Pakamac

Hi Susan, would I be right in guessing that you are from the north of England and you used to contribute a lot to Yahoo Groups?

Hi BJ, thanks for the tip. Croydon is a bit out of my way although Pete and I do go out that way occasionally, mostly at weekends to visit one of Pete's sons who lives in Lilydale. It sounds like a nice mac, although a size 14 might be a bit big, I'm a classic 11, 10 is always too small and looks it, 12 sometimes hangs on me like a tent! Not that it's likely to be sold any time soon of course - Melbourne is entering a heatwave.

Sally bought me a wonderful Monet's Garden umbrella for Christmas. Normally I think those souvenir prints are really 'chintzy' and don't work on an umbrella but this one is quite special. I might use it the next couple of times I need a brolly, then put it away for a while and bring it out again in a couple of years when people have forgotten the Monet exhibition was ever here! (It's hard to resist the temptation to use it as a sunshade (and fade the colors).

Hi Beth its great to read your comments again happy new year to you and Rob he is very lucky.

I hope Jane, that sometime you'll share some of the history/memories of the floral plastic mac group in this forum. I for one would love to hear about it. (I hope too that you do not receive too much spam or are hounded by viewers of this site.)

Susan
P.S. As a number of friends here know, my name does not reflect my birth gender, just my preferred.

We found the episode of BallyK Elizabeth Anne I think its episode 2. I see what you mean about a downpour I must admit it did remind me of being on holiday! It usually pours with rain when we go to Ireland and I have a plastic mac like this one which I bought in Dunnes. Unfortunately looking at their website they don’t seem to sell them anymore which is a bit surprising as it does rain quite a lot over there.

JANE WHEN YOUR GROUP GOES SHOPPING AND OTHER OUTING DO YOU WEAR YOUR MACKINTOSHES. DO YOU WEAR YOUR MACS JUST IN RAIN OR IN ALL WEATHERS BEV

Hi myself and a few friends less in number now than when we first started many years ago have a floral plastic mac group we meet up to go shoping coffee and chat on the phone emails this a ladies only group men are not included if anyone would like to join us plastic lovers only please.

How many of you got a new plastic mac for xmas plenty of rainy weather to wear them.

Hi Elizabeth Anne,

If you are still looking for a red raincoat, I don't know if you are ever anywhere near Croydon but if you are there is a very nice one in the Brotherhood shop on Hewish Road, clean possibly unworn, nylon still crisp and the color still very bright, Clark brand, size 14 I think, with a belt.

Hello Beth the last plastic mac I bought myself was from woolworths my husband used to buy them for me my daughter in law took three weeks to bring my mac back she said she had used it to take the dog for walks she is only twenty seven plastic macs were a bit before here time and Gareth thank you.

Hi Constance scotty seems to think you have gone quite because of something I said my apologies if this is the case hope you will leave some comments its ladies like you who love macs make this site so good

We used to go camping quite a lot and it’s nice when the sun shines but not so much fun in the rain! You have a really good memory for BallyK Elizabeth Anne. We only watched a few episodes but I noticed there are some on youtube so I’ll have a look at some of the early ones. I’m sure they will bring back a few memories of some very rainy days in Ireland and if the weather in 2014 continues as it has started we might see pakamacs back in more shops like target.

Hi Beth thank you really pleased to hear from you hope you had a great Christmas you seem to like camping I only done it once with a friend when we left school I could only cook fish fingers a week of them was more than I could stand and thank all the ladies who leave comments Agnes Constance EA and all the ladies who make this site great thank you and a very happy new year to you all.

BJ thanks for all that stuff about the 'rainmate', Pete says that's what he remembers they were always called in their house especially before they came out here. It's a bit surprising I suppose the name never caught on in Australia. I certainly prefer it to 'rain bonnet'. I know strictly speaking that's what it is because it doesn't sit on your forehead like a 'hat' but it's all a pit pedantic-sounding for me.

I always loved Ballykissangel, and apparently it was all shot in a village/town about an hours drive south of Dublin, called Avoca. I think I remember the scene with the plastic mac: it was the village shopkeeper and gossip, walking her dog through the fields at dead of night in a downpour and she just happened to catch Father Clifford at a compromising moment, from what looked on-screen like a hundred yards away. It was very early in the series - the writing improved out of sight after that.

Believe it or not I saw Pakamac-style plastic raincoats on sale in Target while I was doing my Christmas shopping, completely out of season so I can't see too many selling but it was interesting that they were on the shelves at all. There were only two choices of color: a milky opaque white, or a very dark navy that was nearly black.

All the best for 2014 everybody.

Thanks very much Gareth for your kind advice. I do enjoy, commenting and reading everyone’s posts on here as we all love Macs! Was out in my semi transparent slate grey mac today as rain really heavy up here in Scotland and enjoyed it.

If Agness doesn’t wish to correspond with me or a male member of this community, that’s fine it’s her choice. I won’t be upset. If Agness is upset in any way, I will offer my apologies, however I don’t consider my post was disrespectful.

Gareth I am sure you will agree discussion is a wonderful thing and should be encouraged. Are you the moderator for this site? I am sure Agness doesn’t need you as her spokesman and is perfectly capable of posting a reply for herself.

I noticed after reading your earlier tirade to Constance, may I add a lady member, that she has been silent since. I don’t regard that as respecting our lady members. Possibly the pot calling the kettle black, don’t you think?
Regards
Scotty

Gareth with nice comments like yours I am sure you will get more contributions. Hi Agness I’m not surprised that your daughter kept your pakamac as my mum had a blue one and I really liked it. I wish I could find one like it now. As Rob said it was only when we went camping in Wales that I thought about buying a plastic mac because I thought we might be in for a lot of rain. Although they may not be very fashionable its nice to be able to go out whatever the weather particularly when you are on holiday and want to make the most of every day and I’m sure lots of other people feel the same way. Most macs only seem to last a few years and when we started going on holiday to Ireland I bought several new ones but I must admit it is hard to find them in the shops now.

rainmac 20% off all macs till midnight sunday. They have some new colours for the petworth i have ordered one in lepard can't wait for it to arrive. I will wear it as a house coat.Bev

Scotty Agness had said ladies only we have to respect that not many ladies do leave comments here so we have to just enjoy what they have to say when they do .

Hi hope everybody following this forum had a happy Christmas.

Elizabeth Anne, I think you may have a genuine 'Rainmate', a British brand-name from the 60s that became a generic term for the plastic rainhat, especially in Scotland and the north of England. A bit like photocopiers were known for a while as Xerox machines. The little blue envelope and the cotton ties are both indications, as is the white printed pattern, but if there is a ridge across the ends where the ties were moulded into the plastic, that just about makes it certain.

If there ever is a lucrative collectors market for plastic rain hats, that would be the prize of the crop.

Hi Agness, can you describe the mac that you lent to your daughter-in-law, which she liked. Was it a traditional style? Perhaps you could let her have it the next time she visits.

Do you prefer to use umbrellas or rain bonnets with your macs?

Aw it would be good to meet a mac loving woman; we don’t bite and do after all share the same interest in rainwear on this forum. I live near Glasgow and always publish my e-mail address. If you fancy a chat over the holidays,drop me a line. Have a Merry Christmas.

Hello Rob yes my daughter in law really liked my plastic mac she took a long time to return it I did not mind as I have quite a few if any ladies would like to chat or have a coffee ladies only sorry boys Gareth has said he would forward my email address but has advised me not to make it public Merry Christmas to you all Agness.

I think our brolly is the same as yours Elizabeth Anne, it is a fulton pvc dome umbrella although it has a black edge. Royal blue is a nice colour for a pakamac and reminded me of the first macs we bought. I was also interested to read that Agness daughter in law borrowed a mac and now realises how much protection it provides and might buy one. We felt the same way when we first bought ours. Our first holiday was in North Wales in the early nineties and my wife bought a camping book before we went and decided that we needed wellingtons and raincoats. Up until then I think we had managed with cagoules but I don’t think they qualified as coats! I’m sure we got them mail order from a newspaper and I think they were sold by a company called Leroco if anyone remembers them. They were both the same except the ladies mac was royal blue and the gents one was brown. As it turned out they were a really good buy because it rained all bank holiday. I did feel a bit conscious and unfashionable the first time we wore them but as we were camping there were probably plenty of other people in pakamacs. It’s a bit slushy but it probably helped that we were a couple and I remember feeling like one of those little weather houses because every time it rained we came out in our matching rainwear. Although they were nice macs they didn’t last and unfortunately we haven’t found them again. We seemed to have pretty good weather on holiday until we went to Ireland in 1995 and it seemed to rain every day. I had a black Go plastic mac and I remember Beth buying a ladies plastic mac from Dunnes in Waterford the day we went to the JKF garden because it absolutely poured down. A few months later we were watching Ballykissangel and one of the ladies was wearing the same mac in the same sort of weather! I even think the village looked like the one we stayed near. A few years later we went to Killarney and that was lovely but also very rainy and I think we spent most of our time in rainwear that year. If you see any repeats of BallyK you’ll see what our holidays in Ireland were like! I’m not sure whether Dunnes still sells St.Bernard macs. We haven’t seen many people wearing pakamacs since we were there.

Whats all this about rain hats and umbrellas I thought this was a pac a mac site.

Hi with the decline of rainwear in the UK I miss seeing ladies with macs worn over there shoulders I thought that was really feminine and even carring one over the arm no one seems to do that anymore

Hi, yes BJ Pete and his family came out to Australia in the mid-sixties. Peter was about 10, Lyn 6 or 7 and his older sister who returned to UK after about 10 years was about 15. They were all born in Canterbury in Kent, very Home Counties, so nothing like Eric Olthwaite, dear me no!

As you seem to be a bit of an expert, I've got that rainhat with the little white brollies in front of me now. It was in a light blue pouch with a triangular flap with a press stud to close it, like a small envelope, maybe two inches square. There is a print on the case that's nearly worn off but I think it's meant to be clouds and raindrops. The hat itself is maybe an inch longer than the other two Lyn gave me, and reaches further over my shoulders and under my chin. It has cotton ties, a bit coarse woven so you can hold them and tie them easily.

When Sally was in her pusher I looked at rainhats in a similar shape pouch, but smaller and black and gold colored, to look classy, and the card they were mounted on had a lady wearing one with a fur coat, but actually they were rubbish - cheap and nasty.

The one I wore the other day, and the third one, were both standard Coles/Embassy type from the 70s in the glove shaped pouch, just like I remember them. As I recall they cost 25 cents.

Anything you could tell me further about it would be appreciated. Happy Christmas everybody!

Hi Agness the sun will shine for you again it just takes time hope you find a lady who understands about macs to be your friend and thanks to all of you who have emailed me this last week and keep your comments comeing please.

EA, would I be right in guessing that Peter's family is from England? I lived there in the early-mid 70s and those rainhats with the little white umbrellas were very common although I never saw them new on sale. The only time I've seen one in Australia in nearly 40 years since, was the lady in front of me waiting to get into the MCG in the mid 80s. She said something to her husband next to her and she had this amazing Yorkshire accent - sounded like she could have been Eric Olthwaite's Mum.

Gareth thank you so much for your reply email and words of comfort hope you have a good Christmas and a good new year.

Hi ladies,
Having just read Elizabeth Anne's comments regarding that wet plastered down feeling you get when wearing a pleated rain hat in the rain, I thought I would pass on this tip as demonstrated to me by my sister.

STEP 1 Take a pretty scarf [polyester is best] tie it on classic style, [tied under the chin].

STEP 2 Put on your mac, make certain the scarf is all tucked in and your collar is turned up.

STEP 3 Fully open your pleated rain hat place it over your scarf, adjust it to your liking.

Your walk in the rain will be nicer the noise of pounding rain on your ears will be quieter, you will arrive at your destination with no plastered down hair, feeling dryer and happier.

Hi Scotty, my mac is a royal blue, the same as I wore for school. I like the color a lot but if I ever see a similar red mac I'd jump at buying it. The rain hat I wore last week was one of the plain ones, because it seemed thicker and a bit more 'heavy duty' that the one with the pattern. I might put that one in my 'good' coat pocket for use in the very short term.

Rob, I also have a Fulton umbrella, a clear 'bubble' type with white edges and a white handle, and I use it a lot. Just to show I'm not a completely hopeless nostalgia freak, we also had those clear umbrellas in the 70s but I thought they were massively over rated. They looked huge but once I measured one - five inches smaller diameter than mine. But the ones you see today are much better, and I love the thick handle you can grip properly. Also they're a nicer shape and better made. Of course I'm talking about the brand name kind - you can get clear umbrellas for $2 in the Reject Shop but in wind or any more than spitting rain I doubt they'd last as far as you could throw them.

Sally (daughter) will never wear a plastic rain hat - she has no memory of them so they're not even 'retro' to her. But she loves bright colors like me, so she might well be interested in a good nylon raincoat. She has some nice umbrellas, and she knows her Mum practically collects them so is always good for a loan, and I don't mind because she looks after them. She just never seems greatly fazed by the idea of getting wet (unlike me) so if she has a coat or brolly with her she'll use it but if not, a bit of rain won't kill her. It's a common attitude today but no big deal. I'll never push the point - she's 27 years old and perfectly entitled to do as she wants.

In case I'm not on here again beforehand, have a happy Christmas everybody.