What to wear
Dear Lorraine,
Like most of your fans, I am a lifelong devotee of rubber mackintoshes. My story
is similar to that of other writers so I will be brief.
It started when as a very small boy I was forced into a green rubber cape with
a hood - I can remember it now very clearly and how I hated it.
My first conscious effort to do anything about my love for waterproofs was to
take on a paper-round, ostensibly to save up for a typewriter. The real reason
was to provide an excuse to purchase a yellow oilskin cape, sou'wester and leggings
to wear on those glorious mornings when it was raining cats and dogs. (Why does
it never do that now?)
What to wear in the rain, and look smart?
Now I am married and retired with a collection of rubber and oilskin mackintoshes.
I am quite happy to walk about in the small town where I live dressed in a riding
mackintosh specially lengthened to cover the tops of my black Hunter wellingtons.
The oilskins are long anyway and go half way down the wellies.
Of course I wear waterproof trousers but they are not visible.
The headgear poses a problem and here I seek the advice of your readers.
My object is to look really smart and I am not sure that a sou'wester really
fills the bill. I feel I have to remove it in shops.
A wax hat with a large brim is much smarter but after two or three hours in
heavy rain it begins to leak over the left ear where there is a join in the
fabric.
A Barbour deerstalker hat doesn't suffer from this defect but it is less effective
and, worse still, Barbour have stopped producing them.
So the question is what headgear is smart, waterproof and readily available?
Suppose it is only showery?
I have gradually become more confident and am happy to wear the above outfit
(not the sou'wester) if it only looks like rain or if it is just occasional
showers. I absolutely hate getting caught in the rain not properly clad. To
some extent I no longer care what people think and very occasionally I am asked
where I bought my riding mac. (I have yet to see anybody else wearing one).
My friends remark on my outfits but that no longer bothers me.
Suppose it isn't raining at all?
The outfit described above is so warm and cosy that I long to wear it on cold
dry days but lack the confidence. I will wear the mac and hat but not the wellies.
What do readers think? Does anybody care if I walk about in wellingtons on a
dry day? Would they even notice?
Leather Wellingtons?
Here is an idea. I see Hunter make leather wellingtons. The snag is that at
£299 they are horrendously expensive, although only as much as a riding
mac. Does anybody out there admit to wearing them? I should love to know. I
think I would buy a pair if I thought other people were wearing them in the
cold rather than in the wet. It might start a fashion trend. Why is it acceptable
for ladies to wear leather knee boots but not men?
Please write to Lorraine and share your experiences.
Yours sincerely,
TG
Can't resist saying one thing myself: now we have
had Glastonbury 2005 I think you can cross wellies off the worry list: you would
look positively passeé if you didn't wear them. And Hunters
are definitely the rubber boot of choice (navy, imho).
Looking forward to everyone else's ideas. Really
nice set of questions, thank you!
Lorraine
