Boca Ratonians are appalled/delighted by the cold!
By Jennifer Ortega
With the temperatures fluctuating greatly in South Florida, I marched to the heart of Boca Raton—the Town Center Mall—to see what the locals had to say about the weather changes.
The reactions were mixed. Boca residents either loved the change in the weather or hated anything that felt remotely like winter.
Two of the first women I met had completely differing opinions that was signified in their clothing choices. One was wearing sandals and short sleeves and remarked, “I’ve been living here for 14 years and I love it when it gets cold every once in a while.”
However, her friend, who was covered head to toe in winter gear said, quite simply, “I hate it. I love it in 80’s”.
The strange weather conditions have taken us from one extreme to the other. It’s cold in the morning and then it gets hot mid-day. The temperatures have been so unusual one local doesn’t even listen to the forecasts anymore.
“I just wear thermals as t-shirts now because I don’t know how the weather is going to be,” he said.
But winter fashion stores like Abecrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Hollister, Gap, and Aeropostale are benefiting from the random temperature drops.
“Whenever there’s a cold front down here people panic and our store just sells out!” joked an Aeropostale staff member. “We love it!”
Because Aeropastale is one of the most affordable winter stores around, their fur-lined hoodies, coats, scarves, and hats, have to be constantly restocked. But even the employees don’t know what too wear.
“I can’t even keep up,” she admitted. “I wake up in the morning and I’m always wearing the wrong thing.”
I can certainly relate.
While some people at the mall were still wearing their regular Florida attire—in clear denial of the cold—others were warmly dressed with snow hats, winter vests, and high boots. Some, though, just fashioned unique combinations of both: a scarf and hat with a pair of shorts and flip- flops. That’s something you can only see in South Florida!
Whether it’s warm or cold in Boca Raton, one thing is for sure, Floridians will not retire their flip flops and sandals!
