Editors’ Picks: Our Winter Essentials

The Western Living team shares the accessories we’re counting on to get us through another Canadian winter.

1. Hendrik Lou Throw

I was up at a girlfriend’s cabin on Bowen Island recently, and spotted this beautiful blanket tossed casually across a vintage reading chair. The homeowner had sourced it through some good ol’ fashioned bartering—she traded designer Hendrik Lou a few nights in her beautiful accommodations in exchange for a cozy throw ($600) to call her own. The hand-spun merino wool blanket is big, chunky and crazy-cozy, and I can’t wait to snuggle up under it on my next island getaway. —Stacey McLachlan, Associate Editor  

2. Prince of Wales Cashmere Scarf

No matter how much my dear mother begged, I never wore scarves growing up. But here in Vancouver, where all the windows are rated to about 3 C, even the most modest cold snap has the interior of our offices feeling like Yellowknife. I picked up this scarf at Vancouver’s newly opened Simon’s out of necessity (and at under $100 for cashmere, it’s a smoking deal), but I find that I’ve been wearing it even as the temperature rises. I can be wearing jeans and a polo shirt, but throw the scarf on and I look like a French philosopher. In my eyes at least… —Neal McLennan, Food and Travel Editor

3. Hand Relief Moisturizing Creme

Winter is really the only time of year that I gravitate toward hand creams and lotions—but I’ve got an almost-OCD-like aversion to scent on my hands. (Seriously, I can have it in my hair care, face care, perfumes, but the wrong scent in my hand cream—even so called “scent-free” versions—and I’m dashing to wash it off.) Aveda’s Hand Relief ($32) manages to be lightly scented without throwing me off my game, and handles both chapped winter skin and dishpan hands. Worth the splurge, I promise. —Anicka Quin, Editor-in-Chief

4. Miss Juliette Aigle Boots

Winter in my native Vancouver typically brings buckets of rain and only a sprinkling of snow, so like everyone else I bought a pair of the region’s mandatory footwear, wellies. These keep the feet (and a good portion of the legs) dry, but they’re inherently clunky and stiff (like a distant cousin of the ski boot), which makes walking long distances strenuous, sweaty work. This is why I’m in love with Aigle’s Miss Juliettes ($168). At first glance they could be mistaken for my chic leather Chelsea boots, but these are fully waterproof and handmade with a soft, supple rubber, which delivers a cloud-like comfort that defies belief. You’ve got to get your feet in these. —Julia Dilworth, Staff Writer