Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
The raincoat, a garment worn to protect the upper body from rain, is a compromise between fashion and utility. Important styles of raincoat, often associated with particular manufacturers, include the Mackintosh, the Gannex, the waxed jacket, as made in the UK by Barbour and Burberry, the anorak, the cagoule or kagoule, the poncho and the trench coat. This page explains those styles, the cloths and coatings that make a coat waterproof, and the details, hood, seams and closures, that decide how dry a raincoat actually keeps its wearer.
The raincoat, a garment worn to protect the upper body from rain, is a compromise between fashion and utility.
Gannex
waxed jacket (e.g. made in UK by Barbour and Burberry)
cagoule or kagoule
Learn more about raincoats in our fashion product influence section..
See also Coat.
Mackintosh (raincoat)
If you are planning on going outside in the rain, you may want to also learn about rain boots to help keep your feet dry.
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| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/raincoat). 1/7/06 Revised by Apparel Search Company. |
A raincoat keeps water out by one of three methods, and the method decides the coat's care. Coated and rubberised cloths, the Mackintosh principle, seal the fabric surface with a waterproof layer: completely effective, but the coating can stiffen, crack with age and needs gentle handling. Waxed cotton, the Barbour and Burberry country method, impregnates the cloth with wax that sheds water while the cotton stays breathable and repairable, at the price of periodic re-waxing to restore proofing. Modern membrane and laminated cloths put a microporous waterproof layer inside a fashion fabric, giving tailored coats and trench coats real rain protection in a light, dry-feeling cloth, reproofed by washing with the maker's recommended products rather than by wax.
Cloth is only half the test, because rain enters at holes. Seams are the main route, and serious rainwear seals, tapes or welds them; the front closure is the second, protected by a storm flap over the zip or buttons; the neck and hood are the third, a hood that adjusts around the face, or a collar that closes high, with a hat under it. Length matters more than fashion admits: a coat ending at the hip sheds its water onto unprotected trousers, while a knee-length coat covers the lap when seated, which is why the classic raincoat styles are long. Pockets should be covered or slanted so they do not fill, and cuffs should close at the wrist.
Choosing between the styles is choosing a balance on the fashion-and-utility scale the definition names. The poncho and cagoule are pure utility, light, packable and shapeless; the anorak suits outdoor use; the waxed jacket serves country wear and is maintained by its owner; the Mackintosh and trench coat are the city forms, tailored coats whose rainproofing is built into cloth and cut. Care follows the cloth: hang any raincoat to dry open after wearing, never store it wet or folded in its coating, sponge mud off rather than washing waterproof finishes away, and reproof waxed and membrane coats on schedule, since a raincoat that has lost its proofing is simply a coat.
The important styles include the Mackintosh of rubberised fabric, the Gannex, the waxed jacket made by makers such as Barbour and Burberry, the anorak, the cagoule or kagoule, the poncho and the trench coat. They divide by cloth and by cut, from the sheet-like poncho to the tailored trench coat.
The Mackintosh is one style of raincoat, the rubberised-fabric coat first sold in 1824, whose name became a general British word for a raincoat. Raincoat is the wider term covering all the styles, waxed, coated and membrane coats as well as the Mackintosh.
A raincoat covers the upper body, so rain boots complete the outfit by keeping the feet dry, and a hood or hat covers the head. The suggestion to check sun protective clothing when the rain stops is the other half of weather dressing.