Pakamac

A bit of chronology may be in order
So I guess the old Pakamac styles / fabrics were with us until the early 70's, maybe old stocks were getting dusty in "outfitters" and older style department stores. Probably later more nylon macs emerged.
Late 70's saw the explosion of the coloured 3/4 length hooded mac, mainly press studded I seem to remember. They survived into the early mid 80's.
Around the 80's shiny PU trench was born, these flourisehed and shiny was replaced with matt satin in the 90's - all lined ladies coats, some gents
00's Top Shop, H&M sold, still sell galss clear fashion jacket length. Then Primark started with PU jackes, PVC jackets,
Nowadays nothing to rave about. Trench coats are popular still, satin finsihed here and there
It's all a bit underground but there's still a lot to be had and China sells a good selection via Ali Express, single pieces and free post
Pinterest has lots of pvc, rubber raincoats if anyone care's to browse, it keeps the interest alive anyway!!

To continue....

I can't remember what my first plastic mac was, but I do remember it was balck and had clear buttons and maybe that was a memory from around 6 or 7 years old so early 60's.

I do remember my mother putting a pleated rainbonnet on me, nothing sinister intended(!), only to keep me dry. I wonder how many other boys had this caring treatment?

So a family outing everyone wore a plastic mac, we didn't have a car, it was the most practical thing to wear!

Mum's blue raincoat definitely had both the scarf and the belt. I can't remember the brand, only being about six at the time, but I doubt if it was Pakamac - at that time in Australia nobody would have known what a 'mac' was except an expat Brit - such as my partner Pete, who very quickly learnt that in Australian playgrounds in the 60s you picked up the local slang quick-smart or you never heard the end of it.

It may have been the same coat except with a localised brand name. I most remember the color, and the swish.

Elizabeth Anne, just stop the acid tongue, that is all I am asking.
Gareth you are right..Let's call a truce and get on with it.
I have never thought anybody on this site was a joke, far from it.

Hi macs macs and more macs beautiful glorious macs thats what this site should be about please stop bickering we have lost Anna Beth and Constance we can not afford to lose any more so call a truce and get back to MACS Please.

..another thing came to mind. Did the early ladies Pakamacs have a tie belt AND matching rain scarf or did they just come with the matching scarf? My preference over the rainbonnet, but a pleated bonnet is nicer than a visor. That said, Boots sell deliciously deep bonnets with netting and a very long clear visor....

For four years and 700* posts this forum manages without Chad's Shakespearean wit and wisdom, but he somehow has it in his head that we'd give a flying Dutchman that he thinks we're boring or a joke or whatever. It's really quite baffling.

I remember around the same time as my mother had the sky blue raincoat, around 1963 or 1964, I (like most girls my age) had a bright red plastic coat with press studs, and matching mini-Wellington rain boots. Some girls wore matching sou-wester hats, but I always thought the fold-up plastic rain hat was more fun. I had one with press studs, until I learned to tie the bow under my chin myself.

A lot of the other Mums and big sisters at that time also wore the same kind of raincoat, although I remember most were a kind of frosty white so the blue one stood out. Next thing I remember, suddenly it was all nylon, lighter and more comfortable in the warmer Oz climate.

Hi Scotty / pale blue mac followers!

Thanks for steering this forum back on course! Your recollection sounds fab with the blue Pakamac raincoat and pleated rainbonnet. I am a rainbonnet fan and have visor types, clear and solid PVC, matching rain scarves, a couple of rubber souwesters, a PVC bucket type hat and a white opaque unusual souwester. The old Pakamacs would have had a matching rainscarf, but I guess these could have easily got lost, hence reverted to the pleated bonnets with cotton ties.
I have worn these pleated types out on the streets, with a Muji black matt raincoat and a retro boxy style hood with a soft beige PVC mac, as well as out and a about in a bright yellow rubberised mac and even while driving too!
As mentioned before, PVC U Like do convincing copies and you can buy the retro rain scarves too.

Best wishes
Steph

Actually BJ I have been on this page for a lot longer than you or your other spiteful Australian friend.
So I don't really give a tinkers cuss what you say about me being a blow in.
Brian set this page up along side Wigin World for people to remember old advertisements, not as a pick up site for people who are into plastic macs.
Now Guys like Elizabeth Anne come on here tearing shreds off anybody that they feel upset their sensibilities or disagree with them. Now you may think it is fine to stick up for him, but I think he has been pretty rude to Gareth and a few other people on here.
So I am Not going anywhere mate....And if I see the kind of nastiness going on in this forum that has happened lately, you bet I am going to say something.
So if you want me to lay off, then have some respect for the guy that set this web site up and stop taking pot shots at each other.
You don't like it when I do it and yet this page has been full of it for longer than I care to remember.

If the shoe fits Elizabeth Anne then wear it.
I never called you a liar, but now that you
Mention it lol.

OK everybody calm down - if we all ignore a certain forummer whose existence I refuse to acknowledge by naming, hopefully said former will soon get bored at the lack of attention and crawl back under the rock he VERY lately came out from.

BTW Gareth, I'm male. For whatever that may be worth.

Re the comments about the blue plastic mac. I remember my friends mum wearing one to go shopping. Whilst she was getting ready to go, she pulled out a pleated rain hat and also put it on. This was a great match with the raincoat. What a great memory of the blue mac.

If the shoe fits Elizabeth Anne then wear it.
I never called you a liar, but now that you
Mention it lol.

You bluster your way onto the forum from absolutely nowhere, your first and so far only contribution is to call me a liar, I produce solid facts to refute the accusation, and I'm the one that's trolling??

Nice to hear from Frank and Elizabeth Anne.
I am afraid this forum is for grown ups, so I think Elizabeth should really ask her Mummy is she should be making childish comments in Adult conversations.
I think the word for it is trolling. Really Elizabeth if you can't play nicely, then you really shouldn't play at all.
Now it's your turn to write something nasty and we can go back and forth for weeks seeing who can get the most brownie point's and upset the other the most.
Oh sorry that's Franks game isn't it???
Come on Elizabeth sharpen that Melbourne tongue of yours and go for it.
After all this was supposed to be a forum about the Pakamac brand, but now it has become a running argument.
Please stop me from laughing, but sometimes you two really turn this page into a joke.

Hi Elizabeth Anne
The pale blue Pakamacs refeered to had the famous gold lettering label and the matching "rain scarf" had long wide ties which fastened into a lovely big bow under the chin. i got Susie of palstique Unique to make one for me to match my "Serena" long full skirted soft vinly semi trans pale blue raincoat.
I don't think anyone has commented on rubberised nylon made by the same brand. In my "discovery years" so to speak of finding raincoats in a wardrobe, there was one belonging to a cousin, emerland green nylon, gold buttons (I think!)and rubberised. I think I must have disliked the rubbery smell at that time, mores the pity, only to discover that Smooth Magazine from Swish Publications (no guessing what the subject matter was all about!) was about rubber mackintoshes and of course those lovely ads from South Bucks Rainwear in the "Sundays" advertising their lovely rubber raincoats.
It's interesting where the "interest" and initial guilt trip led me as a youngter, from "Pakamac plastic", to shiny PVC, rubberised and latex wear, throw that in with a spot of cross dressing and voila, Steph emerged, but no where near as dedicated as dear Susan who I have struck up a correspoinding freindship and critique of her lovely period magazines.
I will say one individual, no names, upset me a bit with an inappropriate email recently which I have chosen to ignore. I'm happy to rattle of my usual tome, and maybe leaving myself open here for criticism, but please don't get "personal" in emails. Agreed this is a man's desire thingy and thanks to those ladies who bring reality checks for us back down to earth.
Sorry for rambling on!!

Hi wearing a tin hat with my pac a mac incase more flak comes from down under Chad you tell us to be nice then have a pop at me well you had a mouthful off she who must be obeyed Ha Ha

Hi Chad well said it is getting like the house of commons and BJ can you give your name just do not know if you are male or female driving to the airport from Tronoto last week a women was on the crossing she walked in front of my car wearing a pink plastic mac what a rare and wonderful site she was.

Chad, much and all as it's a bad idea to ever contradict anybody from Sydney because there they know everything about everything, just ask Paul Keating or Alan Jones, according to the Met Bureau website Melbourne had about a third of its usual rainfall during January and just under half in February and March. So whatever point you were trying to make with what you 'happen to know', it so happens you didn't know at all.

It has been a much wetter autumn since, and I have needed the mac and/or umbrella quite often over the last month or so, but I have never gone looking for rain like George Clooney in that movie about storm-chasers, maybe others here do and that's fine. Though I do find the sound of rain on your umbrella to be incredibly relaxing.

Steph, I vaguely remember my mother having one of those pale blue raincoats with the matching scarf. It would have been in the early 60s when I was in primary school.

Gareth I've already told you I don't do pics. Try and sound a little less desperate in future.

Susan your English is just fine. When you write in sentences it always seems so much more interesting, never reads so much like a whinging monotone.

Elizabeth Anne
I am from Sydney.....I guess the Melbourne you are from isn't in Australia, because I happen to know it has rained there quite frequently since Christmas.
And Frank, stop tormenting these poor people and get a life.
Maybe a hobby like pulling the wings off flies would help you over your women hating problems.
If you people like Pakamac's so much then cut the bull and snipping at each other and talk about what you love....Really is getting a bit tedious....This forum started out really interesting and then somehow got hijacked and turned into a place for bullies and bulldust..Come on people be nice to each other and cut the fairy stories.

I'm a friend of Susan, having corresponded for sometime. I had Pakamacs at home as a child, these belonging to my mother in pale blue, squashy buttons, collar, through pockets and matching rain scarf. I am male, have been buying plastic raincoats for years and it was great when Susie from Plastique Unique was selling retro styles with matching rainscarves. PVC U Like have been the closest to the Pakamac style and texture and it was lovely to buy pale blue garments from both.

Hi Elizabeth Anne give Frank a rest he has his point of view he has right you sound exciting in your nylon mac and rainhat send me a photo please.

Queensland has cane toads, Adelaide has flies, Sydney has cockroaches, this forum has Frank.

hi Susan people should tell the truth not make things up as they go along and stand buy what they say women like pac a macs you must be jokeing money is the only thing like and putting men down.

Hi Elizabeth Anne nylon macs are fine with me you have no trouble with finding the the right words the full stop seems to be the problem

You may in fact be correct Frank that some men may be posing as women here, but who cares. I for one have personally known a few women who had a genuine love of Pakamac styles of rainwear and so there is absolutely no reason to doubt that other ladies may post here too. We should be celebrating anyone who takes the time to post here, as long as it's close to the subject of our interests. I recall Constance concurring with Elizabeth Anne's viewpoint.

I for one have always made a point of stressing that I am transgender, with a big T. You can tell from my pictures. It's my cross to bear and for which I've faced a lot of intolerance. Sorry for the quality of the English, Elizabeth Anne.

Oh hi Frank, I've missed your cheerful on-line personality so much lately that I just haven't felt motivated to post. Most likely all the others feel the same way. But it's great to see you back, and good that you're still keeping up the remedial spelling and sentence construction classes.

Still wearing my nylon mac and my rain hat sometimes. But they're not Pakamac so I suppose I shouldn't even be mentioning it.

Hi were have all the people and there macs gone women used to leave messages at least they said they were women I wonder if they were women.

Hi Constance you did say once that maybe you would email me still waiting.

Hi Jane yes I do know your friend what a small world she could not get over me rembering her gold thomas Marshall mac not plastic but a very nice mac.