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I walked the length of Oxford Street, Regents Street and Bond street, London, Kings Road, Carnaby street (what a joke) and more and for the first time in decades, nothing remotely shiny macky! What IS this world coming to? I cant even blame Trump! I guess cotton and polyester have won. How sad.

This is sadly the way things have gone, not just recently but I would say that in the last 35 years or so. In the late 1980's I was sent to do some work in Brighton, working at rooftop level I had a good view of the streets, there seemed to be lots of women wearing PVC macs. Walking back to the guest house I was staying in after work there was a large shop that had several macs on display. It shows how common they were back then, but within a few years their popularity had declined, a trend that has sadly continued to this present day.

Closeted!

rubbermackintosh wrote: January 23rd, 2026, 11:14 pm Closeted!

What is adjectively secret about the title? Pleases explain?

I would guess that the meaning is that they are all in people's wardrobes?

i remember that pvc raincoats stopped appearing about 25 years ago. i remember 30 years ago they were still common but around the late 90's early 2000's is when they started to really phase out. rubber rainboots that were not hunter boots were also a lot more common 15-20 years ago.

I still remember very clearly that you used to see PVC macs on the street a lot in the early 1990s. I enjoyed looking at women wearing that kind of coat, and during puberty I sometimes fantasized about wanting to be a girl for one day, just so I could try on such a coat Back then I didn’t dare to try on a PVC mac. Indeed, since the turn of the millennium these coats have unfortunately disappeared from the street scene, but around 2008 and 2009 there was a brief revival and you saw them hanging in many clothing stores. I can remember that in early 2008 the former V&D in the Netherlands once again had PVC macs in store in black, red, and white, and in three different lengths. They were fantastic coats, although I didn’t see many of them worn on the street either. They have probably disappeared into wardrobes as well. I have a few of those PVC macs in my wardrobe now

Fashion seems to come back every few years, so let’s hope that these coats will soon come back into fashion again as a fashion statement.

stutterheim brought back the classic matte style raincoats but sadly those have become far less common. the opal raincoats have a nice shiny look to them but are pretty stiff. PUL is the only place where you can rainwear that resembles the classic unlined brands.