Facing the frost Dutch fashion

Don’t be astonished – not at all – if you see some Dutch women not covering their heads in winter. Not even when it’s snowy, rainy and windy. During my one year stay in Wageningen, I have never yet seen a Dutch woman covering her head. Interestingly though, they do love to wrap their necks in big, warm shawls and mufflers. Since coming to Wageningen, I have now and then recalled my mom’s words in winter times: ‘Don’t forget to cover your head. Protect it from the cold. You will soon catch a cold if you don’t.’ I wished I could pass on my mom’s suggestion to my Dutch female friends. But, despite being so curious, I could never dare to ask them the hidden reason behind not covering their heads. I could not be so timid for long, though. Once, on an excursion to Biofach in Germany, I was having coffee with a Dutch woman teacher. The weather was extremely cold. Wrapping her neck in a nice big brown muffler, she said, ‘It’s too cold today, isn’t it?’ I nodded, ‘Yes, too cold’. Immediately I thought: now is the right time to satisfy my curiosity. After hearing me, she smiled and responded, ‘In fact, we also feel the cold on our heads. But it doesn’t look nice if we cover our heads. And wrapping something around the neck is in fashion.’ I wondered and I still wonder: Can fashion beat the cold? I am embracing Dutch fashion this winter too. Hope it works. Menila Kharel, MSc student of Organic Agriculture, from Nepal