What to Wear in Phoenix in January
Phoenix in January: 20°C / 68°F days, 8°C / 46°F nights, and nine days of collector cars crossing the block in north Scottsdale.
- Black leather moto jacket — 7am averages 47.6°F, and Scottsdale's airport runs colder at night
- Racing-red merino crew — warm at dawn, small enough to fold into a bag by 67.6°F
- White cotton poplin shirt — the layer left on when the afternoon warms
- Light-wash straight jeans — nine days of sitting and standing in one pair
- White leather sneakers — a cushioned sole for a day that starts at the morning block
- Red patent Mary Janes — the prime-time shoe swap, with a strap that holds on the walk out
- A thin layer at 7am — Sky Harbor's coldest hour averages 47.6°F
- Leaving the jacket in the car at prime time — the hourly normal is 59.0°F at 8pm and falling
- Planning around the Opening Night Gala — it is invitation-only, and the public auction opens the next morning
- New shoes on day one — an auction day runs from the morning block into prime time
Barrett-Jackson's 2027 Scottsdale Auction is "expanding to nine full days of live auction action from Saturday, January 23 through Sunday, January 31, 2027", across two weekends at WestWorld of Scottsdale. Cars start crossing the block in the morning, and the company promises "high-stakes prime-time bidding". It publishes no dress code, so dress for the clock. NOAA NCEI's normals for Sky Harbor give a 67.6°F afternoon and a coldest hour, 7am, of 47.6°F, and WestWorld sits in north Scottsdale, whose airport normals put a January night at 43.4°F. Pack one black leather moto jacket, a red knit and denim, and keep the jacket close after dark.
Barrett-Jackson publishes no dress code, so dress for the clock: the moto jacket over a red knit at 7am, a white shirt on its own by mid-afternoon, and the jacket back on when prime-time bidding starts.
The capsule
01Black leather moto jacket, asymmetric zipThe jacket for both ends of the day. Sky Harbor's coldest hour, 7am, averages 47.6°F (8.7°C) in January, and Scottsdale's airport runs colder at night, at 43.4°F (6.3°C), on WestWorld's side of the Valley. Leather keeps that chill out, the asymmetric zip closes to the collar, and zipped cuffs push up by a 67.6°F afternoon.
02Racing-red merino crew-neck sweaterRed for the cars, merino for the hours. A fine merino knit warms a 47.6°F morning under the moto jacket, then folds small into a shoulder bag once the afternoon reaches 67.6°F. Racing red against black leather and pale denim is also easy for your group to spot at an event that aims for "well over 2,000 collectible vehicles" on its docket.
03White cotton poplin shirtYour afternoon layer. When the moto jacket and the red crew come off at 67.6°F, a white cotton shirt is what is left, and poplin stays smooth through a day of sitting and walking. Worn open over the crew in the morning and buttoned under the jacket at prime time, it is the one piece you wear on all nine days.
04Black merino turtleneckFor prime time. NOAA's hourly normals fall to 59.0°F at 8pm and 57.3°F at 9pm, and Scottsdale's airport runs colder at night than Sky Harbor. A fine merino turtleneck closes the gap at the moto jacket's open lapels, and black with light denim and red flats gives you an evening look without packing a dress.
05Light-wash straight jeans, raw hemNine days and two weekends call for one pair of trousers that takes the wear. Light-wash denim shrugs off a day of sitting and standing, and a straight leg sits over white sneakers in the morning and red flats at night. A cropped raw hem stops at the ankle, so it shows the shoes and never drags on the ground.
06White leather sneakersFor the morning block. The first cars cross the auction block on the morning of Saturday 23 January, and the company promises bidding through prime time, so an auction day is long. Leather sneakers with a cushioned sole take hours on your feet, and white keeps them with the shirt and the light denim. Change them for the red flats in the evening.
07Red patent Mary Jane flatsAt prime time you swap shoes, not outfits: keep the jeans, put the moto jacket back on, and trade the sneakers for red patent flats. A buckled strap holds each shoe on when you walk the grounds after dark, a flat sole lets you stand for the last cars of the night, and racing red matches the merino crew.
08Black leather half-moon shoulder bagLloyd Kiva New made handbags in Scottsdale in the 1950s, some with clasps by the Hopi jeweller Charles Loloma, and the Heard Museum holds one from about 1955. Yours carries the day: a phone, a card, and the red crew folded once the afternoon warms. A zip top stays closed on a shoulder for nine days, and black matches the moto jacket.
Day to night
Auction morning. White poplin shirt · racing-red merino crew · black moto jacket · light-wash jeans · white leather sneakers · black half-moon bag. Sunrise is at 7:32am on 15 January, and 7am averages 47.6°F; the jacket and the crew come off by the 67.6°F afternoon.
Prime-time bidding. Black merino turtleneck · black moto jacket · light-wash jeans · red patent Mary Janes · black half-moon bag. Sunset is at 5:43pm on 15 January, and the hourly normal is 63.8°F at 6pm and 59.0°F at 8pm, lower in north Scottsdale.
A suggested look — black leather moto jacket, white cotton shirt, racing red merino crew-neck sweater, light-wash straight jeans, white leather sneakers.
What to avoid
- A thin layer at 7am, the coldest hour, at 47.6°F
- Leaving the moto jacket in the car for prime time
- Plans built on the invitation-only Opening Night Gala
- Brand-new shoes for nine days on your feet
- Arriving without checking the 2027 ticket and bag rules
Frequently asked questions
Mild and mostly dry, with cold mornings. NOAA NCEI's normals for Phoenix Sky Harbor (USW00023183) give January an afternoon high of 67.6°F (19.8°C) and a low of 46.0°F (7.8°C), a shade milder than December, with 0.87 inches (22mm) of rain on about 4 days. The hourly normals put the coldest hour, 7am, at 47.6°F, 6pm at 63.8°F and 9pm at 57.3°F. Scottsdale Municipal Airport runs colder at night, with a 43.4°F (6.3°C) low. An average January brings 0.4 nights at or below 32°F, and NWS Phoenix gives the city's record low as 16°F, on 7 January 1913. Sunrise holds near 7:32am until mid-month, and sunset moves from 5:31pm to 5:59pm.
A black leather moto jacket, a racing-red merino crew, a white cotton poplin shirt, a black merino turtleneck, light-wash straight jeans, white leather sneakers, red patent Mary Jane flats and a black half-moon shoulder bag. That covers a 47.6°F morning, a 67.6°F afternoon and an evening that drops through 59.0°F by 8pm, at Barrett-Jackson or anywhere else in the Valley. The palette is racing red, black, white and denim, so every piece goes with every other.
Clothes you can wear from the morning to prime time, because Barrett-Jackson publishes no dress code. The 2027 Scottsdale Auction runs nine days, Saturday 23 to Sunday 31 January, at WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 North Pima Road, and the company aims for a docket of "well over 2,000 collectible vehicles". The invitation-only Opening Night Gala is on Friday 22 January, and the first cars cross the block the next morning. Opening weekend starts with Coca-Cola Family Day. Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO, says: "Adding a second full weekend also creates more opportunities for kids and families to experience the excitement of the auction". Layer a knit and a jacket over a shirt, wear shoes you can stand in, and check the event's site for 2027 ticket and bag rules before you go.
Early January for the parade, mid-month for the race weekend, late January for the cars. The 54th Phoenix Children's Fiesta Bowl Parade, free to watch, makes "a 1.5-mile march through Central Phoenix" on Saturday 2 January. Rock 'n' Roll Arizona brings a half marathon, 10K and 5K to Tempe on 16–17 January, with the half starting at 7:40am on the Sunday. Barrett-Jackson fills the last nine days, 23–31 January. Sunrise stays at about 7:32am until mid-month, and sunset moves from 5:43pm on the 15th to 5:59pm on the 31st, so late January leaves more daylight after an afternoon at WestWorld.
December is colder. NOAA's Sky Harbor normals give January a 67.6°F (19.8°C) afternoon and a 46.0°F (7.8°C) low, against December's 66.2°F (19.0°C) and 45.3°F (7.4°C), and January is warmer at every hour of the hourly normals: 9pm averages 57.3°F against 56.0°F. January does bring the year's most nights at or below 32°F, 0.4 on average against 0.1, but fewer at or below 40°F (4.7 against 6.8). Each month has rain on about 4 days, and January's 0.87 inches is a little more than December's 0.74. For luminarias, the Desert Botanical Garden's season ends with three nights, 1–3 January, 5 to 9:30pm; our December guide dresses those walks.
Dress for a cold morning and a warm noon, in a valley with its own fashion history. The Heard Museum's fashion collection rests on the Cherokee designer Lloyd Kiva New (1916–2002), and the museum writes that "New forged an indelible career in Scottsdale in the 1950s through silk-screening unique designs on cotton and silk fabrics, which he sold individually or made into dresses, shirts and coats." Some of his handbags have clasps by the Hopi jeweller Charles Loloma. The car show came to Scottsdale through Russ Jackson and Tom Barrett, who "established the Fiesta de los Autos Elegantes car show and parade in 1967". The company, established in 1971, then replaced the show with a collector-car auction seeded with 75 vehicles from the two men's own collections and held next to the Safari Resort on Scottsdale Road.
Sources
- NOAA — 1991–2020 climate normals, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) stationCovers the Phoenix–Scottsdale metro; Sky Harbor is the reference station for both.
- NOAA NCEI — U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, monthly, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (USW00023183) — accessed 2026-10-26
- NOAA NCEI — U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, hourly, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (USW00023183): temperature normals by hour — accessed 2026-10-26
- NOAA NCEI — U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, monthly, Scottsdale Municipal Airport (USW00003192) — accessed 2026-10-26
- National Weather Service Phoenix — Did you know? (Sky Harbor and freezing; record cold of 16°F, 1913) — accessed 2026-10-26
- National Weather Service Phoenix — Historical extreme temperatures in Phoenix (freeze days, coldest days) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Barrett-Jackson — 2027 Scottsdale Auction expands to nine days, 23–31 January (release, 16 Sep 2026) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Barrett-Jackson — Company history: the Fiesta de los Autos Elegantes (1967) and the first auction — accessed 2026-10-26
- Heard Museum — Collection: fashion (Lloyd Kiva New, Scottsdale, 1950s) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Rock 'n' Roll Arizona — 16–17 January 2027, Tempe: half marathon, 10K, 5K — accessed 2026-10-26
- Rock 'n' Roll Arizona — 2027 event schedule — accessed 2026-10-26
- Fiesta Sports Foundation — 54th Phoenix Children's Fiesta Bowl Parade, 2 January 2027 — accessed 2026-10-26
- Desert Botanical Garden — Las Noches de las Luminarias 2026–27: nights, hours and tickets — accessed 2026-10-26
