Best Warmest Clothing Ever ?

[diamond lil]

Where did you buy a really good warm outfit ? What shops or sites are best ? Not the fabulously expensive stuff, but good countrywear type places ? Might be time to start looking to buying winter gear..

[Red Doe]

For warmth, it`s hard to beat wool or fur. All of the modern hi-tech fabrics are just far too expensive for me, even second hand...and I`ve looked, trust me!
So I have an old Harris tweed jacket (a man`s one) with old scruffy leather elbow patches, and it`s warm as toast belted with an old leather belt.
I wear cord trousers as I hate wet jeans with a passion, cord dries out easier and is comfier to wear.
Wool jumpers in winter, though can`t wear them next to my skin as they make me itch, so I put a shirt or long sleeved thermal top underneath.
But in the minus temperatures I wear fur. I have old sheepskin, fox and ocelot fur coats, also rabbit fur jackets and mink. I tend to play around with the styling of them so I can get them fitted for warmth rather than fashion. Fur/skins allow the skin to breathe whilst keeping warm. When they get wet they dry quicker and still keep warmth, especially sheepskin and wool.
Don`t get me wrong...if I could afford the hi tech garments I would try them out, but we all deal with the resources we have.

[Carrot Cruncher]

I never buy the expensive stuff either, I just use layers of thin cotton or wool t-shirts / shirts etc with a cheap waterproof thrown over the top when required. Cost nothing because I have most of the stuff for normal use and easy to remove layers when it gets too warm.

I dont know about up where you are but down here out in the sticks there are loads of "country stores" type places selling tools, equipment, and clothing to farmers and the horsey types. Tends to be good value practical stuff mainly... not all the high tech materials

[diamond lil]

The best coat I ever got was at the Scone Palace Game Fair. I love game fairs but the OH hates them. Decent ordinary nice folk having a good day out without any snobbery or sillyness.. and a beer tent !
It was like a Barbour bike jacket but a full length coat in navy blue, with tartan lining. Cost me 16 quid

[smileyt]

I use thermal underwear, bought last year at Aldi. I couldn't have survived the winter without it! I also go to TKMaxx as they sometimes have really decent waterproof coats at half the price of the 'outdoor' shops. I need decent waterproofs as I'm usually outside for at least 3 hours every day (longer in the summer!) and I cycle to work.

Layering is the way to go! Also, if you can get a Buff (or something like it), this is useful to wear underneath woolly hats. They are expensive but worth it, although the knock-offs are much cheaper but I have never tried one of those so can't comment on their effectiveness.

[Carrot Cruncher]

TK Maxx is about the only place I ever buy any "expensive" brand stuff because it is so cheap. I got a great pair of Rohan Lightweight Waterproof Walking Boots from there last year for about £25

[readytogorightnow]

Red Doe is right about fur, and wool. Several New Zealand companies make warm clothing from a combination of merino wool and possum fur. They're expensive but eco friendly and I have a headover and can testify to its brilliant insulating properties. For warmth, wool is king and it doesn't conduct heat away from the body when wet, unlike cotton.

[Technik]

I don't really get what you mean by fur and wool being "eco-friendly" readytogorightnow?
Fur definitely isn't ethical in a modern world as most of it is made for fashion (it's much different if you live at the North Pole) and all the animals, and that includes your mentioned possum are being kept in filthy, cold cages, only slightly bigger than the animal itself and when the time comes, very often the poor creatures are being skinned still fully concious.
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used ... ustry.aspx
Wool, if comes from Australia, also has a bloody shadow. The sheep that are being kept there aren't used to the warm temperatures, they are mutilated and eventually end up in slaughterhouses in the far east, where conditions are as bad as you can imagine.
http://www.peta.org/tv/videos/graphic/795366788001.aspx

I wouldn't wear fur but would buy wool products but only from known, good sources (eg. scottish farmers).