Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A poncho is a simple garment designed to keep the body dry during rain. It is essentially a single large sheet of fabric with an opening for the head and sometimes for the arms, and some ponchos also have hoods attached. Alternative ponchos are designed as fashion accessories, of the same shape but different material, made to look fashionable and be loose and comfortable rather than to ward off rain, often in wool or other textured material. The poncho is traditional clothing across the world and is nowadays a standard in military field uniforms, used as a raincoat for hiking and biking as well.
Alternative ponchos are now designed as fashion accessories; they are the same shape but of different material. They are designed to look fashionable and be loose and comfortable, rather than ward off rain. These are often made out of wool or other stringy material.
While a traditional clothing in the whole world it's nowadays a standard in military field uniforms, as a raincoat for wandering and biking. Traditional and more local names and variants are:
Poncho, Spain and worldwide
Chamanto, central Chile,
Kotze or "Wetterfleck" in Austria, Switzerland and Bavaria, dark green or brown clothing for hunting
Paenula, in the old Rome, some kind of cape or jacket
Kasel or Pluviale, catholic church clothing
Pelerine, Redingote and Cape, weatherjacket without arms
"Gurgel" in the Middle Age, short, sometimes with hood
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/poncho). 5/13/05 |
The poncho's design refuses almost everything other rainwear includes. There are no sleeves to seam, no front opening to leak, no fitted parts to size: one sheet, one neck hole, and gravity does the waterproofing, rain running off the sloping cloth as off a tent. That is why the pattern is so old and so widespread, appearing wherever woven cloth and rain meet, and why armies still issue it: a military poncho covers the soldier, the pack and the weapon at once, doubles as a ground sheet or shelter half, packs flat, and fits every size in the unit. Rubberised cloth, coated nylon and PVC are the modern rain materials, with taped or welded seams at the neck and hood, press-stud sides that can open into the flat sheet, and a hood drawn close at the face.
The fashion poncho keeps the geometry and changes the brief. Knitted or woven in wool and wool blends, fringed, patterned or plain, it is a loose outer layer pulled over ordinary clothes for warmth and appearance, closer in spirit to the traditional woven ponchos of South America, working garments and festive dress in their home regions long before fashion borrowed them. Wearing either kind is simple: the neck opening sits at the shoulders, the cloth is arranged evenly front and back, and a belt over a fashion poncho gives it shape when wanted. Care splits by material: coated rain ponchos are sponged clean and dried open so the coating is not mildewed in storage, never machine washed hot, while wool ponchos follow ordinary wool care. Judged by endurance, few garments compete with a design that needs no alteration to serve a shepherd, a soldier, a cyclist and a fashion season in the same century.
A poncho is a garment made from a single large sheet of fabric with an opening for the head, and sometimes openings for the arms, with a hood on some versions. In its first form it keeps the body dry in rain; in fashion form the same shape is made in wool and other decorative fabrics.
A rain poncho is made of waterproof material and is cut to shed water over clothing and equipment, the standard military and hiking form. A fashion poncho keeps the one-piece shape and head opening but is made of wool or similar material for appearance and comfort, with no rain protection intended.
Local names and variants include the chamanto of central Chile, the Kotze or Wetterfleck hunting cape of Austria, Switzerland and Bavaria, the paenula, a cape or jacket of old Rome, the Kasel or Pluviale of church clothing, and sleeveless weather garments such as the pelerine and cape.