Trousers versus dresses: the winter debate

So this post isn't so much a debate about style (although it could be if you wanted it to be!) but about warmth. As you can probably tell from my numerous "daily wear" posts, i'm not a trouser wearer. In fact the only pair of jeans I own are relagated to house moving status. But on Saturday, in anticipation of my Christmas at home with my family slobbing out (we don't even take our PJs off on Christmas day!) I purchased a cheap pair of skinny jeans from the Topshop outlet. And yesterday I tried them out.

Wow was I cold!! I always layer leggings over tights to keep warm under my dresses, but look at those in jeans and trousers with envy: how wrong was I?! I was colder in the jeans! Maybe if i'd worn tights underneath I would have kept warmer, but the jeans are so tight I dont think they'd fit. Does this mean skinny jeans are officially summer trousers? Because I dont see how anyone could wear them all day without catching hypothermia (is this something you catch!?)

This is the inverse of how I had always imagined fashion (in terms of warmth) would work: pretty dresses for the summer and warm trousers for the winter is seen as the standard. But now i'm not going to worry about wearing my dresses or lament about how cold my legs are: thinks could be worse (as I found out yesterday!) I think i'm just going to invest in some over the knee socks to wear over my leggings and tights combo: in this case, layering really is king!
(The floral and heart print knee socks above are both from Topshop for £8 - a small price for toasty legs!)

I know alot of you do wear trousers - even if the weather is as cold as today! How do you keep warm in them?

Love, Tor xx