What to Wear in Seattle in January

Pack for steady rain and a slow return of light. NOAA's figures for Sea-Tac give January a 48°F afternoon and a 3.2°C night, and rain on 18.7 days, more than any other month of the year. Most of it is persistent rather than heavy: 12.7 days bring a tenth of an inch and only about 4 bring half an inch. So the answer is a hood and a system, not an umbrella: a coral-red shell over a black down jacket or a Nordic wool sweater, depending on how cold the morning is, with bases underneath. January also averages 1.8 inches of lowland snow and 7 nights at or below freezing, which is why the boots are duck boots. The reward is the light. Sunset moves from 4:27pm to 5:08pm and the day grows by an hour.

The capsule

1. 
   01

   Coral-red hooded rain shell

   Rain falls on 18.7 January days at Sea-Tac, more than in any other month, and most of it is steady rather than hard, which is hood weather. A hip-length shell keeps your hands free on a ferry rail at Colman Dock. Coral red, because sunset comes at about 4:30pm in the first half of the month and a bright jacket is what a driver sees on a wet crossing in the dark.

2. 
   02

   Black glossy down jacket, stand collar

   NOAA counts 7 January nights at or below freezing, and those are the mornings to wear down under the shell. On a dry cold day it goes on alone. A hip-length black puffer with a glossy face sheds a passing shower on a dry-forecast day and rides in the backpack once the afternoon warms, and down has Seattle roots: Eddie Bauer, a Seattle native, designed the first patented down jacket in America.

3. 
   03

   Navy Nordic wool sweater, red-and-white yoke

   Wool holds its warmth when a cuff gets wet, which it will on 19 rainy days. A navy crew with a red-and-white snowflake yoke is the warm layer for a 48°F afternoon indoors and out, and the red in the yoke answers the shell. It works with the waxed trousers at a Capitol Hill dinner without looking like trail gear.

4. 
   04

   Oat merino long-sleeve base

   A thin layer does more in Seattle than a second thick sweater. On a 3.2°C morning the merino goes under the Nordic knit; on a milder grey afternoon it goes under the down jacket alone. Merino stays warm when a damp sleeve does not dry, and it dries overnight on a hotel radiator, which matters in a month with 19 wet days.

5. 
   05

   Dark olive waxed-canvas trousers

   Waxed cotton is the Pacific Northwest's old answer to steady rain: the tin cloth Filson made into the standard Forest Service coat is waxed cotton canvas. A straight dark olive pair sheds a day of drizzle that would soak jeans at the knee, keeps its shape through the wet, and the straight leg stays off the pavement so the hem does not wick water up.

6. 
   06

   Tan leather and brown rubber duck boots

   Rubber lowers, because 12.7 January days bring a tenth of an inch of rain or more. Leather uppers and laces, because they look like shoes rather than wellies on a restaurant floor. The deep lug sole is for the other January: 1.8 inches of average lowland snow on streets the city cannot always plough.

7. 
   07

   Cream ribbed wool beanie

   Wear it under the hood on the wet days and alone on the dry cold ones. A ribbed wool beanie with a fold-up cuff keeps warm on a 3.2°C ferry deck and does not mind drizzle, and cream is the light note in a capsule of red, navy, black and olive. A fold-up cuff doubles the wool over your ears.

8. 
   08

   Small cognac leather backpack

   In an umbrella-free city, both hands stay free, and a backpack keeps them that way on a hill. A small leather pack with a buckled flap sheds light rain, carries the down jacket once it comes off at noon, and cognac ties it to the leather of the duck boots. The front pocket holds an ORCA card for the light rail from Sea-Tac.

A suggested look — coral red hooded rain shell, navy nordic snowflake sweater, dark olive waxed canvas trousers, tan and brown duck boots, cream ribbed beanie.

What to avoid

• An umbrella — most wet days are light, and a hood leaves both hands free
• Suede or canvas sneakers — 5.78 inches of rain across the month
• Wide trousers that drag — a wet hem wicks water to the knee
• Leaving the shell behind on a dry morning — 19 of 31 days are wet
• Steep hills by car after snow — some streets are too steep to keep open