Have everyone's hands disappeared? Because it has been at least a month and a half since I have seen anyone's as I walk around campus. Pockets, gloves, mittens and hand warmers have completely taken over. In-public texting, for one thing, has decreased significantly because of the serious health or injury risks associated with exposing bare fingers--people are forced to talk to one another on the sidewalks and in-transit! My personal habit of constantly picking at my fingernails has also rapidly decreased because of the mitten-created blockade to my hands--unfortunately, though, no one can see my much-nicer-looking fingers. 

It is interesting to see how people make due with such dilemmas: the risk-takers wear finger-less gloves. I recently read in the Tribune and online that these are a big trend this year. But in sub-zero temperatures, even those are dangers. Most people stick with the tried-and-true types of gloves or mittens--ones that render all hands unmovable. 

Yet there are ways to make due with the weather, and to look cute at that. Next week, I plan to lay out some of those ways (not to mention on a college budget). For now, pictured here is Evelyn Loomis, a sophomore at DePaul who bundles up more than anyone I know, yet somehow manages to look significantly better than the Michelin Man (whom I keep confusing puffy-coated students for on campus!).