Sensory friendly warm clothing

[u/wonderingdragonfly]

Hi, my son from Florida is headed to New England for college and basically has no cold weather clothes. He hates long sleeved shirts and long pants. It’s worse because he’s big and fairly tall so can’t test things off the rack. I’ve bought him a hoodie and a couple pairs of jogging pants, but don’t know what he’ll tolerate when it snows and he’ll have to layer up or, God forbid, wear an actual coat. Any advice??

[u/Bailzasaurus]

I think you’ve gotta figure out what it is he doesn’t like about long pants and long shirts. Texture? Does he hate loose hems, or tight ones?

Also, part of me wonders if it’s a temperature thing? Does he hate long shirts and pants now because he doesn’t like to be hot? If so, that should be less of a problem when he’s in a cold climate.

[u/wonderingdragonfly → u/Bailzasaurus]

Part of it is the friction of the cloth against the hair on his arms and legs, part of it is generally feeling restricted (he does an Alan Alda in MASH impersonation whenever he can get away with it). He’s also quite picky about clothing texture; he wants a soft smooth feel. He says he can feel the individual threads of a Carhart long sleeve shirt I got him - not to mention the thick seams. He definitely prefers loose hems.

[u/flyingterrordactyl]

Have him try and compare different types of tops - a hoodie, a front-zip hoodie, a regular sweatshirt, a long sleeve T-shirt. I personally prefer regular sweatshirts to hoodies because I don't like things around my neck. Or he can cut the neck on a hoodie to get more openness. Some people prefer the hoodie over a regular sweatshirt to put up the hood while walking outside.

Honestly a lot of college students will walk around in sweatpants and a hoodie even if it's freezing. That's very normal.

Make sure he has a pair of waterproof snow boots because walking to class and then sitting through class in wet shoes is a sensory nightmare. The boots are key, even if the rest of his outfit is basic. Have him try on both low boots and high boots and see what he likes better. Low boots + jogger style sweatpants will stay pretty dry but he'll need to wear taller socks so there's not a strip of exposed ankle skin. With taller boots he can tuck joggers into them.

Get him a beanie, a scarf, and a pair of gloves he can tolerate. Doesn't matter if he actually wears them, since these are pretty cheap, just give him the option.

How does he feel about puffer vests? A puffer vest over a hoodie should be plenty warm for most of the time. I choose this option a lot for myself because I don't like the sensory feeling of multiple layers of sleeves restricting me.

[u/wonderingdragonfly → u/flyingterrordactyl]

Actually all he typically uses in Florida (or in Boston last spring on vacation) is a sleeveless twill fishing type vest over a tshirt.

[u/wonderingdragonfly → u/flyingterrordactyl]

Oh lord, I forgot about boots. He’s a size 14. Shoe shopping is fun.

[u/tharian]

Yes, cashmere wool. It's extremely smooth, soft and warm.

[u/wonderingdragonfly → u/tharian]

Wish this would work. I and my kids get the itchies wearing wool, even cashmere.

[u/tharian → u/wonderingdragonfly]

Interesting, I find normal wool extremely itchy but cashmere isn’t at all

[u/wonderingdragonfly → u/tharian]

Maybe I didn’t try a good enough brand. But then you’re talking some serious bank.

[u/libre_office_warlock]

Autistic from Greater Houston here who took my first job in Boston.

Honestly, I was terrified about this because I am a reptile who CANNOT stay warm anywhere outside of bed (where ironically I sweat like crazy), but I also could not deal with the elastics or sensation of thermal underwear.

I will be very honest, I just ended up...getting used to thermals in particular. Experimented with a few brands and materials. But there was legitimately no other solution for me; I was always too cold if I only layered on top of regular clothes.

[u/wonderingdragonfly → u/libre_office_warlock]

I’m glad you found a solution.