It’s bizarre for an Irish person to be relieved to see the end of those long summer days and the beginning of bitterly cold, dark nights but after the hottest summer ever recorded in New York my girls and I couldn’t be happier.

The truth is that Irish women know how to dress for the cold. Our pale legs, sweaty faces and un-toned torsos don’t fare so well in the blistering heat. Accessories seem like just one more item to carry on our backs through the desert that is a Manhattan summer and humidity does no favors for our naturally frizzy hair.

The first sign of the chill coming in mid-September brought out jackets and socks that had been abandoned since the previous March and now that it’s officially winter the long coats, scarves, hats and gloves are a delight to snuggle into.

My friends keep complimenting my new clothes. They’re actually not new at all but I have the fortune of only having met most of my New York friends when the summer was in full swing. However, that’s no excuse to neglect pressing the refresh button on the ole winter wardrobe.

Tomorrow’s opening of American Eagle’s new flagship store in SoHo is the perfect excuse to drop in for some winter woolies. My favorite is the knitted men’s Mohawk hat I spotted with fur lining that covers your ears and makes you look like a rocker while keeping your head heated. The first 500 shoppers in the door will receive a $50 money card for the store and more freebies are available from the refreshments truck outside.

It sounds like the ideal free event to attend before the hitting Citi Pond at Bryant Park for a spot of ice-skating. It has just opened so the masses are yet to descend. I’ll be the one with the mohawk!