Dear Lorraine,
I met my wife in 1949 and hastened to buy her a red cotton rubber-lined mackintosh for the princely sum of £1.10s (£1.50).
To my delight she wore this regularly and after our subsequent marriage the red mac was followed by a succession of raincoats and capes all readily available until the late fifties when unlined macs became hard to find and plastic became common.
I recall that in the early fifties shops such as C @ A in Oxford Street had long racks of macs and capes including garments made by Quelrayn, Alligator, and of course Danimac. Macs in shiny black rubber could also be obtained from up-market shops such as Aquascutum. Since those days we have bought from specialist suppliers and have never been without several in the wardrobe.
In comparison with a price today of around £400 that first red mac seems marvellous value.
JC
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