Pakamac

Keith, there is an article by an American writer called Alicia Hart, which appeared in several regional newspapers in the USA in June 1954. The headline is something like 'Plastic rain hood folds into three-inch case' and it describes the accordion rain bonnet we know. There is an illustration. If you go through GoogleNews Archives you can access it through NewspaperArchives (free 7 day trial).

Today it would be called an 'info-mercial' I suppose, but back in those days it wouldn't be passed off as news unless it was actually 'new'.

It is the earliest dated reference to the accordion rain hat I have found.

sorry about my error re someone living in bedford.
if anyone was near bedford high school yesterday evening they would have seen me going to a film show wearing my red nylon mackintosh dry when i went in so had mac on hood down.pouring of rain when came out. waited as people dashed out in the rain getting wet as i stayed inside door doing up my mackintosh and putting hood up. Love to hear the rain pattering on my hood bev

Hi Constance yes i just about remember that program but I do not have enough details to give you maybe the BBC archives could dig it up if you do start a mac society up I hope you will let me be a member.

Hi Constance,
Like you I also grew up in the 50s/60s my first memory of a plastic mac is when I was on holiday in Kent. The menfolk had gone fishing so I was left with my mum & nan I was really enjoying myself building sandcastles on the beach.
The weather changed quickly, instantly nan was reaching into her straw bag she tossed a rolled up pink mac to my mum saying here put this on there's a rain hat in the pocket, I watched as nan tied on the belt to her shiny blue mac then proceeded to tie her concertina type rain bonnet over her curly white hair, mum already had her concertina rain bonnet on and was folding the push chair up.
nan then picked me up into her arms wrapping a beach towel around my shoulders, I remember the smell of her lavender water, as she walked up the steps to street level, I could now smell the aroma of hot PVC I now think this was the first time that had smelt the aroma of a plastic mac.

Do any of you fine people who seem to have a vast knowledge of plastic rain wear ECT know what year the folding concertina type rain bonnet/mate, was invented or know how to find out, I think the first ones had plastic ties and probably came from the USA or Canada.

Hi Beth its good to have your comments if you think so many people would like a plastic mac maybe you could start a business selling them please do not take any notice of rude people this site is for plastic mac comments like yourself I and many others really enjoy them my regards to you and Rob.

As I don't yet use email, I will have to leave any comments about plastic raincoats on this forum.

Does anyone recall a Saturday night television programme from, I think, the very early 1990s, hosted by Noel Edmonds, where he interviewed a group of ladies who had formed a Floral Plastic Mac society. They all had a love of this style of plastic mac, presumably from the 60s, and they appeared on the show in their plastic macs. I only caught a little bit of the interview so I can't comment any further, except that my then husband thought that I should have joined.

I wish I had or at least formed my own Plastic Mac society with some of my lady friends. I never thought of that then though, because wearing a plastic mac seemed so normal and commonplace. Because of my special interest in plastic and nylon raincoats then though, it would have been fun to have devoted some time when the entire conversation was devoted to talking about our raincoats and what we liked. It's fortunate therefore, that this forum exists.

You must have me mistaken for someone else Beverly because I've never been to Bedford. Rest assured though, if I had, I would have had my mac on, as I am sure to have later on today. Will it be a nylon mac or a plastic mac? I'll see where my mood takes me.

Hi Constance, thanks for the email, I agree that any discussions or stories of wearing macs should be posted here on this forum.

Thank you Gareth the only point I wanted to make is that having grown up in the eighties when lots of people wore plastic macs and they were actually quite fashionable it just seems sensible to wear one now. A lot of other people obviously feel the same and like us think it is a shame they are not still available in the shops.

Hi Constance when can email me so you can tell me all about you and all your plastic macs.

Frank not many ladies write about plastic macs on this site and when one does we are very lucky they should be given respect for there comments a lot of us really enjoy them

I am sure Bedfordshire was just like anywhere else. I found my old cagoule and it's made by walkabout but I am not sure about my mother’s mac I think it might have been from c&a in the town centre. The carnival was in the summer and one year it definitely rained it might be 1985. Unfortunately I haven’t found a raincoat like the blue one but I have St.Bernard macs and you can still buy these on the internet. When we were on holiday last month there were a few people wearing pakamacs and lots of my friends have asked me where I bought mine so its not unusual to like them and it is a shame the department stores don’t sell them now. We won't want to add anything more now.

its so nice to find a site like this one with like minded people who enjoy wearing a plastic raincoat. I am lucky enough to still have a smart well made plastic mac which I have worn for a number of years now it certainly does not bother me what other people think about plastic mac wearers men and women alike, its just a shame that you cannot buy them in the shops anymore, I so wish I could come across one as well made as the one I have. only on occasions when the weather permits do I wear it. I fondly remember department stores in Solihull and Coventry especially c and a and also the co op stocking excellent plastic macs. I am a young 60 year old and worn with a smart jacket shirt and tie and occasionally a plastic rain bonnet it gives me a great pleasure and sense of nostalgia, I have also in the past enjoyed wearing a ladies plastic mac if only to visit a garden or a national trust property. I do wish they would make a comeback, or does anyone out there know where to buy them. I am sure lots of people would be happy to purchase them

Its raining heavy up here in Scotland.
Finish work soon and a good opportunity to slip on a pvc raincoat and take the dog for a walk.

The 1950's styles are great as well,like Constance and Beth mentioned in the previous posts. Retro clothing and fashion is more appealing and classic which has stood the test of time... I think I've just been accidentally drawn to it for that reason.

I love Scotland however,getting caught off guard by the rain constantly is no fun... I was in Glasgow recently without a hat and I kept having to put my umbrella up and down all the time. A pleated rain mate may well be worth trying out up here to keep out the rain and avoid an umbrella. I may give it a try today and see how I go!

Hello Constance i was a plastic mac watcher in bedford in 7o 80 maybe i saw you in yours are you still in bedford if so look out for a grey haired old man in a blue nylon mac that will be me. I did see a mature lady in blue plastic mac nr bus station on monday nice to see

Beth the old saying if something sounds to good to be true who are you kidding

As there are a few other ladies here I am happy add to this discussion by saying that like Constance I often get nice comments from other ladies when I wear my plastic mac especially when it is pouring with rain. I am sure there are lots of ladies who would like to buy a good quality plastic mac but the problem is they are no longer sold in the shops. I can’t understand why though. I always take my mac with me if rain is forecast and I like knowing that if it does rain it won’t spoil my day. I see so many people out in the rain these days getting wet it doesn’t make sense, what’s fashionable about getting soaked? Perhaps everyone drives everywhere these days and shops are often undercover and we have forgotten what to wear in bad weather. I grew up in Bedfordshire in the seventies and eighties and we did seem to spend a lot more time outdoors. I remember going to fetes and the river festival most years in the 1980’s and whatever the weather there were always lots of people and we had a good time. I had a blue cagoule and I remember my mum and her friends had blue plastic macs so it must have been a fashionable colour then. As things are getting so expensive now perhaps we will go back to walking or using public transport and the shops will sell them again. I would love to buy a mac like my mum’s friends but I just can’t find them anywhere.

Hello Constance what a shame your friends passed away I would love to carry your bags on your shoping trips you say you have plastic capes as well as macs you sound a very special lady my computer is going in today for a refurbishment so I may be off line for a bit but my phone can send and recive emails if your niece would act as a intermediate she could my pass details and info to you I do hope so.

Hi Constance why not ask your niece to help you set one up do you text or ask your niece to email me and I will give you my number were do you buy all your macs do not blame your ex husband if you are not into macs you are not but I am the last time I saw a lady wearing a real plastic mac was in Alaska about three years ago and in the UK over twenty years ago in Chester ask your niece to help.

Yes Scotty, I still wear my matching rain bonnets and plastic macs but mainly my choice of rain bonnet is a folding one. Usually it's a bonnet with a slight peak or sometimes concertina style. I certainly get more complements when my choice of plastic mac includes a matching rain bonnet. Very 1950s.
My favourite matching bonnet and mac is a semi opaque in what is described as natural colour but I also have them in black, white and yellow to match the plastic mac or plastic cape I'm wearing.
Unfortunately Gareth, the local library drives to me and they don't have internet access in their bus. My niece does all the online ordering of my macs when I want a new one and posts them on to me. She has inherited my love of these garments and I love my occasional visits when we can go out shopping together in them. My lady companions of old have almost all passed on so raincoat shopping treats like that are a rarity now.

Hi Constance Wow I can not think what was the matter with your x if I had been in his shoes you could guarantee me to show a lot of interest I do wear suits and ties most of the time my macs are grey and blue I do not think men wear macs because most women think men should not if you go to your local library the staff will help you set a email address up its very easy look forward to hear from you.

Its good to see by the recent posts that I am not alone in my love for the plastic pakamac raincoats and rain bonnets. I remember at school having a black semi transparent one, which had a fantastic aroma. Despite having collected a few macs and a growing collection of fold up accordion rain bonnets, I still can’t get a hold of an original pakamac, perhaps someone on this forum may have a spare.

I note that Constance mentioned that she has matching rain bonnets for some of her macs. Can you tell me Constance if you still wear these and do you get a lot of compliments when you do. Have you a favourite one that you like to wear.

Hi Jimmy wear your nylon mac with confidence its better than people walking in the rain in a teashirt you paid for it enjoy it times have changed women have tatoos and men earings not my taste but thats the way it is

I wondered why there were very few men, if any, who wore pakamacs or pakamac styles of mac in public. I can't remember seeing any in the last 20 years. Until I discovered this forum and after the experience of my husband (ex), I thought that men had no interest in pakamacs.

When I'm out in a raincoat, especially a plastic mac, I get lots of positive comments from people, both women and sometimes men. Men dress so boringly though. I'd love to be with a man who as wearing a smart suit and tie, coupled with a black plastic pakamac. I'd tell you about how I surprised my fiance once when I was wearing nothing but a smile, plastic mac, rain bonnet and boots but he showed no interest in the combination or repeating it, even when we were married.

Hello Constance I do not think your husband knew what he was missing talk about one man s meat and and the next man s poison I would have given my right arm for a lady who would want to wear plastic macs your friends sound great wish I could meet them my wife would never wear a plastic mac its a unfair world I do hope you will email I would love to hear about you and all your mackintoshes do you Rainstar nylon macs

Worst shame about mackingtosh wearing is that some people associat them with dirty old men in dirty macs so need to be little bit carefull re wearing our mackintoshes in public.
I would not go out after dark in city centre or pub area in dry warm weather wearing my tuquiose rainmac.
However in daytime and public areas i have no problem.
Choice my colour according to where i am going ie local walking or shopping navy or dark green or brown. On nature walks with groups red or tuquiose. or shiny lined pvc if cold if i was a woman i would wear a nice bright mac every day unless temp over 20c. feel free to correct spelling Bev

To answer some questions posed here, firstly Elizabeth, regarding what I wore/wear on my head. At school and for a good while after, the navy blue nylon raincoats we wore, came with matching nylon rain bonnets. This continued well into the eighties until the matching rain bonnets stopped being supplied with the nylon macs I was buying.
If I wear a plastic mac, for years and years I've been teaming them up with folding plastic rain bonnets in a variety of designs and styles. I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to what I wear and much of the time wear a plastic rain bonnet over one of my many polyester head squares. I have a few matching plastic rain bonnets though, for some of my plastic macs.

If I am part of a dying breed Gareth, it was not always the case. Over the years, I have had many lady friends who on our weekly shopping trips out would always punctuate the trip with a discussion on the merits of a good nylon mac and a browse around the rainwear department in some of the larger stores. My husband hated me having these elderly companions who he blamed for my 'old lady' style of dressing. The styles I love have prompted me to post in this forum in my mission to promote traditional wear, rather than seasonal throwaway fashion. Traditional plastic and nylon macs like pakamacs play a huge part in that style.

With regard to email, I'm a huge novice when it comes to computers and I missed the bit in my course on using email, one day maybe. I can just about use google and I love to look at the images when I do a search for pakamac. There are some fabulous looking ladies who seem to still wear pakamacs, if the pictures are anything to go by.

Hello Constance, just fell across this board and couldn't help notice that your school uniform was just about exactly the same as ours back in the late 1960s in Geelong, which is a big town about an hours drive from Melbourne in Australia. We had a white blouse and a dark navy blue blazer, and in the rain we all had nylon full-length raincoats.

What did you wear as headgear in the rain? Although 'telescope' umbrellas were just starting to become commonplace at this time, it was still too much of a pain to carry them round wet, and find somewhere at school for them to dry out properly (and not get stolen) that we only used them walking home - to school and while walking around the grounds most of us wore plastic folding bonnets that tied under your chin.

It was definitely all about the rain down in the west country last week and my wife also noticed that St.Bernard ladies raincoats exactly the same as hers were on sale on ebay so they are still available!

Hello Constance what a wonderful name and comments when I was younger I had a girlfriend who would wear a nylon mac and white blouse she thought it was funny the power it give her and that i would do anything for her when she was wearing them I hope you know that ladies who like plastic macs are a endangered species and we will have to take great care of you hope you can summon some more courage and email me I would love to talk to you.

Gosh, what a lot of people there are here, who share my love of the pakamac. A love that has been with me all my life. Having been brought up in the 50s and 60s, I remember the time when a new plastic raincoat was an event to talk about and one to look forward to. How strange it is that it has taken me weeks to summon up the courage to put my name in print, declaring my strange love of this garment and the strong attraction I have to wearing them.
As a girl I remember wearing them for school but also wearing them just to go out in. I loved the combination of a white blouse and a navy blue nylon raincoat. A look that I continue to this day. I could never reveal my dark secret to my husband and had to weather (forgive the pun) his criticism on hikes when he wore a modern anorak and I wore my clear plastic mac. I could never reveal the secret of my torrid relationship either, at university, with a plastic mac loving tutor and the mutual love we shared wearing them together. Happy days.