A good raincoat earns its place by doing the boring job properly before it does anything else. That means a bonded or taped seam construction, a collar that stands up against actual wind rather than just rain, and a hem long enough to protect the back of the thighs when you sit down on a bus or bench. Cotton and nylon blends with a wax or PU coating tend to outperform anything that relies purely on a spray on finish, which washes out faster than anyone expects and leaves you wearing a coat that only looks the part. The best ones are cut with enough room underneath for a jumper, sometimes a jacket, without turning into a tent, and the sleeves are wide enough at the cuff to push up or roll back without a fight.
Fit is where most raincoats go wrong. Too fitted and there is nowhere for layers to go once fitness for purpose actually matters.
Too generous and the coat becomes a sail in any real wind, flapping open at the front and letting water in exactly where it should not. The ones worth owning sit somewhere between a mac and an anorak in silhouette, structured enough to look deliberate over tailoring, relaxed enough to sit over knitwear on a weekend without looking borrowed.
Colour matters more than people admit. Black and navy are reliable, but a raincoat is one of the few practical garments that can carry a strong colour without feeling costume like, since it is worn over everything else and rarely competes with what is underneath. Olive, deep red and a proper stone are all worth considering if black feels like the obvious default.
Styling is straightforward once the fit is right. Wear it over tailoring for the office, over a hoodie for the school run or the supermarket, or as the only outer layer on top of jeans and boots when the weather cannot decide what it is doing. It works over a dress with bare legs and boots on a milder day, and it works belted, if the design allows, when you want something closer to a coat than a shell.
Occasion wise, this is not a special occasion piece and should not try to be one. Its value is in daily reliability, the school run, the commute, the dog walk, the festival, the days when the forecast cannot be trusted and you need one garment that will not let you down.
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