If you don't want to let cold weather stop you from getting your outdoor activity time in, you need to dress right.  If you wear too little, you'll freeze, but if you wear the wrong clothes you'll get soggy, sweaty, and chilled by the cold sweat trapped in your clothes.  The layer of clothing closest to your skin should be made of a material that wicks moisture away from your body, so that your skin doesn't get wet and cold as your body warms up.  Silk and Wool are common natural materials that wick water away pretty well.  Cotton, on the other hand, will absorb moisture and make you cold, so watch out for cotton base clothing.  The clothing should be tight, so that no sweat hangs out on your skin and gives you chills, either.  The next layer is your mid-layer.  It should be a little bit looser.  The final layer is your outerwear, and the most important thing for cold-weather outerwear to do is protect your body from wind chills and precipitation.  There's nothing worse than getting suited up in cotton clothes, thinking your about to be really warm, and then feeling a gust of wind rip right through the porous fibers.

 

 

There are a number of different moisture-wicking materials, and many of them are man made.  Synthetic fibers do a remarkable job of getting moisture away from your body, but there are some health hazards involved in the use of synthetic fibers, especially when they're close to your skin.  Synthetic fibers can irritate skin and the breathing process in some individuals, and their long term effects are still not totally understood.  Clothing made with cotton that was grown using harmful chemicals is very common as well, and lots of common clothing materials are known to give off particles that aren't exactly good for you.  One easy way to counter this is to buy used clothing, which has in theory already given off a significant fraction of its harmful biproducts.  Dress right and you'll enjoy being outside a lot more, shop smart and you'll be healthier while supporting local businesses instead of Wal-Mart type chain stores or the fashion industry.