I DON’T WANT to alarm anyone, but it’s like nineteen degrees in Dublin right now. 

Just this morning, I walked by a woman in a skirt and sandals with not a nylon tight to be seen, and a man sitting on a bench with his entire torso on show. Ah, Dublin.

What date is it? July 31st? 

No, it’s October 10 obviously. How are we supposed to sip our piping hot Pumpkin Spice lattes without suffering a heat stroke? 

To add to this confusion, an orange weather warning is on the way for storm conditions. 

So, with this baffling climate contradiction ahead, I ask myself a question that’s been on my mind for the past month or so now. 

Is it REALLY heavy coat weather yet? 

I decided to investigate. 

First of all, I obviously took to Twitter. I couldn’t draw any scientific conclusions due to the lovely weather we’re having today, as there was a lot of conflicting information and major regrets about wearing teddybear coats in 20 degree weather. 

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Everyone on the Luas are wearing coats & scarfs there’s me in a dress & sandals not mentally ready for winter clothes yet

— Jo-Jo (@joannedriver00) 10 October 2018

Yeah, but people have had issues the other way too. 

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My next port of data gathering was on Instagram. What are Irish bloggers wearing in their #ootds?

Louise Cooney is in tights but not a SCRAP of a jacket to be seen

Rosie Connolly is never without a good Penneys coat, so maybe she’s not the best sample 

Joanne Larby is not even rocking a light windbreaker, a jumper is doing it 

Louise O’Reilly is wearing her coat over her shoulders, which we all know means it’s just for show 

Pippa has had the benefit of being everywhere but Ireland the past few weeks, but as far as I can see, she’s all about her leather jacket 

I’d class this as a light to moderate jacket at best. 

The Style Fairy is in the same school of Leather Jackets 

And Ciara O’Doherty can have the last word here 

We’ve got a winter coat, people. 

Still, this study isn’t as conclusive as I’d like.

So it’s time to look at the real science, the weather 

Does the temperature justify a heavy coat? Considering the average highest temperature in Dublin in December is around nine degrees, let this be a marker for what merits a temperature worthy of a coat. 

Never mind your ~fashion~ for a sec, do we actually NEED a winter coat right now?

Let’s look at September first. Last month, we had a high of 23 degrees, and a low of 1 degree. Now I’m no expert, but that’s a pretty low low. The average temperature was 12 degrees, which is slightly above our barrier of nine. 

Grand, September was not heavy coat weather. 

What about October? 

So far, we’ve had a high of 16 degrees (before today obviously) and a low of 1 degree. The average so far has been 11 degrees, still slightly above nine. 

Still, I need more proof we’re out of the woods here. 

How are the shops faring? 

I visited a couple of standard good coat retailers online to see if they’re pushing their heavy coats.

Dunnes they’re still claiming to be dishing out the lightweight jackets. 

Dunnes Dunnes

Penneys don’t have outright coats, but their model looks cosy af. 

Primark Primark

M+S have GONE FOR IT. 

This greets you on their landing page, no messing at all. 

Zara are on the same page. 

However, we must think critically. Fashion retailers are constantly a season ahead of where they need to be. How else can you buy bikinis in February?

Conclusion 

There is no conclusion. Everything is a construct. 

What do you think? Is it heavy coat weather yet? 

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