Rainy day attire that keeps you dry, looking fly
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In Los Angeles, a rainy day can hatch a serious fashion conundrum. On average, it rains only 15 inches a year here -- compared with 47 inches in New York -- which helps explain why so many Angelenos are stumped when it comes to dressing stylishly for soggy conditions.
The fact that we drive everywhere -- only confronting the rain in parking lots and on brief sidewalk sojourns -- only confuses matters. Even in the middle of a deluge, dressing like the Gorton’s Fisherman feels wholly inappropriate.
‘We are pretty much covered 90% of the day, in and out of our cars and offices,’ noted Julie Weiss, an L.A.-based stylist and judge on MTV’s styling competition, ‘Styl’D.’ ‘We don’t [need] to wear yellow raincoats and matching yellow hats or plastic ponchos and hard-core ski gloves.’
So what’s the secret to staying dry without sacrificing style? ‘Putting things together the same way you do for a normal day,’ said Weiss, then mixing in a few classic rainy day staples.
‘I think in L.A., people are so afraid of the rain,’ said local editorial stylist Monica Schweiger. ‘Personally, I look at it as a chance to have a little more fun with my wardrobe.’
Weiss and Schweiger consider raincoats and classic slickers to be overkill in this parched corner of the world. Instead, mix in a great peacoat or a classic trench; keep feet dry with Wellingtons or L.L. Bean ‘duck’ boots; and a great brimmed hat will keep rain off your face. Who needs an umbrella? Well, you might for the ‘Godzilla’ storm forecast for tomorrow!
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