An increasing lack of rainwear culture in Australia

[mason]

The most noticeable trend I've noticed during the last 20 years is the increasing laziness and softness of people in Australia, and the corresponding lack of any kind of rainwear culture here.

For example, no one wants to stand (or sit) in the open at the footy anymore in Melbourne. Everything must be under cover as very much as possible. Particularly for the champagne-swilling corporate wankers occupying the very best seats at the MCG here. When I was young, we thought nothing of standing in the rain for hours so we could follow our favourite teams. I used to wear my yellow rainsuit for these occasions, along with many other people. Nowadays it's all Goretex or horrible $10 disposable ponchos, weaker than even clingwrap and about as sexy. How they keep anyone dry in anything other than the lightest of showers is a mystery.

If I'm going shopping, I don't even need to get wet. 90% of the parking at my local mall is now undercover. My local Woolies also has a big underground carpark too.

Almost everyone now drives everywhere. Bus or train travel is on the nose, partly because of the covid, but also because people are scared of the thugs who ride on it at all hours of the day. Since the onset of the Covid, more parents than ever drive their kids from home to school & vice versa. I actually know people who chauffeur their brats to the local primary in a giant 4WD - the distance? Less than 500 metres. The few people I do see on bikes tend to be exercise junkies in skintight Lycra, rather than commuters. There is no cycling culture in Melbourne or Sydney, unlike most Scandinavian countries which plan road traffic infrastructure around two-wheeled transport and in fact, cyclists are viewed with complete derision here. "Road ants" is the kindest term I've heard used for cyclists in Australia.

When I was young, most schools mandated shiny yellow rainwear for their pupils. I'd see them hanging in serried rows of slippery smooth shininess at Target or K-mart, but even they are no longer. I used to absolutely LOVE trying them on and that's something I really miss. Nowadays, 'rainwear' (such as it is) consists of school-crested nylon jackets which are just about bloody useless in anything other in a drizzle. It's what they seem to want though. No one wants to look 'wet' in a raincoat no matter how WET it really is.

It's hardly surprising that proper plastic, PVC (or any) rainwear at all is hardly a growth industry here.

I can't even remember the last time I saw anyone wearing a proper plastic raincoat in Melbourne. And that's something which makes me feel sad.

[Tiefdruckgebiet]

The trend people aren't able to dress properly for current weather conditions, be it rainy or just cold, should be seen everywhere at least in the industrial countries. After the change to functional creepy Gore-Tex or similar stuff in the late 80s imho the worst decades were the 90s and 2000s in terms of classic rainwear. In 2010 there was a change, it was the Stutterheim company establishing classic-looking raincoats (their "rubberized" means PVC-coated coats like Stockholm and Mosebacke models) as timeless fashion pieces. And there followed many other brands (mostly PU coating jackets and shorter coats) in the following years so at least here (Germany) nowadays you can see many people (most female) in the cities wearing these coats like Rains or Schmuddelwedda (for me the most-seen rainwear brands in the "classic" style range).

But generally you're right, many people still use their cars to go downtown for shopping and walking around, and if they could drive directly into the stores witout the need to leave their car they'd do it. Parking outside, use public transportations and move the own a... to go to downtown pedestrian area isn't comfy for them, but in the same term they complain about high fuel prices and high parking fees downtown ... or have a look there on cold days, free (naked) ankles seen so often at young people, + normal sneakers, is it so hard to wear warmer/padded winter boots? And in the same way they are complaining about the f..ing cold, they want summer and blah blah blah. It seems more and more people did lose their ability to use their brains for thinking (well, some seem to have uploaded them to social media and Whatsapp?).

[macncape]

I totally agree with Mason. Plastic/PVC rainwear is nowhere to be seen on rainy days here in Melbourne. I find it hard to believe that such a wonderful piece of outer clothing is so unappreciated by the men and women of Melbourne. I wore one of my plastic macs recently when we had some wet weather and as I remained dry there were people getting absolutely drenched from the heavy rain. Quite unbelievable really to see not one person wearing a mac like I was.

[rainwearseeker]

i remember seeing the classic rainwear phasing out sometime in the late 90's. in the early-mid 90's (when i was very young) it was a lot more common to see. rainboots though were very common when i was in college but the classic rubber ones were replaced with a more synthetic material unless it was hunters.

[Rainworshipper]

It would seem that in England shiny rainwear has been in decline for about 30 years. Up until the end of the 1980's pvc or proofed nylon was very common on a wet day, but as the 1990's progressed there was less traditional rainwear around, the Gore-tex stuff was taking over.

[Deleted User 5375]

Totally agree. The only up-side (and this is only a very small advantage) is that when you do have a are sighting it is all the more wonderful. Although it would be much better if people did dress sensibly, and be prepared to walk a distance in the rain - it’s not going to make you dissolve honest!

JM

[PLAVTEXC]

As someone from Melbourne I totally agree with Mason. It is a very long time since I saw a woman wearing a shiny raincoat in Melbourne and I cannot remember when I saw a man wearing the same. Recently I saw a young woman of Asian appearance wearing a very shiny hooded jacket, and I assume that she was an international student who bought the jacket overseas. Of course there are women [only women] who are wearing PVC and PU coated jackets from Scandinavia, but these are not shiny, or with only a dull sheen.
But are we very much to blame? Do we wear our rainwear, especially shiny raincoats in public, and I mean in the city, not along a near deserted beach?
I feel that in Melbourne at least, but probably across Australia, we have a whole generation of women especially, who have never seen the garments that we love, for sale in the shops or on the backs of someone in the street.
I do wear PVC raincoats in public frequently, rather at every opportunity when it is raining or looking like rain, either by myself or in the company of my wife. My current favourite is an Elements Rainwear double breasted mac from PVC-U-Like model RA81 for those that are interested. But I also have three other PVC trench coats, self made - a black, dark brown and navy blue.
I have to stress, that I have never been embarrassed or in any way made to feel uncomfortable while wearing such coats. On the contrary, on many occasions I have been complimented or questioned about where I got the coat by both men and women, although mainly young women. Once when my wife and I were returning by tram to the city after dining out in an inner suburb restaurant I was wearing full buttoned up a long shiny black PVC trench, when a middle aged man at the back of the tram got up and walked the full length of the tram to us and said quietly to me "good on you" before getting off the tram.
Come on everyone- get out there in the midst of people in your shiniest best.

[Mrwhitefish]

i wear a shiny royal blue set out in public on rainy days it's a zip up hooded jacket and a pair pants elastic waste and drawstrings and usually wear a pair of matching blue boots i always get comments from men and women
some nice some not i don't really care but I'm not getting wet and keeping dry and dry feet 🤷😂 .
I'm not the one running round like a headless chook trying to keep dry I'm the one walking through the puddles keeping dry warm and happy 🤷😂😂 .
I love it when women make comments or approach it's awesome and they always want to touch and feel the fabric of the jacket .
It makes me blush and embarrassed sometimes but hey it's not every day your approached by gourges women asking about a plastic raincoat and what boots im wearing and where i purchased it all 👌😍

[rainwear-experience]

I respect Mason for the work he does on the forum and his views but has there ever been a ‘rainwear culture’

To the vast majority of people, especially those outside this forum, rainwear is a practical piece of clothing worn to keep them warm and dry, and maybe in some cases as a fashion statement

People are having a go at the new fabrics such as Gortex but, again, the majority of people just want to feel comfortable and prefer fabrics that don’t make them as wet on the inside as they are on the outside

People use their cars because it’s convenient and practical, why would anyone outside this forum want to spend hours in the cold and wet waiting for a bus or train that may never arrive?

“I wore one of my plastic macs recently when we had some wet weather and as I remained dry there were people getting absolutely drenched from the heavy rain. Quite unbelievable really to see not one person wearing a mac like I was”

It sounds like people weren’t prepared for the weather but I doubt even if they had been it would be unlikely they would have chosen a plastic mac rather than one of the newer fabrics
“Although it would be much better if people did dress sensibly, and be prepared to walk a distance in the rain - it’s not going to make you dissolve honest!”

If people did ‘dress sensibly’ again I doubt whether they would be choosing the same type of rainwear that members of this site enjoy wearing and seeing, life has moved on

It’s right that members of the forum are passionate about their interest but they shouldn’t let their bias impact on what the majority of people do

[PLAVTEXC]

For those who checked the Elements coat was a black RA82, not RA81 as I put in my post yesterday