10 Essential Items Every Mainer Has in Their Closet

You know how Hawaii has the Hawaiin shirt? Well, Mainers have Bean Boots...and so much more.

There are some items that if you live in Maine, are essential and most definitely either in your closet or mud room. Yes, in Maine we all have a mud room, even if it's only two feet of space when you first enter your home.

I'm not from Maine, but I have called Maine my home for nearly 40 years. I've learned to stuff my closet with some Maine essentials.

Bean Boots

Before kids made them fashionable, Mainers made them essential. There is no surviving Maine weather without the proper footwear. There are versions of the L.L. Bean Boot, but only the original is the one you'll find in Mainer's closets.

Anything Carhartt

Cahhaht. The versatile clothing line will let you milk cows in the morning and attend a wedding in the evening. Carhartt goes with everything! Bean Boots, cool mustaches, and hair pulled into a ponytail. You know you have the overalls and a vest somewhere in your closet. Put it on ya Mainah!

Flannel

Ever notice that Mainers set clothing trends? Do you think hipsters started wearing flannel just because? Oh hell no. They saw a Mainer rocking their flannel and decided that it was super cool. Actually, it's warm and that's why we wear it.

Wool socks

Wool. It's itchy and shrinks if you accidentally dry it - but you won't survive being a Mainer without it. These go nicely with bean boots, bean slippers, or a pot of beans on the wood stove.

READ MORE: If You Are From Away, Here’s the Maine Slang You Need to Know

Shorts in the winter

There's not a winter that has come to Maine, where some Mainer hasn't been out in it...in shorts! Bring it 20 below! My bare kneecaps don't care that they are frozen, because I'm rocking the shorts! If you can get those shorts to be denim, well...you're a super Mainer.

Muck Boots

Muck boots were named for what they get you through...muck. Don't know what muck is? You're no Mainer. Muck is from March through May in Maine. It's ground so wet that you sink up to the top of your muck boots you went out and bought immediately after ruining your sneakers in your first spring in Maine.

Long Johns

Laugh all ya want, we all have some form of long johns. Hell, I start wearing long underwear starting in October and that second layer of skin doesn't come off until early June!

Boston Sports Themed Stuff

While you wear your Sox hat, you also yell, 'Yankees Suck!' It will be so obvious that you are a proud Mainer. Hell, even if you have your Patriots hat on, still yell, 'Yankees suck!' Just in case someone doesn't know you are a Mainer.

Cozy Sweaters

We all challenge ourselves on how long we can go before we turn on the heat. That's when cozy sweaters become super essential. By the way, I always try to make it to November first, and I rarely do. I need more sweaters.