It's that time of the year again. Many of us have just spent months holed up like hibernating bears, trying to avoid the cold air and wet snow. Now, with spring almost here, we'll spend the next few weeks pretending to be ducks - quacking and complaining about the rain and leaping puddles big and small.
March and April are usually damp, dreary months when it's cold, wet, and miserable- looking outside, but this year's rainwear fashions will have you singing in the rain. Many of the best are in bright, eye-grabbing colors, and best of all, they will actually keep you dry.
Rainwear is supposed to keep you dry, but it's taken many years and quite a bit of serious research to develop fabrics and clothing styles that will actually prevent you from getting drenched in a downpour. Early versions were made of tightly woven wool tweeds, sometimes in a balmacaan style. The natural oils contained in wool created a mild water-repellent effect. The right weave kept water from penetrating quickly.
The balmacaan, which originated in Scotland, - a country known for its mists, drizzles, and foggy weather - is cut as a loose-fitting coat with raglan sleeves and a buttoned-up front with a small collar. The original wool version was helpful in keeping the rainout, though not perfect. Today, cut in khaki or navy water-repellent gabardines, twills, and poplins, it's a classic in traditional men's rainwear departments, though it ranks high on the list of ho-hum fashion.
Over the millennia, rainwear has progressed from the scanty protection of a few fig leaves to the sophisticate rainwear "systems" now available in the stores. Much of the effort has centered on developing waterproof or water-resistant fabrics and on designing garments that will seal off or retard the penetration of water from the outer garment.
Fabrics that have been waterproofed have surfaces that have been completely sealed to prevent the penetration of water. Because these fabrics are nonporous, they don't "breathe," leaving the wearer a little warm, unless his garment is lightweight or is equipped with vents. Water-repellent finishes on fabrics do not close the pores of the fabric against air as does waterproofing. They can breathe and are not as warm as waterproofed fabrics. While they do the job in a mild squall, they are not effective against a ranging storm.
Finding the Perfect Raincoat
Efforts to find the perfect raincoat have included the development of fabrics impregnated with wax or coated with oil. In this century, the research has focused on developing a variety of chemical fabric finishes that are water-, oil-, and stain-resistant and fabrics that are completely waterproof yet offer some breathability.
In 1823, a Scotsman, Charles Macintosh, invented a waterproof fabric. It was as heavy, rubberized canvas that, made into coats called macintoshes, is still favored by sportsmen, firemen, and policemen as their foul-weather gear today. The heaviness and stiffness of the real macintosh makes it uncomfortable for the average person who only needs a raincoat to dash from one doorway to the
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