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Gaberdine disciplineDear Lorraine, I have recently been introduced to your site by a friend, and I love it! I was particularly interested in the recent letters about covering up and correction, which reminded me very much of my school days in the 1970s.
I began to wear it buttoned to the neck most of the time, and to wear my hood tightly fastened under my chin, and during the first winter I began to wear my scarf more often, sometimes covering my mouth. I was still punished for various offences by having to wear my mac and scarf, but I actually began to enjoy the pubishment. Fiona in her letter said that she would look for punishment by deliberately disobeying her Mother. I "created" offences which would merit punishment, such as not doing well enough in a test or homework, or forgetting a book, or anything like that. I would tell my mother when I had done wrong, and she would "sentence" me to wear my hood and scarf for a day, or to have to wear them to visit my gran, or something similar. By the time I was thirteen or so, I would sentence myself, but always tell people who commented that it was Mum who was punishing me for cheek or disobedience. It got to the poimt where I would always wear my mac to school, even though I was the only person in the whole place still wearing a gaberdine. I made sure that I always had a scarf and gloves in my satchel, and I would decide to punish myself for a poor mark or homework, by fastening my mac to the neck, and tying the tapes of my hood very tightly under my chin in a double knot,then pulling my belt very tightly, and then doubling the end back through the buckle so that it would not slip loose. Finally, the scarf, which was in a woven rather than knitted wool, would be fastened twice round my mouth and neck, and tied very tightly, again with a double knot to make sure it stayed tight. I got to the stage where I would decide to be under gaberdine discipline, as I called it, for a week or more, going everywhere wrapped and muffled up, and also wearing wellingtons, which was almost unheard of for a teenage girl in the seventies. When did it stop? I went to the sixth form centre some miles away when I was sixteen, and when I had outgrown the gaberdine mac. Mum bought me a long quilted coat with a close fitting hood, which I wore with the hood up quite often, but it never had the appeal of the gaberdine, with its slightly stiff texture, and, especially the belt, which was a discipline in itself. I outgrew, I think, the idea of gaberdine discipline, but it was wonderful while it lasted, and I missed for many years the humiliation of showing the rest of the world that I was not living up to the required standard. I have recently revisited the idea of discipline by rainwear, and it is, I have found, much more effective as a punishment now than it was twentyfive years ago. I will continue to look at your site - long may you continue with it! Pauline
Thank you for your enthusiastic reply to my letter. In February last year, I was disqualified from driving - my own fault - and lost my licence and my job. On the day after the court hearing, I sat and looked at my life, past and future, and wondered about where I had gone wrong and how to put things together again. I realised that sixteen years with a Company car had left me totally dependent on the car, to the point where I didn't even have a coat in my wardrobe. I watched a couple of local children going to school, wearing their duffle coats with the hoods up, and scarves wrapped round their necks, and remembered my own schooldays. When I was just turning rwelve, I was discovering the power of my gaberdine mac. My High School mac was green, and big enough to fit easily over my blazer with a jumper under it, so wearing it on its own over a dress or blouse was not really feasible. My old navy blue mac from Primary School still had plenty of room and wear left in it, so I wore it often at weekends, but a couple of times I took the hood off it, put the coat on and then put my green mac over it, buttoned to the neck. As well as filling out my green mac, it was lovely and warm on a cold winter day, with the hood up and my scarf on! One day, I decided I would like to see what it was like wearing both coats with their hoods up. On the coming saturday I was due to cycle to my Aunt's house in the next village, to take some things to her from Mum. I hoped and prayed for a cold wet day to justify two coats and hoods, but the day dawned bright and clear, and promised to be sunny. I put on my blue mac, buttoned to the neck with the hood up, and then put on my green one in the same way, and asked Mum if she would tie my scarf over my mouth for me. She looked at me, and told me that if it rained as hard as I was expecting, I would have wet legs and feet, so I would need wellingtons on. Since wellingtons were only worn by little girls - primary school - I immediately began to take off my green mac, saying that it wasn't really going to rain that hard, was it?. I was not going to wear wellingtons at any cost. Mum stopped me, and told me again to put on my wellingtons. I realised that she was serious, and put them on. She then took me to the hall, and stood me in front of the full length mirror, with my scarf in her hands. I had to take off my green hood, and undo the top button of the coat. Mum then tied the scarf over my mouth and nose, firmly knotted at the back, and told me that I must go and come back exactly like that, with both raincoats clearly on view. The excitement and apprehension were amazing - would I meet anyone I knew? Several people saw me and commented later on my two raincoats on a sunny day, so I told them I was being punished for backchat. That was the start of my gaberdine discipline, and almost the last time I wore my green raincoat open at the neck. Even in the hot summer of 1976, when I was taking my O-levels, I wore my green gaberdine raincoat to school every day, buttoned to the neck and belted. I asked Mum to make sure that I was fully buttoned up every day, and to make me wear my hood and scarf if I wasn't properly buttoned up. I'm glad (or sorry) to say that it never came to that! Many other memories came back, but I needed to get a coat. I put on a warm cardigan and walked in the raw wind to the nearest shopping centre, and went into the first charity shop there. To my amazement, I found a bright red Burberry trench coat on the rail, and when I tried it on, it fitted. it came down about four inches below my knees, and I bought it immediately. I also bought a couple of headscarves, and a long scarf in cashmere, a Burberry check on a black background. In another shop, I bought a pair of long leather boots, and also a pair of black PVC wellingtons, and in yet another shop I found a long vinyl mac with a hood, which would go over my Burberry, and came down below its hem by a couple of inches. I finished up going home in a taxi, but I was now equipped to face the weather. I drew up a plan, remembering my school discipline days. I decided that I would wear the red trench coat to go out in at all times, always buttoned to the neck with the gun flap buttoned down and the clips at the neckband fastened. I would always wear a headscarf, and boots. If it rained, the vinyl mac was to be worn fully fastened up with the hood up and tied tightly, and wellingtons instead of my leather boots. The plan became revised, as I got a job near my home a few weeks later. I still decided that I must wear the trench coat to work, fully buttoned up, with a headscarf and boots, but that I must always carry the vinyl rainmac over my arm, amd have a spare pair of wellingtons at work, to put on to go home if it rained during the day. My colleagues were amazed by my insistence on this regime, but I have decided that I must be thus disciplined for the rest of my working life, to remind me that I have not lived up to my own standards. I have also recently obtained a punishment mackintosh, which I have worn just once, but I will write agin with more details soon. Best wishes Pauline Here are the further details I promised. My punishment mackintosh, which I came across in a shop dealing in high class used ladies' clothing, is a red PVC double-breasted coat with a hood. It has six buttons to fasten it to the neck, and a high collar which, unfortunately does not fasten. The hood is like a school gaberdine hood, with two tie tapes, and it can be pulled well forward, or the front edge can be folded back to leave more of the face visible. There is also a belt, with a double-pin buckle, and cuff tabs to tighten up. I wore it a couple of weeks ago, at a weekend. I went out on the Sunday, when rain was forecast, but unfortunately it stayed fine and sunny. I caught a train, and went to the seaside where I walked on the beach, fully hooded up and wearing my wellingtons. I got a lot of very strange looks, especially when I went into a cafe for lunch, and took off my coat. I was dressed normally in a skirt and blouse and cardigan underneath, but when I left I put on my raincoat and buttoned myself up fully, fastening the belt and tying the hood on, in front of the staff and customers. It was very embarrassing, which is the general idea! This raincoat is to be worn occasionally, to make it a special punishment. I had upset a good friend, and had decided to punish myself for it. The result is effective - I went and apologised as soon as I got home, still wearing my coat, to her amazement! I have decided that it will be worn without any form of face cover, so that I can be seen clearly as the wearer. I believe that it will be worn rarely! The difference between this coat and my everyday discipline trenchcoat is that the trenchcoat is there to set an everyday standard. The discipline of wearing it to work every day, fully buttoned up and belted, puts me in the right frame of mind for work. The wellingtons and vinyl rainmac are for the purpose of making sure I arrive and get home dry, and to this end I also wear two headscarves under my vinyl hood, one over my head and the other covering my mouth and nose. Thus, I am ready to begin work as soon as I arrive in the office, even on the wettest day. I feel that to be effective, the discipline raincoat must be double breasted and belted. A single breasted coat does not have the same controlling element about it. It must be worn fully buttoned to the neck, at all times, with the belt fastened and the end stowed away. Proper shoes, or boots, clean and polished, with wellingtons in wet weather, are essential. The oufit must also be worn with gloves, and a hood if the coat has one. (Mine does not, but I wear a headscarf every day instead.) For punishment, a waterproof coat is essential: I would love to have a red rubber mackintosh with a hood, but my PVC one does nicely for now. If you can put it on and button up in public, it is very good for making you realise what you have done wrong. I hope that other readers will have a go at gaberdine or raincoat discipline - it helps to keep me on the straight and narrow, and I hope other people may find the same. Best wishes for your site! Pauline |
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