The Unpredictability Of Weather

Summer is, once again, drawing to a close. I don’t know about you, but I always look forward to the end of summer. Most of my time during the summer is spent adjusting fans so they’re blowing directly at me so I gladly welcome the chilly days of fall.

If I could, I would hibernate during June, July, and August and only emerge once the leaves start to change.

With this time of year comes the deluge of menswear articles talking about the unpredictable weather. Fall, like spring, tends to have large fluctuations in temperature which can be either blisteringly hot and dry or clammy, foggy, and, if you live in the north like me, below-freezing. 

I agree with the statement that fall weather has pretty big fluctuations. But I DISAGREE with the assertion that fall weather, or any weather for that matter, is unpredictable.

Weather WAS unpredictable… back before smartphones gave us the ability to immediately see what the weather was going to be at any point on Earth. 

Be honest, when was the last time you were surprised by the weather? When was the last time you were caught in the rain? When was the last time you bundled up only to be met with an unexpected 80-degree October day? 

Probably not since you were young. Sure, there are days that have UNEXPECTED weather, as in “Oh, I didn’t realize it was going to be cold this weekend”, but you know exactly what that weather will be to the hour. You know precisely what temperature it will be, at what hour it will rain or snow and for how long, and what will happen days from now.

The weather might be unusual and unexpected, but these days, you always have ample warning to prepare yourself.

I went back and forth with myself trying to decide if this lack of unpredictability was a good thing or bad thing when it came to clothes. With all this information it surely has removed much of the inconvenience of dressing inappropriately for the weather, as in having to carry your jacket with you since it’s too hot to wear, or shivering miserably since you neglected to bring one at all.

But isn’t that uncertainty part of the fun of dressing?

With that unpredictability, there was more latitude in what you could wear. Nowadays if you wear a trench coat any ‘ol day it might look weird. Before smartphones you could wear a trench coat any time there were a few clouds in the sky since no one really knew when it would rain.

Sure, we had the local forecasts in the newspaper, but did any one really pay close attention to those?

The unpredictability of weather caused us all to dress in such a way where we were prepared for anything. And if we were unprepared, it was fun and reminded us that we didn’t have total control over the universe.

On the flip side, an argument can be made that our to-the-minute knowledge of what the weather will bring is much more sartorially freeing.

If you know for a fact that it won’t rain until exactly 5:00pm, then you can wear your straw hat and eschew your umbrella during your mid-day outing and not wonder if you’re tempting the meteorological fates.

With our increased access to information, you always know exactly how to dress for the weather. No more wondering if the jacket will be too much, or if sneakers will suffice instead of heavy boots.

There’s a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon where Calvin is enduring a torrential storm at the bus stop in a raincoat, hat, and boots. Suddenly, the rain stops and the sky clears up revealing brilliant sunshine. Calvin remarks that after a short downpour, he became ludicrously attired for the day.

Being completely unprepared for the day’s weather can feel a little embarrassing. 

I vividly remember one morning in elementary school when a boy named Kyle made fun of me for wearing a raincoat since the rain wasn’t nearly as heavy as was expected.

But all I knew that day was that it was going to rain at some point. I didn’t have any more detailed insight than that.

Well, except for the fact that Kyle was a dick. That much I knew. But I didn’t need the weather forecast to figure that out.

This anxiety over how we are perceived for not dressing properly for the weather seems pretty universal.

There’s a scene in His Girl Friday where they make fun of Ralph Bellamy’s character for carrying an umbrella everywhere in case it rains. It’s intended to make his character look timid and weak in contrast to the self-assured, devil-may-care Cary Grant.

So, what’s the verdict? Is the lack of unpredictability of weather a good thing or a bad thing?

For me personally, I feel like it’s a bad thing. At least for me. Here’s why…

The lack of unpredictability of weather makes me too focused on the fluctuations. This makes me try too hard to wear the perfect thing for the weather.

That’s why I have like five casual jackets for in-between seasons. It’s because one is great for when it’s 60 degrees and windy, but the other one is great for when it’s 58 degrees and rainy, but the other is great for when it’s 61 degrees and not windy, while the other is great for when it’s 57 degrees and…

See where I am going with this? It’s like when people get all worked up about their 401(k) because they check it every single day.

If I just looked out the window and thought, “Huh…getting a little chilly. I’ll grab my jacket” then I wouldn’t feel the need to own a bunch of different items that address each specific weather-related scenario.

Unfortunately, though, knowing that the weather will be 75 degrees tomorrow instead of the 72 degrees it was today makes me rethink what I should wear.

Perhaps that’s just me. It’s probably because I think about clothing all the time anyway so I can sometimes go around and around in my head about things.

That’s one reason I enjoy packing for a trip. When I am away from home, I don’t have any choice. I have to wear what I packed so it doesn’t matter what the weather is. I just wear what I have.

Maybe I’ll try to artificially create that by not checking my phone’s weather app so often.

I should also take a cue from my kids. My oldest son has pretty much one jacket that he wears when the weather starts to change. It’s a light jacket with a hood in case it rains. When it gets really cold he wears his winter coat.

No additional thought needed. That sounds like the way to go.

If only I had someone who could carry my jacket for me when I don’t actually need it, like my son does.

To me, this all goes back to a theme that is pretty constant in my writing. It’s important to make sure we aren’t too focused on our clothes. The clothes are tools to accomplish an end. They are things that accompany us on our adventures. Sure, we can take pleasure in using those tools, but the clothes aren’t the end game.

For me, being too focused on the fluctuations of weather hinders my ability to truly enjoy my clothes.

I’m curious what you think. Is the lack of unpredictability of weather nowadays a good thing or a bad thing?