Rainwear: What I wear to stay somewhat dry

One of the priorities I set for myself recently over the summer was to get my rainwear squared away. Slowly, I picked up each piece and finally consider that part of my wardrobe complete.

The obvious first step was a coat. I don’t think it particularly matters if you have a trench or “mack” overcoat, but keeping your chest and the upper half of your legs dry is pretty necessary on days when rain decides to be horizontal. I have two raincoats — a the blue trench you see above and another tan “mack”-styled one — that I actually bought dirt cheap at thrift stores. Both are vintage London Fog and from what I’ve read they’re from the era when production was still in the United States and the quality still quite good. You see a ton of these in thrift stores, so they’re not terribly hard to find if you search long enough.

Next up was footwear. I have a pair of L.L.Bean Boots, which are great, but they’re not very dressy. I found dieworkwear’s “rainy-day shoes” article helpful in finding an option within my budget. I got a pair of SWIMS overshoes during the spring Friends & Family sale at Brooks Brothers, knocking down the price from $100 to $75 for days when the rain was lighter. For heavier days, I picked up a pair of Charles Tyrwhitt military captoe boots on deep clearance, which feature Dainite soles. Both have worked out pretty well.

Finally, came the last piece: the umbrella. Again, dieworkwear’s article on umbrellas guided my decision on finding a quality one. I’d considered getting a plaid umbrella from Brooks Brothers, but after handing them in person, I thought it might be a better option to consider saving up for one with a solid-stick handle and shaft. For a while, I was planning on going with one of Howard Yount’s umbrellas, which had some great canopy selections, but then I got a really, really lucky break. I’d loved the Francesco Maglia umbrellas dieworkwear mentioned, but thought they were well beyond my budget. Then I found out that they were not only on sale at a local haberdashery (Shrine), but through a Rue La La “local deal” I could knock off another sizable chunk of the price — putting them on par with the umbrellas at HY. I’ll do a full review in the future, but let me just say that at a discounted price it’s well-worth it and the quality is immediately noticeable.

So, that’s my rainwear solution and I expect it to last quite some time.

It’s on Etsy: Camel-tan cashmere overcoat

Vintage 1970s Men’s Camel Cashmere Winter Coat: $63 shipped on Etsy — This looks like an absolutely fantastic piece at a steal of a price, and it’s also 100-percent cashmere.

Some advice on sizing: my actual chest size is 37”, I wear a 38-39”-sized suit coat, which often have a real chest measurement of 40-41”. My overcoat’s actual chest measurement is 42”. So, I’d think you can take your real chest size and add 5”.

This jacket has a 48” chest, so, if you’re a 42-43” real chest, this should fit. Or you can maybe be smaller and have your tailor take it in quite a bit along the seams. The main thing to consider would be the shoulder measurement, which will be a much-more limiting factor.

Fight the cold: cashmere overcoat

Snow’s coming down might hard here in Chicago, so I figured now was as good a time as any to post this overcoat I got off of Etsy a while back. It needed quite a bit of work done.

I had my tailor lengthen the cuffs, narrow the sleeves, narrow the sides and he also recut the shoulder and the back. It took quite a while to get it done and some decent money. Here’s what it looked like beforehand (the person modeling it isn’t me, but the seller):

As you can see, the shoulders were huge. I actually had the tailor remove the massive amount of shoulder padding in the jacket, because it made me look like a linebacker for the Bears, with my shoulders being a perfectly straight line without any sloping.

So, why all this effort to recut a jacket? Well, first off, it was super cheap — about $65 shipped, whereas the tailoring was $120. Secondly, the jacket is 100-percent cashmere. Third, because it was handmade on Saville Row:

I don’t know how much a handmade, cashmere jacket goes for these days on Saville Row, but I’m fairly certain the total $185 I paid for this was a steal. It’s super warm, heavy and looks great over my sportcoats and suits.

My tailor thought it was pretty ridiculous for how cheap I got the jacket. I couldn’t agree more.