Walk through any winter sale and the same four words come up again and again: fleece, wool, padded, knit. They are not interchangeable. Each traps heat in a different way, and the one that is right for a Lahore morning will leave you cold on a December night in Murree. Here is the plain version, with no marketing language.
Fleece
Fleece is a brushed synthetic fabric, usually polyester. It is light, soft, the cheapest of the four, and it dries quickly if it gets damp. That last part matters more than people expect: wet wool stays wet for hours, fleece does not.
What fleece does not do is stop wind. On a still, cool morning it is perfectly warm. Standing at a stop with a cold wind coming through, it gives up fast. Treat fleece as what you wear from late October into early December across most of Punjab and Sindh, or as the inner layer under something windproof when it turns properly cold.
It is also the easiest fabric to look after, which is why so much children's winter wear is made from it.
Wool and wool blends
Wool holds heat far better than fleece for the same thickness, and it keeps working even when the air is damp. It also sits heavier on the shoulders, costs more, and needs gentler washing.
Most winter wear sold as wool in Pakistan is a blend rather than pure wool, and that is not a bad thing. A blend is lighter, less itchy against the neck, holds its shape better after washing and costs a good deal less. Pure wool is warmer, but it is also the piece you will be most careful with.
If you only buy one proper winter jacket and you live anywhere north of Lahore, a wool or wool blend coat is the sensible single purchase.
Padded and quilted
A padded jacket is two layers of outer fabric with filling between them, stitched into channels or squares. The filling traps a layer of still air, and still air is what actually keeps you warm. For the money, padded is the warmest of the four.
The outer shell is usually a tight synthetic, so a padded jacket also blocks wind in a way fleece cannot. The trade-off is bulk, and the fact that a tear in the shell is harder to repair than a snag in a knit.
Look at the stitching when the jacket arrives. Channels that are very wide let the filling shift to the bottom after a few washes, leaving cold patches across the chest.
Knitwear
Sweaters, cardigans and knitted jackets sit between fleece and wool. A knit traps air in the gaps between the stitches, so a loose chunky knit can be warmer than a thin tight one even when both weigh the same.
Knits are the most comfortable of the four to wear all day indoors, and the easiest to layer. They are also the ones most likely to lose shape if you hang them wet, so dry a knit flat.
Which one for where you live
- Karachi and the coast. A fleece or a light knit is usually enough. A heavy padded jacket will sit in the cupboard.
- Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan. A knit or fleece for most of the season, with one wool or padded jacket for January.
- Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar. A wool blend coat or a padded jacket earns its place. Fleece becomes the inner layer rather than the outer one.
- Murree, Galiyat, the north. Padded or heavy wool, with a knit underneath. This is where thin fabrics stop being a saving and start being a mistake.
One thing about size
Imported winter wear runs small. As a rule, take one size up on a jacket, and two if you want it loose or plan to wear a sweater underneath. Where a listing gives a chest or waist measurement, measure yourself and go by that rather than by S, M or L, because those letters mean different things from one supplier to the next.
Before you order
If you are not sure whether a piece is heavy enough for where you live, ask us. Send the product link on WhatsApp at 0345 6650894 with your chest measurement and the city you are in, and we will tell you honestly whether it will do the job.
You can browse the full range in jackets and sweaters, or read our guide to shawls and stoles if you are buying a wrap rather than a jacket.