Mustering up the courage to wear rainwear in public.

[blundstone1]

Hey everyone!

I'm new here, and although I'm fresh on the forum, I thought I'd ask something that's been on my mind for a matter of months, if not years.
I live in a dry area of Australia, meaning rainwear isn't a common sight unless there's been a miniature flood lol. I used to live on quite a large farm, so could usually go for a walk in wellies away from the house so I didn't get spotted. I don't do anything naughty in rainwear, I just enjoy wearing it.
I now live in a town, therefore have very little privacy, so want to wear wellies and some other rainwear around the town instead, but being the self conscious guy I am, I struggle to muster up the courage to do so.

Is there anything you guys can suggest to give me a little more courage?

Thank you all, I look forward to meeting some of you!
Blundy

[Bill_P]

Can’t help you there my good man. There has to be at least a slight chance of rain (greater than 30 %) for me to wear one of my shiny or see thru or brightly colored raincoats when I leave the house in the morning (or failing that it should at least be very cloudy & dreary outside). And my wellies don’t come out unless it’s raining already or there are lots of puddles for me to splash in. I’m a very expressive person when it comes to showing off my vast collection of rainwear in public, but I do have my limits

[Cherie]

I’m also very shy about wearing shiny clothing in public and have never managed to do it properly. BUT I have worn wellingtons with my normal jeans and tee-shirt when out walking the dog and never had a negative comment. For me there is nothing sexual about wellington boots and I wear them because I can just slip them on without fiddling with laces on shoes or walking boots. I think that because they are practical I just wear them and have no hang ups. So most people out and about won’t share you attraction to boots and so take no notice of you wearing them.

Cherie xxx

[Rainworshipper]

I can appreciate that it is difficult to wear rainwear out in public if there is little chance of rain. In my case I only wear my mac out if there is a good chance of rain. The only bit of advice I can give is to wait until there is some rain, get one of your shiny macs on and get outside.
This makes me realise how lucky I am to live in England where we get frequent rain, hopefully I will be out in one of my macs this Sunday.
I almost forgot, welcome on here Blundy.

[mason]

As a fellow Aussie (from Melbourne), I totally understand and relate to your predicament. If the place you live is anything like the majority of Aussie country towns towns I've visited, it's probably about as bogan, intolerant and cruel as you can get. Unfortunately, that's a fact in Australia. It's not so bad in the city, thank God, but I'm probably a little fortunate living well away from some of the really rough suburbs in Melbourne.

Anyway, I think it's really all about commonsense and confidence regarding rainwear. Lots of people wear wellies out and about in the country for obvious reasons, so no one will see anything unusual about that, unless they're obviously very girly. The more you wear them, the less people will notice, much less care.

I don't know what kind of raincoats you've got, but for now I'd stick with conservative colours & styles and wear them in the rain, and even if its only cold and cloudy. Again, the more the locals see your rainwear, the less they'll notice or care. Honestly, it's really a confidence thing. Wear your rainwear with price & look people in the face when you greet them. No one will even be aware of the fetish connotations.

Hope this helps, mate.

[rainfash]

I fully agree with Mason. I live in a small town at the north coast of Germany, where it rains a lot from September to April. People on the coast usually wear lots of colourful rainwear, mostly nowadays matt and runbberized rain jackets mostly. I also wear my raincoats very frequently, and just when it rains. In April, it rained heavily one day, and I went out in my long, shiny RA68 black raincoat from PUL. The young attractive lady ( in her late twenties), the owner of our post office, made me a compliment, what a cool and practical gear I do wear. She normally knows me in Jeans, in Polo Shirts and cotton jackets, but has never seen me in a shiny raincoat. She made me honest compliments, how well I do to wear the right protective clothes, and how much she likes my shiny raincoat. I told her, that I was out with my dog at the coast for a walk, and she admitted, she needs also a good raincoat to Walk with her dog, too. She knows, that I am married, and she is married, too, and we respect each other and joke a lot, but now we have a common topic when it comes to rain. Conclusion : when it rains, nobody will tease you, if you wear a raincoat. And even if you wear a shiny raincoat, you get lots of compliments from others, that you wear the right clothes. Well, now a black shiny raincoat on a rainy day is not unusual, but I wouldn’t go out with a shiny pink or shiny red coat, of course. You can overcome any uncomfortable situation, if you have the right arguments, and my arguments were to walk with our (tall) dog at the beach on a rainy day. That sounds reasonable and people even confirm that you do wear the right clothes. It’s always how you present yourself…

[blundstone1]

Hey guys, thank you so much for your replies! It's really nice to see all your answers

I can definitely agree with almost all points you guys have made. Gotta love it, I ranted and raved about how dry this place is, and now we're expecting a storm this upcoming week - the largest we've had for months!

To answer some questions, I don't wear anything too colourful... yet. Just a matte black raincoat & pair of rainpants, and one of two pairs of wellingtons; both of which are black. Being that it's winter, and we're now expecting a good amount of rain, I might just go for a wander around town. I appreciate all of your replies, and you've definitely inspired me a bit!

Will aim to get some more fancy rainwear soon when time and money permits, but for now, I'll hopefully be stomping, splodging, and rustling around town with what I have. Cheers everyone, and thank you for the warm welcome! I can see a new online family forming already haha!

Blundy

[blundstone1]

And a big thanks to Mason too!

I do live in a slightly rougher area, but should get by as we're pretty rural, with farms all around! I'm on the edge of town, so I might be able to find somewhere to walk in a more private spot away from heaps of people, and slowly work my way to walking around town a bit more. Still new to the area, so need to carefully start out I reckon. Also need to find some nice *damp* spots where I can have a play in!

Thanks mate, good to see fellow Aussies on here too!

[Nylon macs]

Good luck and enjoy your rainwear walk around the town .we have some lovely rain here today aswell so I will also be going out in my lovely waterproofs with not alot on underneath mmm

[blundstone1]

Sounds like my kind of outing! Hope you have fun!!