Fashionistas have a challenge on their hands in this incredibly polar weather coming straight from our Canadian friends to the north. Hearty Midwesterners know to wear layer upon layer of clothing as the temperature gauge sinks lower and lower. A turtleneck with a cute sweater is a great winter combination. Add in some skinny jeans and knee-high boots and you’re set, right?

Well, usually.

But not when those extreme north winds swoop in and freeze skin within a few minutes of exposure to the elements. Then it’s time to break out the Cuddl Duds (thin layer, thermal long johns). Add a layer under the clothes and then add a hat, scarf, and gloves when you venture outside. The challenge comes in trying not to look like Ralphie from The Christmas Story movie.

Okay, so I’m not exactly a fashionista, but I try my best to look okay while not embarrassing my husband or children. I often ask their opinions before venturing out of the house. But today was colder than it’s been in four years, and I was freezing even thinking about going outside. We had promised to meet some family members at a local restaurant for dinner, so I was being a good sport.

I layered on my clothes and boots and then added my hat, scarf, and gloves. I don’t usually wear a hat, but I found a cute one with flaps to cover my ears on clearance at Caribou one day for 75 percent off. When we arrived at Perkins for dinner, I decided to leave my hat on since I was still chilly.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was the object of the joke for which everyone was laughing. They were laughing at my hat! My warm, gray hat with snowflakes, tassels, and flaps over the ears was being ridiculed. “Did you steal that from a teenager?” No! “Did you buy it in the children’s section?” No! “Are you in disguise?” No, yet again! They told me I looked better with hat hair than with my hat on! Yikes. Fashionista fail.

Oh well. It only gets THIS cold every few years or so. I guess I have some time to do some research on what a wannabe fashionista should wear on her head in the midst of a deep-freeze.