If you're out in the Canadian cold for a long time and you might get damp, you needs yer woolies on- as stated earlier, they do stay warm when wet, and far more effectively than any of the tacky new age materials that supposedly do the same thing. No doubt the passerby was thinking along those lines, since you state you were opening your jacket, thereby suggesting you were getting sweaty.

This also give me a chance to ask again if any fellow Canadians know where Stanfields heavy-weight woolies are available! (if ordered online here in Canuckistan, the 'shipping and handling' almost equals the cost of the garment).