Definitive : Drought Puts a Damper on Raingear

Scientists are predicting another year of drought in California, which means our raincoats may be spending another winter in the closet.

Rainwear is among the first clothing created by man. Eskimos used seal skin, which is highly water repellent, and dried seal intestines were stretched and sewn into hoods.

In Asia, raincoats were created by sewing together long pieces of straw and reeds. But the Indians of South America had the best solution to keep out the rain. They used the sap of rubber trees to coat animal skins and fibers to waterproof themselves during the long Amazonian rainy season.

During the European conquest of the New World, rubber was brought back to Spain and England and used in creating heavy raincoats that protected against elements but were brittle and hard to wear in the Northern Hemisphere’s cold winters.

The rubberized or vinyl raincoat is still around, but a more popular version is the tan-colored rain/trench coat.

During World War I, as troops slogged through muddy trenches in their heavy rubber rainwear, the British Army tried to find a lighter fabric that repelled water. Thomas Burberry, a London businessman, showed how cotton-twill gabardine that was treated with water repellents provided that same amount of protection as rubber coats at one-half the weight.

The Burberry coat quickly became regular issue for all the Allied troops, and after the war, the coats were pressed into civilian duty, still mounted with shoulder gun straps and grenade rings around the waist.

Today’s version of the coat comes in polyester/cotton blends, brushed cotton and a new “microfiber/cotton blend” that may be the lightest rainwear around.

Even when it’s not drizzly, a trench coat is a popular fashion statement. But for the good of California, it’s still a nice idea to pray for rain.