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Fashion & Clothing: Follies, Fads & Social Norms

Spookdaddy said:
Not just London, I'm afraid. I've noticed them a couple of times in London, but seen them in Edinburgh too. I think they possibly represent the same need to purpose disjunct as does the average urban 4WD - and very possibly the same demographic.
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Yikes.:eek:

I think wearing whatever you like to keep you warm and cozy in your own home is a great idea but I do wonder if some people have such a horror of ever feeling the slightest discomfort that somehow we have got from a garment that prevents you from keeling over from hypothermia halfway home to the same garment being used to prevent a sliver of coolish air touching a few skin cells as one alights from one's 4x4 parked up in the disabled spot right next to the door?
 
Min Bannister said:
I did not know that! It does explain their appearance. Although less so their (saggy and odd) appearance on a high street near everyone. I am sure Dryrobe and Ugg boots combos have been seen.


Oh course there is!
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Taken in my very town;

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I haven't seen anyone wearing Uggs or overly long puffa coats for years now. What surprises me most when in the north west is how few people employ umbrellas when it buckets down. There often isn't much point, considering the strong winds, although not many opt for weather appropriate gear either - no waterproof jackets, mostly sweatshirts and jeans..

A little further north: non native Cumbrian's (tourists and newcomers alike) have a tendency to overdo it when the inevitable happens, with Arc'teryx, Mountain Warehouse and Rab pretending to have sudden flash sales (that actually last all year round) which might convince you that a bright orange hip length, hooded windproof for only £499 is a steal. No umbrellas here either, not enough room on the pavements for 'em.

Shropshire folk on the other hand seem to delight at the prospect of fishing out the umbrella! Bell jars, animal shapes, classic black, carved handles, Prisoner-esque Portmeirion stripes, etc. It isn't uncommon, at the first spot of rain to witness a bobbling sea of jolly, colourfully patterned brollies on a trip into town.

That said, I'm with Wainwright on this one: "There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing"...
 
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Down 'ere there are plenty of people wearing Dryrobes as coats. Quite often 40-something women taking the dogs for a walk. The In House GP wrinkles his nose and mutters things about being unhygienic because you can't wash them properly.

We have towelling beach robes purely for - the beach.
 
bugmum said:
Down 'ere there are plenty of people wearing Dryrobes as coats. Quite often 40-something women taking the dogs for a walk. The In House GP wrinkles his nose and mutters things about being unhygienic because you can't wash them properly.

We have towelling beach robes purely for - the beach.
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Wait, what? You can't wash them properly?
They do look rather bulky for shoving into a washing machine. Drying might take a while.
No prob though as they're only being used in the dry. :chuckle:
 
Might it not just be the kind of poncho Bruno from Encanto wears?
 
merricat said:
I haven't seen anyone wearing Uggs or overly long puffa coats for years now. What surprises me most when in the north west is how few people employ umbrellas when it buckets down. There often isn't much point, considering the strong winds, although not many opt for weather appropriate gear either - no waterproof jackets, mostly sweatshirts and jeans..

A little further north: non native Cumbrian's (tourists and newcomers alike) have a tendency to overdo it when the inevitable happens, with Arc'teyx, Mountain Warehouse and Rab pretending to have sudden flash sales (that actually last all year round) which might convince you that a bright orange hip length, hooded windproof for only £499 is a steal. No umbrellas here either, not enough room on the pavements for 'em.

Shropshire folk on the other hand seem to delight at the prospect of fishing out the umbrella! Bell jars, animal shapes, classic black, carved handles, Prisoner-esque Portmeirion stripes, etc. It isn't uncommon, at the first spot of rain to witness a bobbling sea of jolly, colourfully patterned brollies on a trip into town.

That said, I'm with Wainwright on this one: "There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing"...
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I've always wanted one of those glow rod umbrellas you saw in Blade Runner (I still do) but then it occurred to me that occasional fellow Blade Runner fans could stop me to ask me where I got it which would become irritating after a while .. but it would be my own fault for walking around with a Blade Runner umbrella.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/YANYUESHOP-Colours-Runner-Umbrella-Black-adult/dp/B0B7F5N25K?th=1
 
FunkyTT said:
Goes to look up "Buffalo mountain jacket".

Sounds a good thing because the heating bills are killing me .
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Mythopoeika said:
Look at the cost of the jacket!
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Thing is, as I've said before - I don't own a car. I live in a town that's higher above sea level than Aviemore, I walk everywhere, I work outdoors at least half the year, and also spend a lot of my leisure time in the same environment.

Given that, and sufficient experience of poor quality gear, I never skimp on outdoor gear, or footwear of any kind.

Way I look at it is that my outdoor stuff fills, in some ways, the gap that other people fill with their car. I buy quality, and generally therefore expensive gear - but the sobering thing is that I could probably spend three times as much as I do and it still wouldn't come anywhere near the cost of buying, running and maintaining even a relatively modest vehicle.

(Also, top tip - always buy out of season. Another factor - quality technical gear tends to retain value; as long as it's in decent nick you can generally get a good price on eBay.)
 
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Spookdaddy said:
There's actually something really enjoyable about walking in bad weather when you have the right gear for it - it can feel a bit like you're bumbling around the hills in your own little spaceship.
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I don't drive either and it's always pissing it down In ' sunny West Yorkshire... I do need decent outdoor stuff myself. I'll look into the bits you mentioned!
 
Herr Cloaca said:
I've got something called a SelkBag...
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I have an old down sleeping bag that my parents bought for me back in the early to mid 80's. It's so old that it's got the Blacks of Greenock label (I think they still make tents, but not the general outdoor stuff, and I'm not sure what relationship - if any - they have to the modern Blacks).

Anyway, it's pretty battered, too small for me and the zip was buggered - but I didn't have the heart to throw it out, so it is now in the process of being mucked about with and turned into a poncho.
 
Loads of DryRobes up here in North Yorkshire, well, some DryRobes and some are the equine equivalent (for people, not for horses). I do think they look a bit daft, but then the weather up here has been stupendous in the 'wet' department for what feels like forever now. So I guess it's for people who don't want to get wet at all - maybe they are taking the 'DryRobe' thing a bit back to front?

But I can't talk. I wear an Oodie pretty much all winter (and am, in fact, wearing it now), and if you want to talk about impossibility of washing, I would like to show you some food I dropped down my front in November...
 
catseye said:
But I can't talk. I wear an Oodie pretty much all winter (and am, in fact, wearing it now), and if you want to talk about impossibility of washing, I would like to show you some food I dropped down my front in November...
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Don't you have bibs for that?
Like old hand towels, kitchen towels, teeshirts on their way to the wash, at a pinch a a Co-Op carrier bag? :dunno:


Just me then. :thought:

My family's big on bibs. We must all have really small, easy-to-miss mouths. :nods:
 
escargot said:
Don't you have bibs for that?
Like old hand towels, kitchen towels, teeshirts on their way to the wash, at a pinch a a Co-Op carrier bag? :dunno:


Just me then. :thought:

My family's big on bibs. We must all have really small, easy-to-miss mouths. :nods:
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Not really a 'bib' person, although I have been known to tuck a tea towel down my front if wearing pale colours and eating tomatoey based dishes.

But I often eat on the move, so a bib wouldn't really work.
 
catseye said:
Not really a 'bib' person, although I have been known to tuck a tea towel down my front if wearing pale colours and eating tomatoey based dishes.

But I often eat on the move, so a bib wouldn't really work.
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Teatowels, yup, can remember that treatment from my mother during later pregnancy when I couldn't get the plate close to my face. :chuckle:

I often have to take food breaks at work where there's a chance of wearing most of it. :chuckle:
 
escargot said:
Teatowels, yup, can remember that treatment from my mother during later pregnancy when I couldn't get the plate close to my face. :chuckle:

I often have to take food breaks at work where there's a chance of wearing most of it. :chuckle:
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Do what the French do when eating Ortolan;
ortolan.jpg
 
Floyd said:
Do what the French do when eating Ortolan;
View attachment 77258
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This is the sort of photograph that, had I caught a glimpse of it when I was about seven, would have remained in my subconscious to scare me rigid for the rest of my life. One of those 'if you understand it, it's perfectly simple, but if you don't, it's terrifying' pictures.
 
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