Pac a Mac from Millets
Lisa's first suggestion is fine for an emergency but probably looks very cheap once on and where is the hood?
Lisa's second suggestion from M&S
I am not a fan of Parka's, in my opinion they draw attention to my worst area, the middle age spread, so potato's and sack spring to mind. Also a tad youthful?
Aigle Stanway from Barnack
Well if this isn't straight out of Bill Oddie's wardrobe I will eat my hood. I would feel instantly very very old wearing one of these. Grim
Barbour
Since watching The Queen recently, I have been smitten by the idea of wearing one of these beauties from Barbour, coming in at £249 not cheap but I love the cut of the one on the left very flattering. My mother has a lovely Barbour from Mulberry sans hood as are these. I think you are meant to buy the hat.
My father who was a palaeontologist always had a Barbour. He would live in his, and get it rewaxed rather than 'break in' a new one so maybe it is fate.
Lisa Armstrong writes in the Times
You would think, given our elemental circumstances and magnificent seafaring history, that the British would have the wet look down par excellence. We do not.
Matters deteriorate with maturity. It used to be that some time after hitting their late fifties, women would age themselves 30 years by adopting tight little perms that made them look like hydrangeas – hydrangeas that not even Alan Titchmarsh would fancy. They don’t do the perms any more. They just raid Bill Oddie’s skip for wet-weather gear.
I have tracked down Lisa's suggestions, see above, and surely her fruitless search answers her own question. My mother has spent the last 7 years searching for something smart to wear when it rains. Not too heavy and preferably with a hood. It is the Holy Grail. They either look like cheap imitation macs, or, once they are the real deal, they become as heavy and cumbersome as coats. It also difficult to square the compromise needed between town and country. As I have a long exposed walk to work everyday a new coat is a priority this year so what is it to be? Burberry for town, Barbour for country. The search goes on.
2 comments:
I agree with your assessment of those top three choices. I've finally got a few lightweight (easily packable) rainproof coats I'm happy with -- one is mid-thigh length by Animale (a French line), several creative/artsy choices to how to fasten and/or belt, scrunches to nothing, has an optional hood (the option is that it could be a collar). And I've got a shiny black almost-knee length very slightly a-line, funnel-y collar. And a metallic silver Burberry trench. I've also got a few good, smart (imho) rain hats, but I've finally given in to the benefits of an umbrella, especially since you can now get quite decent quality, mini ones that fit easily in a purse. Overall, I've been spending more on coats the last year or so than on anything else -- finally following my mother's advice all these years later!
I will be checking out that brand, I am always interested in other makes. I am often suprised at how little crossover there is brand wise between our countries.
I too have an umbrella but our fierce winds can make mincemeat out of them.
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