Pakamac

Dear Anna-It is so lovely to hear from you again and many thanks for another contribution to this site devoted to Pakamac plastic and nylon rainwear. Your son is fortunate indeed to own and wear a navy blue nylon mac, and I hope he comes to love his macs as much as we love ours. As you know, I am very taken with the Stay Dry range of nylon macs, which are, quite simply, the most beautiful and exciting nylon Pakamacs I have ever worn. I hope you will order a couple for yourself and your son, and let us know what you think about them.
I love the way in which you are fully in charge of your son's rainwear-not in an overbearing manner, but in a beautifully spirited way. I hope you will get him a plastic mac too, for the really heavy summer downpours and also for further proofing of his winter mac. PVC Rainwear(a subsidiary of PVC-U-Like), do an excellent range of male plastic macs, including some in see-through grey-black, in the style of the original Pakamacs. They roll up beautifully small too. Worth investigating, Anna!
But, coming back to the Stay Dry nylons, I could write volumes about them. They come, all folded up, in a small pouch/bag and it is impossible to believe that so much mackintosh can be contained in such a small spac. But they unroll excitingly into a full blown but lightweight mackintosh. The initial creases smooth out and the impression is one of a really luxurious mac that belies the very modest price. They are so comfortable to wear, and do not overheat at all. They come in navy blue and also black, but I find the former the more exciting. More than any other mac, they take me back to the mid- and late-sixties, when almost every schoolgirl wore a nylon mac as part of her school uniform. If more designers took notice of you, Anna, we could see these macs back on our streets again. I hope that you and I, and perhaps one or two others, will put our heads together and see what we can do towards achieving this end.
In the meantime, do keep contributing to this site from time to time. ANNA, YOU ARE A STAR!!
Best wishes to you and all our other waterproof enthusiasts, from Brian.

Brian - Thank you for your kind comments. I do what I believe is the right thing, and that is to have my son wear a traditional nylon mackintosh. He doesn't like it of course, and I've had my battles with him, but he still wears it, not only to school, but also outside school. At this time of year in particular, a pakamac is invaluable, easy to keep in a shopping bag or handbag, and easy to slip on when it rains. He also wears a thicker, lined raincoat in winter month - beleted and double breasted. When the weather is particularly foul, the pakamac is slipped on over it.

If anyone has any further questions to ask, please get in touch.

Anna

I liked your site

Whenever I wear one of my Stay Dry nylon macs, I just want to tell every single plastic/nylon mac lover how lovely these macs are. So much so,that I may start buying them as presnts to my favourite waterproof contacts and even suppliers.
I wear one regularly whenever I walk past Isobel's house(a see-through mac would be just a little too conspicuous!), swishing and puffing up my mac as much as possible. I can but hope.....

I have a long rooted fascination for wa(erproof nylon cagoules - I mean the old fashioned over the head Campari or Peter Storm variety. Very happy to correspond with like minded people and possibly swap garment - esp any willing females out there.

Regular readers and contributors to this site know of my enthusiasm for Stay-Dry nylon macs, so I am writing about them once more. They are really lovely macs, rolling up beautifully to Pakamac size. When you are wearing them, you just cannot stop swishing and rustling, and yet, at the same time, they are unbelievably comfortable to wear, and do not over-heat at all(unlike many rubber macs and plastic macs). I find I just cannot stop buying them, as they are so easy to store and so inexpensive. Lovely macs to wear outdoors in all sorts of weather, wet or dry, and so exciting to wear indoors too. I am hoping that Anna will give them a try, either for herself or for her son. The proofing inside is a little crude, but that is a small concern. Anna, it sounds as though the new mac you have bought for your son is really high quality, as you are a real connoisseur of nylon macs, and of quality rainwear in general. I have read your remarks about how lovely nylon macs are as part of school uniforms and I cannot agree more. The girls at my school looked really lovely wearing their navy nylon macs-Anita, Deirdre, Lorraine, the list could go on and on. We boys, with our see-through grey-black plastic macs, had to wait for rain to show them off,but the girls, with their nylon macs, were more fortunate. I hope,Anna,that you will make many more contributions to this site. Your comments are short, yet full of meaning, and I,for one, enjoy reading them very much. Best wishes to you and all our "usual suspects"!!!
Keep on macking...

I remember having a plastic Pakamac as a kid but not for long. I had my first nylon mac as a schoolboy about the age of 11. I have worn nylon macs throughout since then. i wear them now, most days come rain or shine. I find them very comfortable and wind resistant. I have a couple made by "Rainydays" and a couple of older ones by "Rainstar" I have had others by "Storma", "YBWet" and of course a while ago "Pakamac". I too wish they would come back into greater production and become more readily available. While i enjoy my own macs I also think there's nothing much smarter than a lady wearing a nice nylon raincoat.

It was wonderful to read Pamelas story. I thought it was just men who enjoyed wearing pakamacs/plastic macs. A few years ago I used to wear a nylon cagoule in bed. It had a pvc coating on the inside and it was good to wear. However,I wish I had a black see-through plastic mac to wear,especially in bed,and an understanding woman!

pamela you sound the girl of my dreams.
Will you marry me.
I will live in the highlands

I have never had any trouble with sex partners wearing a mac...Most seem to like it and enjoy the feel of it.
I am not saying they would do it without being with me, but like I said, doesn't seem to be a problem.

Pamela's comments on 22 March about feeling desiable, feminine, vulnerable and passionate strikes a chord, if slightly indirect. The passionate part I agree with and the vulnerable part is where I diverge: they give me a protected feeling against the vulnerability both in the rain and in the bedroom, although the days of the latter with a participating partner (who was never keen on the few occasions it happened) have long since gone.

Steve - Your mother sounds very sensible and was right to button you up if needed. I do exactly the same with my son.

Pamela, it is an absolute joy to read your comments! We males think it is US that are the odd ones out, and that girls and ladies do not share our interests and enthusiasm for rainwear, but you have shown beautifully and excitingly that this is not the case. Hurrah for you and congratulations to you!! I hope you will visit this site often, and get much pleasure, excitement and enjoyment from it-and that you will make more lovely contributions. I also hope you will join the interactions that we all enjoy, and that they will more than make up for those "lost" years.
I have just moved house, and my collection of nearly 700 items has moved with me-it will take me ages to unpack them all! Yes, 700 macs, waterproofs, rubbers etc-AND I AM STILL BUYING MORE!!-IN FACT I HAVE ORDERED ANOTHER 3 ITEMS TODAY, from Stay-Dry, one of my favourite suppliers.
I also know what it is to have an unresponsive partner. I remember Isobel of former years and how I tried to mack her up, but no such luck. A pity, as she would look superb in a see-through "baby-pant" plastic mackintosh. But no matter-this site brings more and more wonderful comments and contacts, and perhaps we may all meet the ultimate waterproof partner of our dreams.

Anna, you remind me very much of my own mother in the way you have mentioned that older fashioned rainwear gives much better protection than modern rainwear and that you manage to find shops that stock it, as your son well knows! You say he will be wearing a nylon mac for a while to come yet and you will be taking him to the shops for a new one soon. I don’t imagine you’ll stand for any fuss from him either when he has to try on the range in the shop. I would be interested to know how he copes with the situation. My mother used to button my mac right up if I hadn’t done so and would always say “There now, that looks a lot smarter”. I couldn’t agree with you more about the modern scruffy look of today and would support any parent trying to instill some pride into their children regarding their clothes and that they should be sensible, value for money and serve their proper purpose. Also, my hair was cut by my mother in pudding basin style up to your son’s age to save money. In the long run this has taught me a respect for value for money reflected in sensible clothing and footwear rather than following the wasteful fads of fashion. I have thought of buying a nylon pakamac but have yet to find one that buttons up like they used to rather than being fastened with poppers or a zip which I don’t think look as smart. Are there any of this type in your high street? Perhaps they just don’t make them anymore.

I am utterly compelled to add to this discussion, I can't believe what I have stumbled upon. I need to express just what a chord it struck with me. I've been quite taken aback that men are interested in plastic and nylon macs. Where oh where were you in the days when I was looking for a husband. I suppose being quite isolated here in the highlands explains my ignorance. If I read between the lines of some of the comments, I gather that some of the men share the passion I myself feel about plastic macs. I can understand my own feelings now but I thought it was only a girl thing. I remember being a teenager and feeling intensely jealous of my friend who'd been bought a plastic pakamac. I couldn't really understand why I was so jealous nor of the feelings I had, but I simply had to have one myself. Wearing my first pakamac I was quite overwhelmed by the feelings the plastic mac generated and just how desirable I felt in it. Those feelings have stayed with me all my adult life, which probably explains why I still buy them now and wear them nearly every day. Sadly, my husband didn't share my passion and so now feel that I missed out.
Even though fashion seems to have consigned plastic and nylon macs to the past now, they are very definitely my style. Fortunately I've been purchasing replacements for my depleted wardrobe from Rainmac and Susie High. I consider myself quite a traditional lady and so I'm rarely seen without my navy blue nylon mac and on wet days, definitely a plastic mac. Sometimes both! It would have to be a very sunny day that my mac is rolled up and consigned to my basket. The fact that I still feel desirable, feminine, vulnerable and passionate in a plastic mac, always made me thing that this was exclusive to women and not something shared by the opposite sex. I always thought that macs were a functional thing for them and that was definitely confirmed by my husband. Now alone, I have to confess just how much wearing a plastic mac is a comfort to me too. So much so that I've even taken to sleeping in one.

Well my 16yo is now resplendent in his new navy nylon pakamac mackintosh. He's not a great fan it has to be said, but he looks very smart buttoned up in it, and most importantly, keeps him dry

It is so lovely to see more and more comments on Pakamacs-plastic macs and nylon macs. I have worn one of my Stay-Dry nylon mackintoshes for nearly the whole evening-and have ordered three more. These macs are beautiful beyond all description and I am hoping Sue will ring me back to check on my order, so we can ecstasise over them again. DO TRY THEM FOR YOURSELVES!!!! It is my ultimate aim to puyrchase one for every day of the year-and to keep ordering thereafter. They just will not stop swishing, rustling, and inflating when you wear them, and they are so lightweight it is unbelievable!!

sorry to write it's very difficult to buy a Pakamac in Hungary, there is no import, then nobody wears them, therefore there is no import, catch 22

I also like macs, having a beautiful colorful collection.
beatriz, salamanca, spain

I stumbled upon this site by accident, but it evoked nostalgic memories. The business was founded by the Cohen family. In the 1970s the dynamic owner, Lenny Cohen, commissioned me (I acted as a merger broker) to find a buyer.
I negotiated a deal in mid-1976 with Black & Edgington Plc,
a quoted concern. As so often happens in these deals, nothing was the same again. Incidentally, besides rainwear
the business then also made inflatable armchairs; all the rage at the time.

Perhaps i'm very fortunate but there are many outfitters and market stalls locally where one can buy nylon macs, or pakamacs. I take my 16yo son in for his new one soon, and will be able to try on a range in our local shop where they thankfully still stock them.

I too had one of these grey plastic macs with the plastic buttons when at school in the sixties. They were sold at the local “Sewing Needs” shop (they also sold the local school uniforms). I remember my mother taking me there to buy one (at about twelve or thirteen years old) despite my protests because I thought they were sissy and didn’t want to wear one even though my friends had them. I was made to try them on for size (you didn’t argue with my mother for long, especially with other people in the shop) and to this day remember my embarrassment and the shopkeeper saying how sensible they were to have in your satchel, as she buttoned me up in it and patted the collar down then stood back to look at me. Then I was made to wear it home because it looked like it might rain but really because my mother was making her point about me behaving. Strangely, after that embarrassment I always liked to wear it if it rained and have one that I wear now. Sometimes I recall that day as I button it up and pat the collar down. I like the smooth and soft feel of the plastic, the swishing sound it makes and the sound of raindrops on it.

It's good to see the interest in genuine pakamacs. I'm probably to young to remember or have been made to wear a plastic pakamac to school......unfortunately. However, all through my school days I wore a genuine nylon pakamac in navy blue. My mother would always insist on it be a "pakamac" as they were a "good make" I looved wearing my nylon mac when it rained or even just at the treat of rain but as I got older I became more fashion concious and was then torn bewteen wearing a nylon mac that I enjoyed or being more fashionable. When I was around 14 I can recall that my nylon mac had gone a bit small on me and my suggested that she would take me to town to get a kagoul at the weekend. I was in shock what was I going to do as I still wanted a nylon mac but at the same time the kagoul would have been more "acceptable". Eventually and before the trip to the shops on the Saturday, I plucked up the courage and came straight out with it and "said I would rather have a nylon mac than a kagoul" my mother asked if I was sure to which I treplied yes knowing there would be no going back and more importantly I could never argue again about being told to wear it. Sure enough I was taken to town and a navy blue nylon mac was purchased although in the shop I was again given to option of a kagoul which I refused. As you would guess it wasn't long before I wore the mac for school and even the weekends. After requesting to be bough and "kept in a nylon mac", I wore it more frequently and probably the more memorable experiences of wearing it was when I didn't really need to, EG looked like it might rain but if I failed to wear a jacked under the mac then I knew I would have to leave it on even if the threat of rain completely went away!

No one has contributed to this site for a month so I feel I must break the silence. Recentl, I ordered some more of those lovely Stay-Dry nylon macs, and Sue, at the suppliers, advised me on delivery. When I told her about how much I loved these beautiful macs, we just swelled with mackintosh love, with mackintosh pleasure and with mackintosh excitement. In my view, these are simply the finest lightweight,swishy, rustly nylon mackintoshes available at the moment, and like the original grey-black semi-transparent plastic Pakamacs, you feel you want to own as many of them as possible-one for each day of the year? I am just waiting to hear that someone else has ordered these macs, hoping they feel as I do about them. I love nylon and plastic Pakamacs so much, I get all emotional about them!!! I have even shed tears over them!!! I JUST LOVE PLASTIC AND NYLON AND RUBBER MACS AND I CANNOT SAY IT ENOUGH!!!!

I find it difficult to understand why nylon macs are no longer clothing of choice for many children any more. They are very smart especially buttoned right up, and worn with a smart hat of some kind

The modern scruffy trend leaves me cold though, so my son knows he'll be wearing his nylon mac for a while to come yet

Anna

Lovely to hear your comments, Prudence! And I am so thrilled that my remarks inspired you to wear one of your nylon macs. In fact, when I read your remarks, I unpacked one of my navy nylon macs from Stay Dry, one I hadn't worn yet, and am wearing it now. I'm swishing and rustling beautifully. I have six of these Stay Dry nylon macs at the moment, but I will certainly be ordering more. Navy nylon macs were so popular with the girls at our school, in the late '60s, but even more so at a neighbouring all-girl's school, where the girls would swish their macs, filling them with air, and puffing themselves up beautifully. Prudence, Anna, Susie and Angela-all of you-you really must try these Stay Dry nylon macs. Although they fasten on the male side, they are described as unisex. Lightweight, swishy, lustrous and shimmery, they are everything one wants in a nylon mac. And you feel you want as many of them as possible. I have read Robin's remarks that he was bought a plastic Pakamac every year-music to the ears!! However, if genuine Pakamacs were still available, I would be buying one EVERY WEEK!!

Just like Susie, I remember those translucent Pakamacs with plastic buttons in the early 80s. I thought they were fabulous. I also remember nylon Pakamacs from the 70s and earlier. The ones I wore had 4 quite distinctive buttons. I loved to have one of those nylon macs in every colour possible but especially navy blue or beige. As far as I can remember they all came with different girl's names on the label. I still wear nylon or plastic macs but sadly I don't have the original Pakamac. The ones I prefer though, are of a similar style and I love to wear them on every possible occasion. I'm thrilled that Brian does too, it puts me in the mood to put mine on now.

In the late 60's and early 70's my Mother bought me a new plastic Pakamac for virtually every school year. They were always made from see through charcoal grey plastic. On rainy school mornings, when I got up from the breakfast table, my two Sisters always used to shout together "don't forget your Pakamac!"

I am wearing one of my plastic rainmacs at the moment-beautifully smooth and grey, and as see-through as baby pants when the light shines through my beautiful mac. But, much as I love lightweight plastic and nylon macs, I may be purchasing a shiny black rubber mac very soon. At school, when one of us bought and wore a semi-transparent plastic Pakamac, we felt we wanted to tell the WHOLE WORLD, the macs were so beautiful and exciting! When I acquire my SBR mac, I will feel exactly the same. Yes, i do own a lightweight latex rubber mac-a rubber Pakamac of sorts-but this forthcoming rubber-surfaced mac will be my first of this type. I'll keep you all posted!!

I now have a permanent residence in Thailand after living in Birmingham most of my life, i have read all the comments with interest,personally prefer the nylon macs but do have a very nice plastic one purchased via the net from Foxster called jeantex klaus they sell mens and ladies when i came her after selling up in England i had Two suitcases and agonized over which raincoats to take and leave behind i have many more now as when the rainy season starts here 6 out ten people are wearing there plastic macs some nylon but the plastic ones cost little mainly on there small motorbikes well through perseverance and ebay i found six months ago someone selling old stock in the packet original Pakamacs looking forward to the rainy season