Is There Such a Thing As a Stylish Raincoat?
My daughter won’t wear a coat.
Being a dad to a 13-year-old you develop a thick skin. The one-word answers, non-stop phone use and constant sass aren’t pleasant. Apparently, it’s all just a passing phase!
Less reconcilable is the self-sabotaging behaviour.
Right now, she refuses to take a coat to school.
Even if it’s pouring with rain.
Actually: especially and defiantly if it's pouring with rain.
Because haven’t you heard? Coats aren't cool. And why risk being laughed out of Year 9, when you can turn up soaked the bone? At least that way you won’t, er, look silly.
It's puzzling behaviour, to be sure.
But then I started to think: maybe she’s got a point. Coats – and we’re really talking raincoats here – are traditionally not the most flattering item in anyone’s wardrobe.
Celebrity male raincoat wearers include Inspector Clouseau, George Costanza and Carl Fredricksen from Up – all iconic dudes, for sure. But it would be an odd sort of stylist who had any of them pinned to their mood board.
And so we wondered: is it possible to wear a raincoat and still be stylish?
Charlie Teasdale, the writer, stylist, Esquire editor-at-large and raincoat fan, says absolutely “yes”. You just need to keep things simple.
“The obvious way to look unstylish is to choose something extremely technical,” he says. “Like an Arc’teryx shell jacket or something very gorp-y and designed for hiking. Wearing that kind of thing with casual clothes is very hard to pull off.”
It's also unnecessary: these days you’ll find really good waterproofing, or at least really good water resistance, on decent outwear made from natural fabrics.
Zegna are the dons of this, with cashmere silk-lined coats that come treated with clever breathable water-resistant membranes.
You’ll find similar ideas with this season's outwear at Brunello Cucinelli, Canali and Loro Piana; the latter’s patented “storm system” treatment making their fabrics both waterproof and wind resistant, without compromising on their softness, warmth or comfort.
Too pricey?
Teasdale recommends his own overcoat from Uniqlo, something with enough waterproofness to keep the elements at bay.
“You need it to be as minimalist as possible. It doesn’t want to have any structure at all, unlike a winter overcoat," he says. "It should be lightweight – a throw-over. No epaulets, no shoulder pads, maybe a belt, and knee-length. A raglan sleeve is lovely, because it just sits nicer. Studio Nicholson is great for raincoats.”
David Morris, buying manager at Mr Porter, suggests an oversized cotton trench from The Row. Or a shell from Dries Van Noten.
“It’s inspired by traditional outerwear, so it’s a piece you'll be able to wear with everything in your wardrobe," he says of the former. "It’s designed to be worn on mild days, but the loose fit allows for ample layering over knitwear and hoodies when the weather drops.”
The Dries coat, he says, will form the foundation of most wardrobes.
“It’s cut from hardwearing shell for protection against the rain and padded for lightweight insulation. It would be my go-to to throw on at the weekends."
Cut and silhouette are the most important factors to keep in mind, something that can be easily styled over (with a statement scarf) or under (with heavy knitwear).
As for style inspiration, Teasdale is specific.
“People in the Nineties, particularly rock stars, arriving at airports, looked great in raincoats,” he says.
“There’s a great photo of Eric Clapton wearing a beige raincoat doing just that. Can we still mention him, or has he been cancelled?”
Admittedly the sight of Clapton checking-in at Heathrow seems unlikely to help me win the wet-weather battle with my 13-year-old.
But you never know. At this point, anything’s worth a shot.
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