to go out for lunch. I just have to dress properly and I will be fine.
One thing I did put on one day this week were my long Johns. So long Johns are a type of combination underwear made of fleece or today more modern fabrics. Sometimes this underwear comes in a separate top and bottom. So what you have is a complete suit that you wear under your clothes of course. Over top of the long Johns you wear your regular pants and shirt. Now over your shirt you can put a heavy sweater and then your parka . This will keep you warm.
The long Johns aren't worn much an more. We tend to use wind pants. Some of the better wind pants have a liner of heavier clothe.
Now I talk about playing in the snow as little kids and we didn't get cold. This is what we wore plus a snow suit. Yes, another piece of combination clothing which went over everything.
We had enough clothes on to live outside all day.
Quite familiar with long johns here, although they tended to be worn more by men and boys. I guess that was because the males were outside more, shovelling and bringing in wood and so on. I can also remember when girls weren't allowed to wear trousers to school. When mini-skirts came into vogue in the 60s and 70s, girls would show up at school with legs as red as lobsters. Not good. Off topic, sorry!
ReplyDeleteI like it when people get off the topic.
DeleteYes I know what long johns are. We have several sets here. My husband has some that the military issued him that he really likes. One piece ones were called Union Suits...I used to have a pair...the pits when you have to go potty!
ReplyDeleteyes snowsuits every kid had them, put so many cloths on it was hard to get up if you fell over:)
Yes, we were smarter on those days and wore lots of good heavy clothes.
DeleteWhy of course I know what long johns are! Today I think they call them insulated underwear? I have had the two piece ones but like Far Side said the one piece is not fun when you have to go potty!
ReplyDeleteOut doors people were just using their heads to wear proper clothing.
Deletewith name bit different undergarments are used here excessively whether in winter or summer dear Red
ReplyDeleteyour temps are scary for us yet it is nice that you go outdoor ,i think it is important to do so to feel whatever the views and specially sun offers
nature always gives one enough to rise and feel good isn't it :)
this lovely image from your childhood made me smile ,reminded me days when me and my younger sister were packed this way and asked strictly not to remove any layer lol
Hot countries had clothes that functioned to keep them cool.
DeleteI wear long Johns, but the new type, which are thin and form fitting, but keep you warm. I also wear a thermal top. My biggest issue is with gloves. It is hard to get something thin enough to enable ease of use of a camera or binoculars and still provide good insulation against the cold.
ReplyDeleteI stop my birding group for the winter as it's just too cold for cameras and field glasses. When it's nice winter weather we will sometimes organize an outing.
DeleteI remember my father had that long John umnderwear underneath his pants. We call it a "lange onderbroek" in Dutch.
ReplyDeleteYes, here they are also called long underwear.
DeleteMy poor daughter-n-law and her friends were desperate for boots for their kids. They're in Vancouver. All the stores were sold out. Splash pants and snow pants, they have!
ReplyDeleteMy son from Maple Ridge (Vancouver) posted a photo of his patio table with a foot of snow on it.
DeleteCute photo. My hubby has a pair of long johns, he wears on his snow walks. Enjoy your day, wishing you a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteI only wear these when it's very cold. I wish I'd warn them today as it was windy.
DeleteYeah, long johns for us were growing up were just cotton with lots of bumps designed in to create air pockets. I don't know if they kept you warmer, but they sure did weigh a lot when you got them wet from sweat or when snow got down your pants and melted. The good old days...today's high tech fabrics make them a lot warmer and wick the sweat away so you stay warmer longer. Yeah, I am wearing my long johns this morning up heah too.
ReplyDeleteThe high tech fibers that wick away the moisture certainly helped with cross country skiing.
DeleteI have a few pair, which I seldom need to wear.
ReplyDeleteWe don't go outside enough to wear long underwear.
DeleteI have some polyester long underwear, which I have been wearing for several days now. I think finally I can stick them in the wash, as it's warmed up again, finally. I never had to wear REAL long johns like you describe. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou've never lived where it was very cold so missed the fun of long underwear.
DeleteGrowing up in Florida, as you can imagine, I never wore long johns in my life!
ReplyDeleteYou probably didn't have long pants either.
DeleteOh yes I remember long johns. I never wore them, but my husband has when we lived where it snowed and temps went below zero. Now we try to find the right outerwear to keep us dry in the relentless rainy weather.
ReplyDeleteWith new high tech fibers we can dress in layers to get the protection we need.
DeleteIt's a long time since I owned a pair. In fact it was when I first came up here in one of the coldest wettest winters we've had.
ReplyDeleteToday we use layers and have different fibers that keep us warm.
DeleteMy father had the old union suits that he wore as a logger. I have the new thermal underwear now sold at REI. We call it a base layer now.
ReplyDeleteYes, layers are the way to go.
DeleteI don't wear long johns, but I do dress in layers. We got down to a windchill around -30 today.
ReplyDeleteYes, today we use layers and it works better.
DeleteI'm familiar with long johns having grown up in the north. In those days only the boys and men tended to wear long johns and we girls wore our tights. When I moved to Vancouver I purchased long johns (the thinner kind) and I wore them at night or on especially cold days. These days I just wear a long coat or some shorter leggings under pants when I go out. It's been cold here too but not as cold as where you are.
ReplyDeleteIn the old days girls wore heavy stocking instead of a suit of underwear.
ReplyDeleteI definitely know what long Johns are! My husband owns a few pairs. He used to wear them quite often under his pants when he worked downtown in Montreal and had to travel by public transport on very cold winter days. The suit pants were quite flimsy and some added protection was necessary.
ReplyDeleteThey sure do come in handy when it's freezing.
ReplyDeleteYup, long johns. Then they were called thermal underwear. Now I have some that were called just winter undergarments. Still the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI doubt our weather is as cold as yours but I could do with a pair of long johns on now :)
ReplyDeleteI wear sort of a leotard under my slacks or jeans. On cold days like I am having like you Red these days. Big warm boots and gloves. And a full hat covering my ears, wrap around scarf. I dont want to suffer with earaches. And I am not into be a follower in style . As I see ladies dont want to mess there hair or they think hats look corky on them. I dress warm. I do not like to get a cold but colds linger on for weeks. No thanks. I am with you Red. Dress warm.
ReplyDeleteI believe we called them thermal underwear in Chicago. I had them, but only remember wearing them when we were going to be out for a really long time.
ReplyDelete