Winter Warmers: Accessories for Cold-Weather Travels

Cold airplanes, drafty boats or an Arctic itinerary? Sure, but all those factors amount to zero problems if you make these items part of your winter travel wardrobe.

Warm Toes

Squishy knit shoes from Arcopedico footwear company are like sturdy sweaters for your feet. While the company offers a wide range of other styles, the Net 3 and Net 10 may just become your favorite for travel. Washable, lightweight and malleable — perfect for packing — these shoes are available in an array of neutral shades, including khaki, taupe, indigo, black and grey. They’re also anatomically designed for maximum comfort. The Net 3 style is constructed of polyester knit, and both Net 3 and Net 10 are vegan (100 percent free of animal products). Both choices are a sophisticated lace-up Oxford style that can be dressed up, down or slipped on and off while traveling.

The days of beige and black hospital fashion compression socks (yawn) are long gone, thanks to Dr. Segal’s Compression Socks. The company began in 2012 in Vancouver, British Columbia, when a surgeon capitalized on medical technology and created a line of fashionable leg wear that reduces swelling, leg pain and the chance of developing dangerous blood clots. Warm, soft and comfy, they’re beneficial to athletes for both performance and recovery. Available in men’s and women’s styles, they come in solids, stripes, polka dots and Argyle patterns in a wide variety of color combinations.

Warm Heads

From its unpretentious birth in an Oakland, California, warehouse in 1921, Tenth Street Hats is now one of the country’s most respected and best-loved headwear purveyors. Still based in Oakland, the company expanded to include an online shopping center — the website even offers a primer on hat terminology, so if you don’t know your boaters and fedoras from your gauchos and trilbies, you can shop and learn.

Photo: Tenth Street Hats, Devon Steigerwald

There’s an abundant selection of exceptional winter hat choices for both men and women, crafted by skilled milliners from top-quality materials. If your head (or the head of someone you adore) is getting chilly thinking about winter travel, consider the men’s Whistler aviator cap, available in black and a rich brown, and constructed with a leather crown and lush rabbit fur earflaps. For women, there’s the stylish, retro Claire cloche by Scala. Made from boiled wool with a jaunty rosette on the side, it comes in multiple colors, including Rust and Purple. For more extreme conditions, the Snowy River is a Sherpa-lined weathered cotton winter cap with foldable ear flaps and an adjustable chin strap. Free exchanges on every order mean you’re guaranteed to find a hat you love in the perfect color and fit.

Warm Shoulders

Soft, flattering travel sweaters, kimonos and wraps from Mer-Sea & Co. come in tantalizing styles and shades and are the perfect travel companion. While my personal sweater collection is full of old favorites, my new go-to is the Newport Traveler in Storm. Featuring a medium-gauge knit with ribbed sleeves, open sides, a loose turtleneck and two pockets on the front, this poncho-like style comes in onesize fits most in the aforementioned lovely charcoal gray Storm, plus off-white Sea Salt and soothing, deep Mauve. They’re produced in a small, family-owned factory in Ecuador that’s visited regularly by Mer-Sea & Co. co-founders Lina and Melanie. Carrying the “mer sea” water connection in an altruistic direction, Lina and Melanie offer scented products as well, including the popular Sea Change candle — all profits from this candle are donated directly to water.org to help provide clean water to those in need.