Keeping feet warm on cold nights
Dear Answer Angel Ellen: My feet are always cold, especially at night. And not just in the winter. Do you have any ideas for keeping my tootsies warm?
—Pamela J.
Dear Pamela: Sometimes (not always) it is worth the expense to buy top-ofthe-line. From personal experience I recommend Darn Tough Vermont merino wool socks, which are expensive ($20 per pair and up, darntough.com; amazon.com). But they are “unconditionally guaranteed for life … No receipt needed, just the pair in question. Send them back and get another pair.” Other suggestions from a cold-footed friend: Bomova’s plush heated electric throw; use in bed on your feet, over the top sheet and under your blanket (amazon.com, $29.98) and the Snailax shiatsu foot massager with heat (amazon. com, $49.99 and up) (keep it under your desk while working on the computer). Also, I’ve heard mixed reports on heated rechargeable socks (with a plug-in for pocket or belt bag).
Angelic readers
Stretch versus no-stretch jeans? Strong opinions pile up with many readers responding to Sandi K’s complaint that 100% cotton jeans are so hard to find and yet they are so much better than the cotton “stretch” blends you see everywhere.
Three times as many readers prefer all-cotton, no-stretch jeans to stretch denim.
Cynthia S.: “I tried on a pair once, in the same size and brand as the
100% cotton jeans I wore
into the store. The elastic constricted, making me look like an overstuffed sausage and feel as if I was wearing a girdle. These stretch fabrics should be used only for underwear, swimwear, leggings and athleticwear.” Mary C.: “I hate the jeans with elastane (aka Lycra), spandex. As soon as you wash them they don’t fit. My solution is to buy older jeans from a thrift store.” Tom U.: “Once again, this is another example that manufacturers set the pace and not what the customers want!” Mary K. is on the same page:
“The stretchy jeans are constantly falling down. This is especially problematic when I go dancing and I am constantly hiking up my pants.” Deb G. says, “No stretch jeans! A good, firm heavy denim (good luck finding that) holds in the tummy.”
Joan P. says, “The first thing I do before trying on jeans is look at the label and if they have spandex, forget it. I can add that my sister feels the same way. It makes finding jeans a frustrating experience.” Joan P.: “I HATE stretch jeans. The jeans don’t breathe as well as 100% cotton does and the fit goes downhill fast. Planned obsolescence anyone? And getting an Internet search engine to only report what you want — ‘100% cotton women’s jeans’ — which was feasible a decade ago,
is impossible now.” (From Ellen: Amen, sister! Search engines are a joke when looking for something quite specific.)
In the minority is Margaret who writes, “Stretch absolutely. I will no longer buy jeans if they don’t have at least 5% stretch fibers.” From Hope F.P.: “I find I need stretch, otherwise, while wearing jeans, I would never want to sit down. Denim without stretch seems so unforgiving.” Eileen T. recommends NYDJ jeans (96% cotton; 4% spandex): “The heavens opened up when I discovered their figure-flattering, youthful, nonbaggy look.”
Reader rant
From Joan M: “My beef is that the fashion police decide on a palette for a given year and then that’s all that you can find anywhere and, of course, many of the colors suck. Peach? Taupe? Weird green? Florescent? No! You see this stuff and immediately imagine it in the markdown pile and, yup, there it goes a few months later. Because it looks crappy on 90% of everybody. Thanks for listening!”