When I was in Buenos Aires this summer (their winter) all the chic Cariocas visiting from Brazil wore ponchos. They all looked fantastic and very Jean Shrimptonesque. Not a skint Sharon in the bunch.

Mmm JohnG, I love my poncho I got in Paris-although sadly, I don't look like Jean Shrimpton in it ~ Can you please tell me what a skint Sharon is ? :)

Skint is Brit slang for broke, poor, or grubby. A Sharon is a colloquialism for a trashy girl from a place like Essex or Hartlepool, although some people use "Tammy" instead. Cerain names in the UK are considered working class, others upper class.

girlfriendred: My sister and I are taking our southern rears to London in March too! We will be there March 12-23, when are you going?

I've been to London in March, April, May, September and November. There's been days its been freezing and days its been lovely on each of those trips. I've been wet nearly to the skin and actually...sunburned.

I'd plan for many contingences. I'd also try to keep a sense of style. (Hey, it is London.) Definitely layers and a coat long enough to cover your bum (rear end). Waterproof is nice. Some days, a heavy sweater and an umbrella will do. Every woman in England and many men have beautiful, warm scarves wrapped around their necks and tucked into coats. Buy one there if you don't have one. Hats and hoods are helpful. I love to take cashmere traveling. I buy it in the spring when it cheaper and it wears forever. I have a silk undershirt and it's wonderful. I like to be warm.

Most importantly, bring good footwear. Nothing will make you colder and more miserable than wet feet. Once feet are wet, they never get warm. Decent shoes make all the difference. Boot high enough that water doesn't get in and shoes that don't leak are priceless. I love my wool socks. You can get ones that are thin but warm and somewhat stylish. (At least, not Paul Bunyan-ish) Glove are good.

If you do get cold, you can always stop someplace for a nice cuppa tea.

Thank you, John!
Hmmm.. Scarlett must not be at the top of the aristocratic name list LOL~

One of the best insulating pieces for women is pantyhose and/or tights. I never travel without them. I'm going to LON/ROM/FLO in Jan/Feb taking heavier tights, long microfiber raincoat w/zip out lining (doubles as pillow, blanket etc), and always my silk camisole tops, which I even wear in SoCal in the winter. Forget leather jackets or wool undergarments,tho wool challis scarfs keep head, neck, shoulders warm even when wet. Happy trails

Message Heather H - we are going March 16--March 24. We are from Georgia. Where are y'all from?

I strongly recommend that no matter what type of jacket you take, have a scarf and gloves. That made all the difference to me in London and Paris last April when the weather was cold and wet. I froze with my lightweight jacket over a sweater, until I added gloves and a scarf. That seemed to close off all the little gaps where cold air seeped in.

Have fun! :)

Question to NatalieS. Curious why you said forget the leather jacket. I'm going to Florence and Rome in January and was planning to bring my leather jacket, hoping to look at least somewhat stylish among all those fashionable Italians. Granted, it's not my warmest coat, but it's lightweight, and easy to carry, and I can layer if necessary. I was also going to bring lightweight microfiber raincoat, but it doesn't have a lining, thus the need for two coats.

LuisaH:
I am not Natalie nor am I here to question your fashion sense. However, since you want to look stylish among fashionable Italians, you have to make sure that your leather jacket can measure up to the leather jackets that fashionable Italians wear. I have come to the conclusion that their sense of fashion easily outdistances US standards. If you want to be fashionable like them, it will be better for you to buy your jacket there. Just my 2 cents.

a respectable Republican cloth coat

You are daft to wear a leather coat in Firenze in January (I have been there in January). You will be very cold indeed. Even if it is a sunny day, you will feel the damp from the stone buildings and cobblestone streets. Firenze is a very shadowy city, so you can be in the sunshine in a piazza, but turn the corner and you will be under the black gaze of row of buildings. Buy a weatherproof coat with a lining. Or this would be a good excuse to go coat shopping at Ferragamo on Via Tornabuoni :)

Republicans wear cloth coats?? Thankfully, I'm Labour and we wear sable.

My condolences to my countrymen in London who have to put up with Hoo-Haw Henry (Bush) for the next few days. Imagine what life is like for us in the States. A few days is nothing compared to four years! Cheers.

Thanks RCC, believe me I understand what you're saying about the Italians far out distancing us with their sense of fashion. Although I am confident my leather coat I was planning to wear will measure up to Italian standards since it is new and a high-end Italian brand, I am more concerned about the cold. Unfortunately, ThinGorjus probably summed it up best in her response to me...something about being daft to consider a leather coat in Firenze in January.