What to Wear in Los Angeles in January

Pack for two kinds of day. NOAA's figures for LAX put January at 19°C / 66°F by afternoon and 9.7°C at night, with 2.86 inches of rain on about 6 days, second only to February. The rain does not drizzle: about 2 of those days bring half an inch or more, the most of any month at the airport. Yet about 26 afternoons still reach 60°F. So the capsule works in both directions. A knee-length hooded rain coat and sealed leather boots handle the storm, a pinstripe shirt handles the bright hours, and a wine merino crew bridges the evening drop. Sunday 10 January tests the whole plan. The Rose Bowl Flea Market starts VIP entry at 5am, rain or shine, and the Golden Globes broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton at 5pm.

The capsule

1. 
   01

   Black hooded rain coat, knee length

   Pack it for the two storm days, not the drizzle. NOAA counts about 2 January days at LAX with half an inch of rain or more, the most of any month, and on those days a hood keeps your hands free where an umbrella fills one. A knee-length coat covers the jeans down to the top of the boots, where a short jacket lets the rain run straight onto your thighs, and the lightweight shell fabric rolls into the tote when the sky clears by noon.

2. 
   02

   Wine merino crew

   Nights at the airport fall to 9.7°C, and VIP entry at the Rose Bowl Flea Market starts at 5am, about two hours before a 7am sunrise. A mid-weight merino crew in deep wine goes over the pinstripe shirt for the cold end of the day and comes off by eleven. Wine, because it answers the burgundy umbrella and warms up a capsule of black and faded denim.

3. 
   03

   Oversized white pinstripe shirt, two chest pockets

   About 26 of 31 January afternoons reach 60°F at LAX, and on those days a knit is too much by one o'clock. An oversized cotton shirt with a fine charcoal stripe works open over nothing on a bright afternoon in Silver Lake and tucked under the wine crew at dusk. The two chest pockets hold cash and a phone, so the tote can stay zipped in a crowd.

4. 
   04

   Light-wash straight jeans, raw cropped hem

   Faded straight denim is the flea-market uniform, and the cropped raw hem is the practical part: it stops above the boot, so it never drags through a wet parking lot or a gutter on a storm day. The light wash keeps a black coat and black boots from reading as one dark block, and it goes to dinner with the wine crew.

5. 
   05

   Black floral midi pencil skirt

   One piece for the evening. On Golden Globes Sunday the ceremony goes live from the Beverly Hilton at 5pm, and a dinner booked that night deserves more than flea-market denim: a black midi skirt with a painterly pink and green print is enough occasion without a dress code. Wear it with the wine crew tucked in and the lace-up boots, which keep it from looking precious in the rain.

6. 
   06

   Black leather lace-up lug boots, mid-calf

   Choose leather over suede this month: 2.86 inches of rain on about 6 days is enough to ruin a nubuck toe in one afternoon. A black leather lace-up with a deep lug sole grips a wet crosswalk, handles a morning on the grass and asphalt around the Rose Bowl, and suits both the jeans and the floral skirt, so it is the only pair you need.

7. 
   07

   Burgundy compact umbrella

   Carry it on the six wet days and forget it on the twenty-five dry ones. A compact folding umbrella fits the zip pocket of the tote, and it covers the wait outside a restaurant or a museum queue on Wilshire Boulevard when the coat alone is not enough. Burgundy, because it matches the wine crew and is easy to spot in a stand of black umbrellas at a restaurant door.

8. 
   08

   Black weatherproof nylon tote

   A flea market with more than 2,500 vendors needs a bag that holds a find and survives a shower. A black weatherproof nylon tote with a zip pocket takes the rolled-up coat, the umbrella and a vintage jacket bought at ten, and it wipes dry in the car. The webbing handles go over a shoulder, which leaves both hands free to go through a rail.

A suggested look — black knee-length hooded rain coat, wine merino crew, white pinstripe shirt, light-wash raw-hem jeans, black leather lace-up lug boots.

What to avoid

• Suede shoes — 2.86 inches of rain on about 6 days
• Canvas sneakers on a storm day — they soak through before lunch
• Jeans that pool at the heel — a wet hem wicks rain up the leg
• Leaving the knit at the hotel — nights fall to 9.7°C
• The Academy Museum on a Tuesday — it is closed