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Blast from the past

(70 Posts)
Katek Sat 06-Dec-14 11:01:29

Just back from shopping and saw an elderly lady wearing a plastic rain hat. (Rainmate??) Didn't realise you could still buy them! I remember my mum and granny having them in the 60's and you could also get them with a nylon cover in pastel shades. Eminently practical just not very attractive!

Nelliemoser Sat 06-Dec-14 11:08:24

Good grief. Those things where the rain runs down into the pleats and onto the ties and then drips down your neck and cleavage!

Ana Sat 06-Dec-14 11:11:19

I remember some old ladies even wearing them over their hats! grin
(My granny was one...)

Lona Sat 06-Dec-14 11:19:37

As attractive as a Pakamac! My dad always had a dark grey one in his work bag.

Katek Sat 06-Dec-14 11:29:11

Been on ebay and you can buy them for 99p! Must rush and get my order in.......

merlotgran Sat 06-Dec-14 11:30:46

A rainmate over a hairnet was such a fetching look. grin

granjo39 Sat 06-Dec-14 11:36:51

Bon Marche selling them at the moment £2 each hmm Don't get crushed in the rush!!grin

KatyK Sat 06-Dec-14 11:37:13

My elderly neighbour still wears them

vampirequeen Sat 06-Dec-14 11:45:49

I'd forgotten about rainmates and pacamacs. It was part of our holiday preparations to get a new pacamac each year as we holidayed in the UK and were never very luck weather wise lol.

annodomini Sat 06-Dec-14 12:00:59

I remember rainmates from my schooldays in the 1950s. Most of us had one - the West Coast of Scotland is a wet area!

kittylester Sat 06-Dec-14 12:09:08

We HAD to have one to keep our lovely school hat dry! shock

loopylou Sat 06-Dec-14 12:11:13

Blimey! Remember having to wear one (compulsory for convent school uniform) over straw boater when it rained, otherwise said headwear went sort of floppy and stank of fish paste......... Assume glue used to fashion the ruddy hat contained fish products.
Makes me cringe to think of it now!

tiggypiro Sat 06-Dec-14 12:30:00

When my mother moved from her flat to a care home we had to clear most of her wardrobe. In almost every coat pocket and handbag we found one of the plastic hats. There must have been about 20 of them ! She was obviously never going to be caught out without one !

ninathenana Sat 06-Dec-14 12:52:14

I can see mum on her push bike wearing hers when it rained. She cycled to and from work in the '60s. Also she had her hair set every Saturday morning and would cover up her 'do' if it was damp weather. smile

annodomini Sat 06-Dec-14 13:47:31

Do you remember the waterproof overshoes you could put on to protect your shoes from wet conditions? Galoshes, I think.

vampirequeen Sat 06-Dec-14 13:59:51

I never had galoshes but lived and died in my wellies whenever it was wet. I also wore a liberty bodice from the end of autumn to the end of spring.

MiniMouse Sat 06-Dec-14 15:01:16

Oh yes, annodomini galoshes were compulsary garden wear for my father when digging the vegetable patch! I'd forgotten all about them until your post.

There was also some gunge you could rub into your hands before gardening to make it easier to clean them when you washed them - Rosalex??? Don't know what was in it, but it did work.

Katek Sat 06-Dec-14 15:35:54

Oh, liberty bodices!! I'd forgotten about them....did yours have rubber buttons??

rockgran Sat 06-Dec-14 15:39:19

The buttons always broke in half.

Agus Sat 06-Dec-14 15:44:28

Our local pharmacy sells rain mates, so, I bought one for extreme emergencies. Though it might give me a retro look! wink

Yes, my liberty bodices had rubber buttons and my kilt had a liberty bodice attached. [Anno] ?

Agus Sat 06-Dec-14 15:46:25

Oops, Anno?

Katek Sat 06-Dec-14 15:48:11

But what were all those extra buttons for??

Charleygirl Sat 06-Dec-14 15:51:10

It shows how often I look in (or clean) my wardrobe but I found 2 packa macs hanging there!

Agus Sat 06-Dec-14 15:53:03

I wasn't aware of extra buttons, just two at the front for fastening.

annodomini Sat 06-Dec-14 16:28:43

I do remember the kilt with liberty bodice attached, Agus. I think, as it was war time, it was a hand-me-down from my cousins. Younger sisters had new ones! tchenvy