What to Wear in New York in February

NOAA's figures make February the snowiest month at Central Park: 10.1 inches on average, with snow an inch deep or more on about 9 days and the low at or below freezing on about 18 nights. NWS New York's records agree. February 2010, at 36.9 inches, is the snowiest month since 1869, and February holds 14 of the 37 storms of a foot or more. So pack for the walk between storm and shovel, then for the warm room at the end of it. On 12 February The New York Historical, across from the park at 77th Street, opens Bill Cunningham: Individual Style. Arrive in a hood, boots and mittens, and leave the umbrella at the hotel.

The capsule

1. 
   01

   Burgundy knee-length down coat with a hood

   Snow lies an inch deep or more on about 9 February days in Central Park, and a hip-length jacket leaves your thighs open to the spray at every slushy crossing. A knee-length down coat covers them. Its hood does an umbrella's job, which matters uptown: The New York Historical asks you to check an umbrella or carry it in a protective bag.

2. 
   02

   Pale grey crew-neck sweater

   Inside the museum this is your outfit. The New York Historical puts a visit at about two hours, and the coat spends them in the coat check, so the sweater carries you through the Cunningham galleries and the shoe museum on the same floor. Pale grey reads clean against charcoal trousers, and a crew neck leaves room for the scarf outdoors.

3. 
   03

   Charcoal slim wool trousers, tucked into the boots

   City rules give building owners up to 14 hours to clear a sidewalk when snow stops in the evening, so the crossings stay grey with slush well into the next morning. Slim charcoal wool tucks inside a boot shaft where a wide hem drags through it, and the colour hides whatever splashes above the boot on the walk to dinner.

4. 
   04

   Tan waterproof duck boots, rubber foot, lug sole

   When snow stops overnight, the Department of Sanitation gives owners until 11am to clear their sidewalks, so a morning walk crosses unshovelled stretches. A rubber foot keeps the slush out and a lug grips packed snow. The National Weather Service's cold-weather advice is blunt: "Keep your skin dry." Wet socks on a freezing day send you back to the hotel by lunch.

5. 
   05

   Brown crochet beanie, folded cuff

   The National Weather Service puts it plainly: "Wear a warm hat in the winter." The low reaches freezing or below on about 18 February nights in Central Park. A chunky crochet beanie sits under the coat's hood on the worst days and pushes into a sleeve at the coat check. Bill Cunningham ran a millinery business before he picked up a camera.

6. 
   06

   Charcoal chunky-knit scarf, fringed

   On about 4 February days the high never climbs above freezing in Central Park, and on those days a chunky rib scarf wrapped twice closes the gap between hood and collar. Charcoal hides slush spray and sidewalk salt, it ties the trousers to the top half, and it threads through a coat sleeve so the coat check hands back one bundle.

7. 
   07

   Tan leather mittens, lined

   The National Weather Service prefers mittens to gloves, and fingers kept together in one shell stay warmer than fingers apart. Smooth tan leather sheds the wet snow that soaks into a knit glove, the lining holds that warmth on a −1°C / 30°F night, and the colour repeats the boots and the bag.

8. 
   08

   Small tan leather top-handle bag with a crossbody strap

   Size it to the coat check. The New York Historical's guidelines say "Bags larger than 11 x 14 inches and backpacks must be checked in our complimentary coat check," and the museum will not check phones, wallets or laptops at all. A small top-handle bag stays on you: across the body on icy steps, by the handle in the galleries.

A suggested look — burgundy hooded down coat, pale grey crew-neck sweater, charcoal slim wool trousers, tan duck boots, brown crochet beanie.

What to avoid

• An umbrella — the museum makes you check it or bag it
• Suede or smooth soles — overnight snow can sit on the sidewalk until 11am
• A backpack or tote over 11 × 14 inches — straight into the coat check
• Jeans worn over the boot — denim soaks up kerb slush
• Hat and mittens left in the bag — about 18 nights fall to freezing or below