Joan Bennett and Pamela Green illustrate the sexy,
stylish character of the see-through plastic mac
As everybody knows, the first fully waterproof raincoat was designed by Scottish chemist Charles Macintosh, almost a century ago, using softened rubber sandwiched between two layers of fabric. Functional, lightweight, and stylish, the mac - as it came to be known - quickly became an essential element of the British wardrobe, popular with both men and women, as nobody likes getting wet.
Advances in fabric technology mean that raincoats are now constructed from all kinds of hi-tech material and come in many different colours, but, personally, I have a penchant for clear plastic macs and so was pleased to see them recently making a return to the catwalk; Karl Lagerfeld, for example, sent out models in his spring 2018 collection for Chanel complete with transparent capes, boots and rain hats.
Of course, as Caroline Leaper - fashion editor at The Telegraph - reminds us, staying dry in style has long been a concern. But synthetic clothing, including vinyl, only became popular after the Second World War when production boomed and prices dropped, finding fans amongst fashionistas and fetishists in the 1950s, '60s and '70s.
I'm sure many torpedophiles will have their own favourite image of a beautiful woman in a plastic mac, but, for me, it comes down to just two: Joan Bennett, as Kitty March, in the 1945 film noir, Scarlet Street and Pamela Green posing for the Hungarian-born photographer Zoltán Glass, in the early-mid 1950s.
I cannot put into words how much I love these pictures ...
I cannot put into words how much I love these pictures ...
See: Caroline Leaper, 'The plastic mac is back: How the humble raincoat got an upgrade for spring', The Telegraph (12 Feb 2018): click here.
I think what you have there is reality (or close to it) in Joan Bennett and fantasy in Pamela Green. As much as I'd like to think they did, or still do,what are the odds that attractive young ladies nip down to the Post Box in nothing but make up, high heels and a see thru plastic mac ? For a start they nearly all send texts or emails these days !
ReplyDeleteConstance Chatterley and Oliver Mellors certainly liked getting wet, in the rain. . .and running naked through it. Theirs is an image to be reckoned with.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful friend of mine ran from where we were sheltering from a downpour, the other day. She looked splendid! No mac.
She called back to me in a joyful laughing voice, "It's only rain!"