"...There were sandals for summer and black, ankle-straps for winter. On rainy days we had to pull on galoshes and wear a Mac. This was a real Mackintosh-rubber on the outside and cotton inside. It was before the use of nylon and plastic and the idea of an anorak was decades away.Of course we did not have jeans or trousers but we did have very pretty dresses."

I think the Golden Age may have started in the 40s.In the black and white film Rebecca (Joan Fontaine) wore a light coloured rubber lined mackintosh. I think that film was made in 1940. (Eric)

My mother bought me a red rubber mac in the mid-1940's; she bought a fawn riding mac in Northampton before 1948 and wore it regularly - such macs were considered smart and fairly common in Bucks where we lived. (Carmen)

During the late 40s I would watch in awe, as two young women - twins, they looked like - would swish by in their light green satinised
rubberised macs. (John)

Mackintosh snapped on Blackpool Pleasure Beach. (RM)

In the mid fifties in a Yorkshire village, the children from the local Primary School were marched to the Church hall each lunch time, with the Head Mistress at their head; on rainy days she wore a voluminous rubberised cotton cape with hood, she had two of these one was a pale green and the other was yellow. (FE)

In the mid fifties in a Yorkshire village, the children from the local Primary School included a number of girls who would be wearing green rubberised cotton capes, hooded, I think these capes were kept at the school for girls who had not come prepared, because the numbers would vary, and sometimes the sizes would be a bit out. (FE)

In the early fifties a girls' high school in a Lancashire coastal town had a green uniform, and the girls often wore a mack to match. (Joseph)

In the middle 50's: a pale blue satin mack worn by a girl arriving for a dance. (Joseph); and a tightly belted mack with a shiny black rubber proofing on the outside (worn by a girl). (Joseph)

In the later 50s in Manchester there were many shops which sold rubber raincoats, just off the peg, eg close together on Market Street which sold macks exclusively: "The Lancashire & Cheshire Rubber Company" and another, possibly "Stone-Dri" or Danimac"; macks were also sold in several department stores, and in some ladies' clothes shops. (Joseph)

Two particular macs seen in the late fifties: a green taffeta mack, and a red Danimac mack which at a distance looked like an ordinary long suede coat, but crackled when the wearer walked (and had the right bouquet ). (Joseph)

In the 50s most of the mackintoshes were rubber lined poplin and often had spots or small patterns on them,most men mackintoshes came in a drab fawn colour. (Eric)

During the 1950's, the uniform raincoat of a convent school in Worthing was a light grey single breasted rubberised mackintosh: it was belted, and had a detachable 'schoolgirl' style hood with tie tapes and a maroon lining. (Jennifer)

I had two girl friends I grew up in the fiifties who both had polka dot rubberised cotton macs, one green, one navy blue. (Barry)

Beautiful second cousin M, walks with me in Regents Park, wearing her Frances Holland grey hooded mackintosh cape, waiting for the thunder-clouds to send their rain. (Tony)

In 1950 the head mistress of my school used to wear a dark chocolate brown rubberised satin mac. (Barry)

In 1950 it was possible to browse the department stores of Oxford Street from C & A Modes to Gamages and see rails and rails of beautiful rubbermacs. (Tony)

My older sister bought a blue/green tartan cotton mac with blue rubber lining, detachable button on hood and pronged belt - I remember her showing it off to her friend in the lounge, and both of them sniffing the lining to get the smell. (B.J.)

Rita arrived one wet morning in class wearing a tightly belted deep purple rubberised slipper satin raincoat and not the regulation navy blue gabardine. (Archie)

School Secretary came to School on wet days in grey rubberised silk cape. I used to wait for her to get off the bus. (B.J.)

As a thirteen year old while on holiday in Scarborough my family went to the swimming pool with another family who had an eighteen year old daughter who always wore a shimmering gold rubberised satin cape over a bikini to go the swimming pool. (Archie)

1954, the girl next door wore a wonderful very full emerald green rubberised heavy slipper satin raincoat always very tightly belted and I was in love with her. (Archie S)

On a rainy day in Aberdeen in 1955 I saw a young boy aged about ten wearing a shiny black belted rubber raincoat, black Wellington boots and a black rubber sou’wester: is this the last sighting?

JC

The standard rainwear for primary school girls in England and Australia was a vivid red plastic (supposed to look like patent-leather?) raincoat and either a sou-wester or, as most girls seemed to prefer, a fold-up clear plastic rain hat tied closed around their rolled-up raincoat when they weren't being worn; boys wore similar, plain black raincoats with sou-westers, which most hated. (BJ)

Street scene

A traditional riding mackintosh made by Dannimac was bought in 1963. (Pete)

My first girlfriend was wearing a grey hooded rubberlined mac when I met her, and I wonder if I fell in love with her then because of that mac, or because it closely resembled the one that my mother wore at that time. (Vaughan)

In 1966, after my 16th birthday I used to go in Brussels to a cinema called "Apollo", closed now and one day there was a girl in the cinema with hair in the 6O's style (Sylvie Vartan), a shiny "ciré noir" and yellow "jeans": all the boys looked at her, me included, she was such a thrill. (André)

My girl friend at the time had an unlined brown raincoat which "swished" as she walked - worn with a little pink diaphanous headscarf that girls wore in the 60s to keep the wind and rain from their hair. Wil.

in 1968 I knew a girl (here in Tunbridge Wells) who wore a shiny PVC raincoat that was bright orange with pale blue, mint green and buttercup yellow daisies all over it: how psychedelic was that? Dave D.

In the UK in the early 70s there was a girls school 100 yards up the road from mine which had the blue nylon mac and fold-up rain hat in bad weather as part of the school uniform. The girls had to wear their rainhats OVER their incredibly ugly, shapeless school hats. (BJ)

Shiny pvc mac became fashionable.

Shortly before my marriage I bought a beautiful full length white rubberised satin cape and on my honeymoon it went to the beach with me even on the sunniest day as it was ideal for changing into my bikini underneath and then changing back into my clothes or walking back to the hotel just wearing it and my shoes. (Janet)

In the HMV shop in Oxford Street, I saw a young lady wearing a black leather trench coat (with all the trench features - double breasted, with belt and epaulettes); she put her hands in her pockets, and from time to time she stroked the coat with her other hand. (Andre)

My wife wore a black leather trench coat with a very long, hooded plastic mack over it every time we went out for about 3 months in the autumn (Malcolm)