Rainwear Central Rainwear Forum

My wife is an avid supporter of charity shops for books and jigsaws so when we go out for the day (about once a week) we usually visit four or five. It is axiomatic that one rarely if ever sees any "real" rainwear in such places, however hard one looks. Imagine my surprise therefore when casually looking round one such shop in Dorking yesterday and seeing a size 16 ladies navy blue polyurethane mac hanging on the rail. On closer discreet examination the label read Rainmac, Midhurst. Wonder how long before it got picked up.

Rainmac was a well-known name but it's owner passed away I believe. So now the company moved to Lincolnshire but check on the web and I think you will find it still.

Long before charity shops, we had 'jumble sales, usually held in church halls.
I picked up some great rainwear at jumble sales.......and for only pennies. Oh the 'good old days'.

Don't forget to check vintage clothing stores. These are not charity or second-hand shops, but they are focused purely on selling vintage clothing. You may also want to look at flea markets too. I went to one last summer just for the heck of it, imagine my surprise when I spotted some nice retro rainwear which made its way into my collection!

It surprises me that there are not more finds to be had in charity shops, given that pvc and proofed nylon rainwear was so common back in the day. Even 15 or so years ago there few to be found. The best finds I have had have tended to be from charity shops in more well heeled towns. WealdenMac mentions Dorking as a good example

KlepperGuy wrote: ↑March 28th, 2019, 5:02 pm Long before charity shops, we had 'jumble sales, usually held in church halls.
I picked up some great rainwear at jumble sales.......and for only pennies. Oh the 'good old days'.

Strange as it sounds now, as a child I was sometimes able to pick up no longer needed plastic pants when sorting material for jumble sales at school and voluntary organisations-for a small donation. Would have been far too embarrassed to have bought them in a shop.

I recently found a prisine-condition 80's Bri-nylon Henri Lloyd sailing cagoule/smock for £4 in my local charity shop. They're worth £80+ if they ever crop up on eBay and never in this good a condition!

Strange as it sounds now, as a child I was sometimes able to pick up no longer needed plastic pants when sorting material ...

Are you talking about rainpants or diaper covers ?

ilikecoated wrote: ↑March 29th, 2019, 8:54 pm

Strange as it sounds now, as a child I was sometimes able to pick up no longer needed plastic pants when sorting material ...

Are you talking about rainpants or diaper covers ?

In that instance, diaper covers although I did own some delightfully smooth olive green rubber lined rain pants much later in life.

Oh ! In that case you started quite early with indulging in these things.
Where I live no plastic diaper pants would have made it to charity shops etc because they were either reused within the same family or thrown away ( I even remember some of them ending up in the oven).

But I have a nice blue shiny vintage ladies Rukka that I got at a charity shop a few years ago for next to nothing.