Lorraine's Rainwear Guide
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Showerproof fashion
Excellent range - of course! - is
also offered by Marks and Spencer - and an excellent webshop too
...and do you know Mexx? French inspiration, big choice, big on style.
40 +
An e-store specialising in things for the more advanced is Daxon.
They even offer a raincoat in plain classical unbelted style in classical colour!
Well worth a look is La Redoute, good prices, sensible rainwear styling.
Dannimac, poorly for a long while as far as we could see, has been a tremendously popular source of decent rainwear over the years. Now it's appeared again, to be found over the Signature signature and available allegedly from House of Fraser ... Thanks Kathy at Signature and Sylvia for asking.
(BUT - I'm told - only a few styles are to be found, and the new people in charge of the label don't seem to want to sell them ... No trace of Dannimac on the House of Fraser website. But there is now something called Dannimac at Gekko!
Plus sizes
The French store La Redoute offers an excellent size range for many of its stylish offerings.
Daxon is good on price and has the plus-size thing in the front of its brain.
Bright mac available in up to size UK 24 from Marshall Ward. For £25!
Anoraks etc
Good prices and a good store by Marshall Ward
For going on the hills or even on bikes you need to 
exploit the best
scientific advances and get gear that is fully protective, robust and
totally comfortable - so you can focus on the actual muscle pain itself. Countrywide has a good price range.
Excellent value to be had in Army-surplus type gear. Surplus and Adventure offer great choice and a very informative site
Cyclists
A
good specialist shop for the highly ambitious person who wants to keep
dry on a pedal bike is ParkerWear
Bikers
Bikers who prefer the thrust of pistons between their legs might consult Bikex or British Motorcycling Gear.
Bike gear for girls is what it says.
The revered name of Belstaff is appearing again, flash gear this time round, and a terrible flash website (a bit like mine...).
Equestrian
If it's not pistons but leather and horse muscle you should see what Dark Horse has to offer. Or Storm Clouds. Traditional riding macs for starters, but lots more.
PVC fashion rainwear
High gloss polyurethane makes the most stunning rainwear, but it is amazingly difficult to find anybody who regularly sells it.
Montcler is an an honorable exception. Website is a bit web-1 but if you look around you will find the polyurethane range.
For real cool polyurethane made-to-measure though you may
have to come to us
- Lakeland Elements ! (And pay quite a lot I'm afraid.)
If you are thinking PVC or just plain plastic, both of which can be real fun, it's a bit easier - if you don't mind a bit of excitement - cos then you can think of PVC Rainwear. Prices reflect the fact that you might want to buy two, for when the first tears.
Montcler again offer a wide range.
Uniform Rainwear
Inexpensive plastic rainwear for the whole team byPaddimac or StayDry
Men's Rainwear
Lots and lots of jackets - a great range at Littlewoods Direct - but quite difficult to find anyone willing to save men's legs from the the wet. An exception, and a good webshop is by Charles Tyrwhitt.
Boots
My favorite - classic Hunters - are at Countrywide
There is also The Wellie Shop. Lovely site, caters for the funky-minded as well as the serious thinker.
Stylish wellies for women are also offered by Joules Clothing. They keep the front labelling and the side calf-straps which wellies just have to have, imho, and yet somehow introduce a flair all of their own. Bravo!
Waterproof workwear
that need it is offered by Ocean
Waterproof high fashion rainwear
Hitting the headlines and winning the awards is
the Glasgow-based wizzbusiness Mackintosh.
They make rainwear that is really waterproof in the I really mean waterproof sense - impermeable membrane sandwiched in cotton. This makes a really
different fabric with tremendous cool and class. Top designer Erdem
Moralioglu seems to have fallen in love with it (surprise, surprise!)
and the result is a range of modern mackintoshes which you want want want to be able to afford...
Working with the same materials and a hot designer
of their own, Manchester-made Gekko sell
brilliant high waterproof fashion for quite a bit less...
Wax proofed rainwear
I love the studs and pockets and buckles of the extensive Barbour range!
Countrywide has the Barbour Utility Ladies Jacket (pic) and their Utility Mac.
More Barbour at Orvis
Drover's Coats
Countrywide keeps two versions in stock, the Outback and the Outrider.
Driza-bone coats are were once for Drovers too.
top trenchcoat school rubberised for bikers drover's coat waxed plastic double-texture classic fashion high fashion rainboots wellies anorak parka over forty micropore hightech for motorbike riding macs ontrend trenches for cycling waterproof workwear team drover's coats plus sizes
top trenchcoat school rubberised for bikers drover's coat waxed plastic double-texture classic fashion high fashion rainboots wellies anorak parka over forty micropore hightech for motorbike riding macs ontrend trenches for cycling waterproof workwear team drover's coats plus sizes
Rainwear doesn't have to be fun
but the choice you get on-line gives you every chance to get wet
in style. |
Trenchcoats, top of the range
The classic trenchcoat is not actually waterproof of course, but close weave, thoughtful and generous tailoring and (these days) surface- proofing, still make it a serious weatherbeater. You used to have to think Burberry first, but there is also Aquascutum making a terrific bid to beat Burberry at their own game. Both offer terrific style as well as protection. Both offer delicious lightweight fashion trenchcoats too. All these delights come at mouthwatering prices, but note that experienced Burberries can usually be bought second-hand on e-bay.
You can get the latest in these class trenchcoats new from retailing deities such as Saks Fifth Avenue as well as from HQ.
But lots of less highly-bred trench-wear available from lots of places just now. [MORE]
Fashion parkas
Last season's hit really, but if you think decluttered a parka can still offer highstreet style - as well as practicality. Handsome decluttered parka by Mexx.
Stylish more brutal parkas
Terrific stuff in Galaxy Army and Navy, 124 West 30th Street,
New York City. 
They do international, but of course postage costs...
For serious parkaphiles (and everyone else actually) there is the brilliant Parka Pages, covering all the Parka angles - in depth.
[more parkas]
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