We've just enjoyed a couple of very, very wet days yesterday and today in Melbourne. A massive storm delivered us our wettest September day since 1955. It broke around 3.00pm and the rain didn't let up until something like 8 or 9pm last night. I'd been out for my usual Wednesday Vietnamese lunch and the storm broke with spectacular fury the moment I left the restaurant. Fortunately, I'd anticipated more rain after an earlier front delivering an earlier burst of rain, so I was wearing my lovely pale yellow, smooth PVC Acadia raincoat with a soft cotton lining and a detachable hood that fits very snugly around my head: it really is incredibly warm and I never receive second, or "funny" looks wearing it.
I can't say enough how nice it was crossing the road in the pouring rain while everybody dashed past me for cover...
After returning to my car, I changed into my brand new and very shiny yellow two-piece Plastico AquaSport rainsuit and matching Target wellies... at this stage, I could only hope the rain wouldn't go away... these storms are often all too brief, but it scarcely let up after the initial torrential rain that some of my mates described as "walls of water". It's about as shiny yellow as you can possibly get: it's a real rainsuit of the kind I've always wanted and believe the way they should be made.
I then drove to my favourite (and very large) Salvation Army store which I visit every week for bargain books or furniture that I can re-sell later.
I was a bit nervous at first: it's hard to miss to say the very least ... but barely anybody bothered look, much less look twice while I strolled around the Salvos shop. One guy (who works there) did ask me about my rainwear, but he's already seen me wearing my yellow Rukka, so he knows I've got some kind of thing or kink for rainwear but he was friendly though. After this confidence boosting start, I drove to nearby Smith Street for a look around the "Lost and Found" vintage clothes & bric-a-brac emporium there; they sometimes have good rainwear but I didn't find anything worth buying this time though. Again, barely anybody so much as paid any attention to me, despite the shiny brightness of my rainwear.
After leaving the shop, I drove to one of my favourite (and very quiet) parks located on the banks of the Yarra River where I knew I would not encounter anybody in this rainy and stormy weather, so I put my Helly Hansen lifejacket on over my rainwear and strapped up everything very tightly before setting off ... safety first and all that, right? Haha! Part of the path actually is on the cliff so any fall would've seen me tumble into the water, so I actually did feel much safer with it on. The HH comes with twin crotchstraps and once I've done them up, the lifejacket is very, very snug. There's no way it's coming off with everything done up. I even wore my lifejacket all the way back to the carpark where I took it off before driving home.
And that was my day yesterday.
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Today, I wore my rainsuit and boots inside Safeway around 8.00 in the evening. It was also raining quite steadily as well. Again, much to my surprise, nobody so much spared me as much as a single glance. Even a couple of teenage girls were anything but interested.
I think its true to say that a lot of our reluctance to wear rainwear is all in the mind, although wearing anything pink or obviously really "girly" is probably not such a good idea *sigh* ... I would like to, but my level of confidence isn't high enough for that yet.
rainy days in Melbourne and wearing my rainsuit
Re: rainy days in Melbourne and wearing my rainsuit
this is the thing isn't it. I would never go out wearing obvious womens rain wear any more than I would go out wearing a dress or skirt. Cross dressing does nothing for me anyway and it would look rather odd. Going out wearing obviously male rainwear in the rain would hardly seem odd. as you say Mase its all in the mind because you know it turns you on. Others would not know this and why would they think it? Even the guy in the Salvation Army shop who has seen you wearing rainwear on a wet day, unless he harbours secret feelings himself (you never know) would hardly think it odd if it is raining. Now if you went out dressed like that in blazing sunshine it would be a different matter. A day like today in the Uk where I have just been out in shorts and tee, a raincoat would have looked extremely strange.