For various reasons, I like heavy rainwear, meaning the stuff, that is not labelled "outdoor" and has no high-tech membranes, but the plain old-style rainwear, that exists for about 50 years now, and never really completely vanished. Is it a fetish? Well, not only but also. I am living in northern Germany and rainwear is just the right thing to have, even though many people prefer to get wet or lose their umbrellas (and also get wet). The classical hooded rubbery raincoat has actually been revived recently. There are european based companies like Stutterheim, Tretorn, Ilse Jacobsen, Schmuddelwedda, MBYM, Ichi, Derbe, Rains, and many more. Some of them are now present on the internet, on ebay, amazon, and even in off-line shops, others sell through dealers. There was one extra reason to start this thread: When looking for rainwear online, you hardly ever get sufficient information, be it sizing, texture, shape or even the base material and coating. So, buying online is really trial and error. I want to share some knowledge about the stuff that I have. And I would appreciate, if others post their knowledge here too - as well as their thoughts, experiences etc. Simply join the discussion!
Let's have a few examples, three different coats I own, and wear in public, without nasty looks upon me (unless the sun is shining too hard). All of the just above knee length, and officially tailored for women:
Tretorn "Erna", size XL blue (www.tretorn.com)
The outside is PU-coated polyester, a bit stiff, very soft surface, shiny.
Inside, it is lined in an off-white fabric, probably polyester too, it feels almost like cotton.
The general shape is almost straight, on the slimmer side, I think, it gets continuously wider from armpits to bottom.
Hood size is fairly small, the shape is good for my head, I can use in on the bicycle.
As the name "Erna" implies, this is a model for women, but I think, it is fine for slim men too. I usually wear men's size M, but when it comes to sleeve length, I often need L. This coat has fairly wide shoulders, and XL is perfect on my chest and the sleeves are almost long enough (they are hardly ever long enough on ANY coat, no matter how large). The lining doesn't yet make it a winter coat, and a normal pullover is the thickest, I should wear underneath. XL should be considered L, I think.
MBYM "Festa Festival", size M/L, black (https://mbym-shop.com)
This is a PU-coated polyester fabric again, a bit thinner than the one from Tretorn, but still a bit stiiffer than the material from Rains.
Similar outside finish, soft, dense and shiny. The inside is rough, typical polyester fabric, no lining.
Shape is straight, but it comes with a belt. It is "oversized fit", which results in a perfect sleeve length for me, it even passes the "zombie-test" - arms straight forward. The hood is slightly larger than the one from "Erna", should be just okay for riding my bicycle though. It won't fit over a helmet!
The waist line is a bit high for me, just at the lower endof the rib-cage. But it looks okay, and unless I tie the belt too tight, it also feels fine. By the way, M/L is probably woman-friendly sizing, it is plain L or even larger, I'd say (well, it is also oversized, so perhaps exactly L).
I added a drawstring on the bottom, because I could, the hem is open. It gives it a slightly nicer overall shape, I think - drawstring not pulled tight, just gathering the hem ever so slightly.
Ilse Jacobsen "Rubber Coated Polyester" (actually, that seems to be the model name), size M, blue (www.ilsejacobsen.com)
The most femine-shaped coats of mine. Fairly narrow shoulders, a bit tighter on the waist, skirt gets wider to the bottom. And there are short shaping seams at the chest. A special feature: The arm cuffs can be opened almost up to the elbows and are closed with four shiny metal poppers. This reminds me of older army coats, just without the additional strap. The cuffs can be folder back over the upper arms, and they are lined with the rubberised surface too, while the upper sleeves aren't. It was probably a useful feature of the coat, that Ilse Jacobsen used for inspiration. I suppose, this could be handy during some tasks. Obviously, the cuffs are fairly wide.
The hood is the smallest of all three coats, perfect for biking.
The outside is not as shiny as the other coats, naturally, because it is rubber coated. I am tempted to try silicon oil, but I will wait. I consider this coat to be suited for public wearing, and too much shine might do no good then. The inside is interesting for me as a rubber lover: The front is lined with the outside material, the back is uncoated. The hood is coated inside too. Because of the rubber coating and less shiny poppers, the overall apperance is nicely rough, perhaps an allusion to the traditional sailor wear. The other two coats are more "urban".
This coat is slightly too small on the shoulders, but I saw it for 30€ only (usually over 100 €), and it is brand new, so I had to try it. It is actually fine, if I don't raise my arms. Once I raise my arms, the sleeves get too short and the chest is too tight. I am interested to see this coat in size L, it should be perfect.
From these coats, when worn in public, I feel best with the Tretorn coat. Cut-wise the MBYM coat is unisex, but wearing a belt on a coat is new to me, so it is third. Second comes the Ilse Jacobsen coat, even though it is the most feminine. I don't think, people can really tell, that I am wearing women's coats, unless they look at the poppers and know, that poppers (or buttons) on the right side can only be found on women's clothes. I have also checked in the mirror, and I don't think, it looks any unusual, wrong or inappropriate for a man. It is a bit like skirts, except, that skirts are "officially" considered women only, while most people don't even think about raincoats.
Well, what do I do with these coats? First of all, I like to wear hooded raincoats instead of these ordinary chest-length "standard jackets". I also have an affection for rubber-like material, which I can discretely follow in public with raincoats. So, I do wear these coats, whenever suitable. I sometimes wear then, when sitting at my computer. And I have worn them in bed too. Well, not for sleeping, they are too warm for that 😉. To me, these coats are both, regular clothing and fetish item.
Concerning the public apperance of me wearing these coats: I got compliments in the Tretorn coat. I haven't got any reaction on the MBYM coat yet. A woman gave me a nice smile, when I was walking by in the Ilse Jacobsen coat, but I don't know, if that was because of the coat, despite the coat or whatever. Probably not because of my shoes though... In Hamburg, no such coats are commonly worn by men. You can see quite a few raincoats, especially the expensive ones from Schmuddelwedda and Derbe in the city and in the "better" quarters, but worn by women. Over the last frew years, I spottet about 4 men in rainjackets, and, a few days ago, one in a raincoat.
OK, so much about raincoats for the moment. One of the next posts might be about other forms of rainwear. I am not sure, if anyone is interested in this, but I suppose so. There are complete forums dedicated only to the rainwear fetish, and this thread is about even more, it is also about actually wearing rainwear as normal clothing!
(This post was last modified: 01 May 2019, 19:34 by Strappado.)
Let's have a few examples, three different coats I own, and wear in public, without nasty looks upon me (unless the sun is shining too hard). All of the just above knee length, and officially tailored for women:
Tretorn "Erna", size XL blue (www.tretorn.com)
The outside is PU-coated polyester, a bit stiff, very soft surface, shiny.
Inside, it is lined in an off-white fabric, probably polyester too, it feels almost like cotton.
The general shape is almost straight, on the slimmer side, I think, it gets continuously wider from armpits to bottom.
Hood size is fairly small, the shape is good for my head, I can use in on the bicycle.
As the name "Erna" implies, this is a model for women, but I think, it is fine for slim men too. I usually wear men's size M, but when it comes to sleeve length, I often need L. This coat has fairly wide shoulders, and XL is perfect on my chest and the sleeves are almost long enough (they are hardly ever long enough on ANY coat, no matter how large). The lining doesn't yet make it a winter coat, and a normal pullover is the thickest, I should wear underneath. XL should be considered L, I think.
MBYM "Festa Festival", size M/L, black (https://mbym-shop.com)
This is a PU-coated polyester fabric again, a bit thinner than the one from Tretorn, but still a bit stiiffer than the material from Rains.
Similar outside finish, soft, dense and shiny. The inside is rough, typical polyester fabric, no lining.
Shape is straight, but it comes with a belt. It is "oversized fit", which results in a perfect sleeve length for me, it even passes the "zombie-test" - arms straight forward. The hood is slightly larger than the one from "Erna", should be just okay for riding my bicycle though. It won't fit over a helmet!
The waist line is a bit high for me, just at the lower endof the rib-cage. But it looks okay, and unless I tie the belt too tight, it also feels fine. By the way, M/L is probably woman-friendly sizing, it is plain L or even larger, I'd say (well, it is also oversized, so perhaps exactly L).
I added a drawstring on the bottom, because I could, the hem is open. It gives it a slightly nicer overall shape, I think - drawstring not pulled tight, just gathering the hem ever so slightly.
Ilse Jacobsen "Rubber Coated Polyester" (actually, that seems to be the model name), size M, blue (www.ilsejacobsen.com)
The most femine-shaped coats of mine. Fairly narrow shoulders, a bit tighter on the waist, skirt gets wider to the bottom. And there are short shaping seams at the chest. A special feature: The arm cuffs can be opened almost up to the elbows and are closed with four shiny metal poppers. This reminds me of older army coats, just without the additional strap. The cuffs can be folder back over the upper arms, and they are lined with the rubberised surface too, while the upper sleeves aren't. It was probably a useful feature of the coat, that Ilse Jacobsen used for inspiration. I suppose, this could be handy during some tasks. Obviously, the cuffs are fairly wide.
The hood is the smallest of all three coats, perfect for biking.
The outside is not as shiny as the other coats, naturally, because it is rubber coated. I am tempted to try silicon oil, but I will wait. I consider this coat to be suited for public wearing, and too much shine might do no good then. The inside is interesting for me as a rubber lover: The front is lined with the outside material, the back is uncoated. The hood is coated inside too. Because of the rubber coating and less shiny poppers, the overall apperance is nicely rough, perhaps an allusion to the traditional sailor wear. The other two coats are more "urban".
This coat is slightly too small on the shoulders, but I saw it for 30€ only (usually over 100 €), and it is brand new, so I had to try it. It is actually fine, if I don't raise my arms. Once I raise my arms, the sleeves get too short and the chest is too tight. I am interested to see this coat in size L, it should be perfect.
From these coats, when worn in public, I feel best with the Tretorn coat. Cut-wise the MBYM coat is unisex, but wearing a belt on a coat is new to me, so it is third. Second comes the Ilse Jacobsen coat, even though it is the most feminine. I don't think, people can really tell, that I am wearing women's coats, unless they look at the poppers and know, that poppers (or buttons) on the right side can only be found on women's clothes. I have also checked in the mirror, and I don't think, it looks any unusual, wrong or inappropriate for a man. It is a bit like skirts, except, that skirts are "officially" considered women only, while most people don't even think about raincoats.
Well, what do I do with these coats? First of all, I like to wear hooded raincoats instead of these ordinary chest-length "standard jackets". I also have an affection for rubber-like material, which I can discretely follow in public with raincoats. So, I do wear these coats, whenever suitable. I sometimes wear then, when sitting at my computer. And I have worn them in bed too. Well, not for sleeping, they are too warm for that 😉. To me, these coats are both, regular clothing and fetish item.
Concerning the public apperance of me wearing these coats: I got compliments in the Tretorn coat. I haven't got any reaction on the MBYM coat yet. A woman gave me a nice smile, when I was walking by in the Ilse Jacobsen coat, but I don't know, if that was because of the coat, despite the coat or whatever. Probably not because of my shoes though... In Hamburg, no such coats are commonly worn by men. You can see quite a few raincoats, especially the expensive ones from Schmuddelwedda and Derbe in the city and in the "better" quarters, but worn by women. Over the last frew years, I spottet about 4 men in rainjackets, and, a few days ago, one in a raincoat.
OK, so much about raincoats for the moment. One of the next posts might be about other forms of rainwear. I am not sure, if anyone is interested in this, but I suppose so. There are complete forums dedicated only to the rainwear fetish, and this thread is about even more, it is also about actually wearing rainwear as normal clothing!
