“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong gear” is a runner’s adage, showing that runs can be made in any weather. English art critic John Ruskin (1819-1900) said in an 1883 lecture at Oxford, “for me, there was no such thing as bad weather, but only different kinds of pleasant weather.” By at least 1894, this became popularized as “there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”
 
“Some one has said there is no such thing as bad weather, there is only good clothes” has been cited in print since 1912. The Duchess of Windsor wrote in 1960 that “an acquaintance of mine came up with the observation that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.” In a 1977 book, “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing worn at the wrong time” was called an old Norwegian expression. Comedian Billy Connolly has often said of his native Scotland, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing.”
 
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong gear (clothing)” has been cited in print since at least 2005.
 
   
Wikipedia: John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900) was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political economy. His writing styles and literary forms were equally varied. Ruskin penned essays and treatises, poetry and lectures, travel guides and manuals, letters and even a fairy tale. The elaborate style that characterised his earliest writing on art was later superseded by a preference for plainer language designed to communicate his ideas more effectively. In all of his writing, he emphasised the connections between nature, art and society. He also made detailed sketches and paintings of rocks, plants, birds, landscapes, and architectural structures and ornamentation.
     
Google Books
23 November 1883, The British Architect, pg. 247:
MR. RUSKIN ON “SINCERITY” IN LANDSCAPE ART.
IN his last lecture at Oxford, Mr. Ruskin spoke of the works of Wilson, Dr. Wint, and other landscape painters of their period.
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He looked at the cheerless scene and remarked, “But, Ruskin, what is the use of painting such very bad weather?” To which question I could only make the reply that there was no such thing as bad weather, but only different kinds of pleasant weather — some demanding, indeed, courage and patience for their enjoyment, but all of them fittest in their seasons—best for the hills, for the cattle, the drovers, my master, and me!
 
Google Books
The Art of England:
Lectures given in Oxford
By John Ruskin
New York, NY: J. Wiley & Sons
1883
Pg. 218:
After gazing blankly for a minute or two at the cheerless district through which lay the drivers’ journey, he turned to me and said, “But, Ruskin, what is the use of painting such very bad weather?” And I had no answer, except that, for Copley Fielding and for me, there was no such thing as bad weather, but only different kinds of pleasant (Pg. 219—ed.) weather—some indeed inferring the exercise of a little courage and patience; but all, in every hour of it, exactly what was fittest and best, whether for the hills, the cattle, the drovers—or my master and me.
 
Google Books
The Use of Life
By Sir John Lubbock
London: Macmillan and Co.
1894
Pg. 69:
We often hear of bad weather, but in reality, no weather is bad. It is all delightful, though in different ways. Some weather may be bad for farmers or crops, but for man all kinds are good. Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating. As Ruskin says, “There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”
 
Google Books
The Jonathan Papers
By Elisabeth Woodbridge
Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.
1912
Pg. 141:
This was what I had been waiting for, and I responded glibly, “Some one has said there is no such thing as bad weather, there is only good clothes.”
     
13 October 1960, San Diego (CA) Union, pg. B5, col. 1:
“MY RULES FOR DRESSING WELL”
When Skies Are Gloomy
Clever Costumes Shine
By The DUCHESS OF WINDSOR
After a long wet holiday in Europe this past summer, an acquaintance of mine came up with the observation that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.
   
Google Books
Walk into Winter:
A complete snowshoeing & winter camping guide
By Gerry Wolfram
New York, NY: Scribner
1977
Pg. 67:
Or to paraphrase an old Norwegian expression, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing worn at the wrong time.
 
Google Books
Perception and Identity:
Essays presented to A. J. Ayer, with his replies to them
Edited by Graham Macdonald
New York, NY: Macmillan
1979
Pg. ?:
If it were right to say that there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes, then I suppose it might follow that, in some weird sense, tempests were the creatures of our interests.
 
Google Books
In the Wake of the Future:
Swedish perspectives on the problems of structural change
By Hans De Geer; et al.
Aldershot: Gower
1987
Pg. ?:
Their scope for action is well described by the Swedish saying: ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather; there are only the wrong clothes.’
 
Google Books
Québec: La Belle Province
Basingstoke, England: Bramley Books
1993, ©1989
Pg. 5:
We say in Quebec that there is no such thing as poor weather, only the wrong clothes.
 
Google Books
The Penguin Guide to Germany 1991
Alan Tucker, General Editor
New York, NY: Penguin Books
1990
Pg. 136:
Hamburg’s people just shrug about the generally moist climate, borrowing the British maxim to the effect that there is no such thing as poor weather — only the wrong clothing.
   
Adventure Rider
YZFRider
05-23-2005, 06:31 PM #7
Absolutely love riding in the rain on the GS, it is a little more dicey on the sportbike. As I read what Neil Peart said in BMW ON… “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong gear (clothing)...” or something to that effect.
     
Scotsman.com
Connolly sells Hollywood home to live the good life in Scotland
Published on Thursday 6 October 2005 00:07
BILLY Connolly is to exchange the sunshine of Los Angeles for the rain showers of Aberdeenshire, by making his permanent home in Scotland.
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He has, however, been a generous defender of the Scottish climate. “I hate all those weathermen who tell you that rain is bad weather. There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing.”
 
Isle of Man Today
HEAD FOR THE HILLS
Published on Thursday 25 January 2007 10:55
Richard Allen enjoys the Island’s spectacular countryside.
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And the elements needn’t be a problem with all the modern weatherproof kit on the market. There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong gear.
 
So what are you waiting for?
 
Get yourself clad top-to-toe in Gore-Tex and head for the hills. You’re in the perfect place to do it.
 
snoety.com (secrets no one ever told you)
Bruce Talks: Stress-Busting Solutions: You can get some relief!
October 28, 2008
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2. Exercise — any aerobic exercise — running, cycling, and the like will cut your stress levels by half in just 30 minutes. It’s too cold? No, its not. Wear warm clothes. A park ranger once told me there’s no such thing as bad weather — only the wrong gear. There is NO excuse for not exercising at least a half hour three times a week (unless you have a medical problem). Not enough time is not a good reason.
     
Notes on a Running Life
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Gods Must Be Angry
(...)
I can *run* in any kind of weather, believe me. Nothing ever stops me. They say when it comes to running, there is no such thing as bad weather, just choosing the wrong gear. But cycling in the rain is akin to being blasted with a fire hose, from a polluted water hydrant. I swear, I would get *less* wet if I just jumped into a swimming pool.
 
www.bikerleatherplus.blogs
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Never The Wrong Weather, Only The Wrong Gear
My husband and I took our 2nd annual motorcycle trip to Knoxville, TN to see the fall colors.  Our weather was 37 degrees, cold and rainy, definitely the wrong weather for a full day motorcycle ride.  I did have my leather jacket on, but I didn’t have warm leather gloves and knew within 5 minutes that my hands were not going to survive the cold and rain without the correct motorcycle gloves.
   
ArticleTrader.com
There’s no such thing as poor weather, only the wrong gear.
Submitted by brunoblackstone
Sat, 21 Jan 2012
It’s that time of year once again post Christmas season and it’s overindulgences that many of us make the inevitable New Year’s Resolution to get fitter. Here’s a recommendation, instead of signing up to a gym, perspiring, red-faced in a room full of other individuals doing the same thing why not get out there into the great countryside. Fresh air, flora and fauna, physical exercise and best of all no fitness center fees! ‘But it’s January, the weather is vile’ I hear you cry, well as the adage goes there is no such thing as bad weather only inappropriate clothing.
 
Runner’s World
Ultra Ironwolf
18/04/2012 at 20:10
I absolutely love running in the rain. My most enjoyable half-marathon ever was run in teeming rain, splashing through the puddles, rain running down my face and off my nose, hair and clothes soaked - awesome! Just loved it.
 
Where I live there’s a saying - “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only wrong choice of clothing”. Says it all really.
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johnag007
21/04/2012 at 08:44
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As my trainer kept on saying, there is no wrong weather, just wrong gear!
 
The Guardian
There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing
The sight of damp Royals being cheered should remind us that one of the national characteristics embodied in our head of state is a deep respect for evidence
Posted by Jon Butterworth
Monday 4 June 2012 18.00 EDT
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PS The title is a quote from the excellent Alfred Wainwright.
(Alfred Wainwright, 1907-1991, a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator—ed.)