When the weather’s gone grey and everyone else looks cold, use your spot-on sense of style to look and feel cool. Here, three stylin’ wet-weather gear suggestions.
First Coat
Decide if you’re going cowboy or corporate. If it’s the former, check out J. Crew’s Barbour Sylkoil Bedale jacket ($379). Imported from the iconic British outerwear label that practically invented weatherproofing in the 1890s, this range-style coat is constructed of traditionally lined, medium-weight waxed cotton with a corduroy collar but definitely falls on the casual end of business casual. If your style is more boardroom than bar room, invest in the Burberry Brit Short Black Trench ($850). A modern take on the traditional British raincoat, this black, six-button double-breasted jacket can do double duty by dressing up your weekend jeans.
Over Head
Face it, how many umbrellas have you bought after it started raining and the store had jacked up the price? Prior planning pays, and in savings well beyond that of cash. Chances are, that corner store collapsible brolly was so poorly manufactured, it won’t even get you home dry. Fulton Umbrellas is the official bumbershoot supplier to H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth II, so they’ve got a standard to live up to. And, for a relatively low price, you’ll enjoy an umbrella sturdy enough to stand up to bad weather that also folds down to the size of a cell phone when the sun comes out from behind the clouds. If it requires stating, it’s an understated, conservative visual style suitable for just about all gentlemen. $38 and up at, of all places, Shoppers Drug Mart.
Foot Forward
If Hunter of Scotland’s products can keep its countrymen’s feet dry on the moors, they can definitely handle a little Canadian misting. With their all-black, no-nonsense design ($140 at Brown’s), they’re a far cry from the puddle jumpers your mom made you wear in kindergarten. Even so, gumboots aren’t for every man. Just as rubber boots have kid-like connotations, overshoes tend to skew in a more geriatric direction. That is, until you slip into a pair of SWIMS ($175 at Harry Rosen). A rubber sole and neoprene upper offer comfort and flexibility while keeping your $1,900 Ferragamo loafers from a soggy end. If you’re looking to make a splash, SWIMS’ manically colourful overshoes ($100 at Harry Rosen) will keep toes dry and maybe even brighten your spirits on a grey day. The return of the galosh? If so, it’s a notable entrance.
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Image courtesy of purplemattfish.
