Megan paused to adjust her raincoat, pulling the collar tight around her headscarf, she glanced at her reflection in the shop window, pulling the edge of her scarf forward to give her more protection from the increasing rain - the forecast has only predicted light showers, so she hadn't bothered with her usual level of protection - she wore just a two piece rain suit, rain boots and her vintage Driza-bone waxed riding coat, topped off with a multilayered headscarf - six proofed scarves tied Kelly style, knotted behind her head. Far better protection than most people would be wearing for a walk in the rain, but no waterproof ripstop nylon headscarf, and nothing to stiffen the front edge that she had just pulled forwards. Of course, the jacket of her rain-suit had a hood, and she had a silk scarf tied beneath that, but it was a long way from the total protection she usually enjoyed.
To be fair though, it was a good level of protection for the forecast rain that day - it would have been more than enough to keep her dry in the showers predicted by the weather forecast - or even some heavier rain, but it looked like the weather was building up to a real storm, and Megan knew that normally with weather like that she would have dressed more appropriately, and been far better protected. Too late to do anything about it yet - she had already been out for an hour, and it would take at least that long to return home!
She looked again at her reflection in the window. The woman looking back at her looked pretty wet already - the rain had soaked the waxed cotton of the Driza-bone and broken down the waterproofing on the outer headscarf, but she knew the oiled material of the stockman's coat would resist the rain, and there were a total of 15 layers of proofed material around her head, including the hood of her rain jacket. As long as she kept her head down, her rubber and cotton gloved hands firmly in her pockets, and the wind didn't get too bad she should be ok to make it home in about an hour or so. She could only hope her protection from the increasing storm would keep her dry that long!
As she turned to retrace her steps, the rain intensified, and a rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance - a real storm was brewing and Megan was really concerned that her hastily assembled raingear might not be up to the task - she knew that driving rain could work it's way through the fastenings of her raincoat, and although the scarves were well proofed they only had limited resistance to a really heavy downpour - she hoped that the multiple layers would be enough to get her home safe and dry! The rain was beating a heavy tattoo on her scarves already, and beneath the rattle of it around her head, she could hear an underlying faint rushing sound she was only too familiar with - the sound of water slowly penetrating the water resistant fabric of her scarves. The relentless rain was already working it's way through. Could they keep her dry again? Years before she had always managed with similar layers of proofed scarves, no completely waterproof PUL scarves back then - She had stayed dry through worse than this hadn't she?
As she rounded a corner full into the wind driven rain, she heard the splashing sound of extra water falling from a height - an overflowing gutter was creating an urban waterfall up ahead - did she dare? Wouldn't it be tempting fate too far? She couldn't resist - with head bowed and the collar of her driza-bone turned up, she stepped under the deluge crashing down onto her head and shoulders.
She held her breath, waiting for what she feared would be the inevitable penetration - but her scarves were holding out! She was still dry despite the battering they received, and as she continued on her way after a minute or so exposing herself to the full force of the two story high overflow, she began to think that maybe her old-school coat and scarves would be up to the job after all!
At that moment, out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a flash of movement, and instinctively turned away bowing her head - just in time, as a veritable wall of water crashed against her propelled by a white van speeding through the large puddle she was standing next to - if she hadn't turned in time she would have been almost drowned by the water hitting her full in the face! She must remember as the water streamed from her scarf and raincoat - she had no protective masking covering her face - she had to keep her head down and turned away from the driving rain.
She continued on her way, battling against the wind lashed rain which was increasing in intensity by the minute, but eventually she rounded the final corner, and was now just a few metres from home and amazingly another completely dry outing. As she walked the last few yards towards her front door, the sound of another overflowing gutter caught her attention. She was just seconds from home, and a tempting thought came to her. What if she stood under the gutter flow until it did finally penetrate her waxed driza-bone, headscarves and hood - how long would it take - how would it feel, would the chill of the water penetrating her defenses be a fitting finish to what had been an unexpectedly exciting couple of hours, or would it prove ultimately anti-climactic? Only one way to find out.
Easing the edge of her scarves as far forward as she could, and pulling her collar as tightly as possible, she thrust her hands into her pockets and stepped resolutely under the ferocious overflow from three stories above her.
Immediately she felt the icy chill as the water surrounded her head completely - she waited for a corresponding trickle of wetness to begin to flow around her as well, but to no avail! The freezing cold was all she felt, but that was more than enough to defeat her - despite the water not penetrating her scarves, the numbing cold around her head meant she was unable to remain under the icy deluge any longer. Frustrated, she returned to the warmth and dry of her flat, but determined not to remain defeated!
She looked at her reflection in the full length mirror in the hallway - as the rainwater continued to run onto the hall carpet from her saturated raincoat - the image she saw was stunning. Both her driza-bone raincoat and tightly knotted headscarves were completely soaked - shiny with wetness reflecting the light coming through the window, she had never seen anyone in everyday rainwear so completely saturated from head to toe. She promised herself that she had to replicate the amazing sight - had to recreate the totally drenched, sodden and waterlogged combination of rainwear that had so surprisingly kept her dry that day, but also be sure that there was absolutely no possibility of even the slightest penetration of rain, no matter how heavy or relentless it was!
Carefully she peeled off her waterproof rubber gloves, and started to unfasten her driza-bone raincoat. As expected, the combination of rain, overflowing gutters and a tidal wave from a passing van had penetrated the fastenings at the front. Her sleeves were wet inside also, and water had slipped down her back past the upturned collar. All in all, for a water-resistant raincoat it was pretty much wet through! She untied her multi-layered headscarf, and carefully folded back the layers of proofed material to see how far the rain had penetrated - six scarves folded together - 12 layers of material, all with the most effective water proofing applied - water had forced it's way through 8 layers, Megan was astonished at how effective the scarves had proved, but she planned on creating much better protection, without changing the fabulously soaked and sodden way her outfit appeared!
To her added amazement, the rain-suit providing her base layer of protection was still pretty dry - certainly good enough to stay as the first layer, as she started to assemble her additional protection. Carefully carrying the soaking wet raincoat and headscarves, Megan made her way to her bedroom, laid the sodden clothing on a chair, and opened her wardrobe to reveal her well curated rainwear collection, assembled during years of exposure to many storms and downpours. She kicked off her rainboots - they had performed well enough, but a pair of thigh waders were a better solution. Slipping them on over the waterproof and insulated socks that had kept her feet warm and dry, she smoothed the shiny black pvc against the polyester outer layer of her rain-suit trousers, and carefully applied a layer of wide black tape to hold the waders in place, and prevent any water running down inside.
She turned to select the raincoats that would provide her guaranteed complete protection, and selected three long hooded lightweight coats - two modern waterproof coats - one in polyester Oxford cloth, another in polyurethane coated nylon, and one completely waterproof vintage Ruka PVC coat. Megan dressed in the rainwear - noting the sizes - the smaller vintage Ruka was first, followed by the lightweight polyester, and finally the coated nylon, but given that all three were lightweight with no linings, the soaking wet stockman's coat would comfortably fit over them all. She pulled the hoods tight around her face, slipping on a large pair of sunglasses first to protect her eyes - far better than a pair of ugly goggles! She pulled on a silk balaclava to completely cover the hoods, and finally a nylon wig to top them off. The masking scarf was next, and she selected a large satin scarf with similar colouring to the outer soaking wet scarf from her earlier outing. She took one of her waterproof ripstop nylon scarves, and layered the two together. She then tied the scarf carefully in place - over the wig, the ends passed across her face just beneath her nose, and knotted securely at the back of her head. With the raincoat hoods, the balaclava, her large round sunglasses, and the scarf covering the lower part of her face, Megan was confident not only in the waterproofing, that her face would be protected from any spray or worse, but that there would also be sufficient insulating material to prevent the type of brain freeze which had defeated her just earlier that day.
She picked up the soaked headscarves, lay them out flat unfolded, and took another waterproof ripstop scarf from her collection, this one already folded onto a triangle, with a piece of thin semi-rigid foam sandwiched inside to provide a stiff brim when the scarf was pulled forwards. She carefully laid the folded nylon scarf in the middle of the six soaking wet proofed headscarves and folded them together - the result was the same as she had worn before, but now with a completely waterproof central layer with a stiffened edge. Again, she expertly tied the resulting multi-layered scarf in the Kelly style, knotted behind her head, but ensuring that the resulting protective layers projected well clear of her face to provide a helmet - like impenetrable covering. She was ready for the soaking wet driza-bone raincoat
She picked up the sodden garment - usually a reliable defence against heavy rain, but now defeated, thoroughly soaked, and heavy with the weight of water absorbed by the fabric. She struggled into the coat, forcing her arms with difficulty through the saturated sleeves, and then managing to fasten the storm flap across her throat before buttoning the double breasted front and extra storm button to prevent the wind from lifting the hem. Just her gloves to complete the outfit.
Megan looked at herself in the full length mirror at the end of the hallway and gave a small shiver of appreciation - the figure she saw was the same that had been so exciting when she had entered from the storm, with the exception that the headscarf now projected protectively around her head and face, which was now completely covered by mask, glasses and wig. The coat and scarves were still thoroughly soaked, but the shine of immediate wetness had gone - no matter she thought, the rain was as heavy and relentless as before, and the overflowing gutters would be even more powerful - the shine would soon be returning!
The outing she was considering would require a triple layer of waterproof gloves. Megan carefully rolled back her raincoat sleeves, and selected a black silk liners gloves as the first layer. Over that, and over the cuffs of her rain-suit, she pulled on a pair of thin black vinyl gloves. She then rolled down the sleeves of the Ruka coat, and the polyester coat, which had long double cuffs, the outer ones elasticated - ideal for slipping over the thin rubber gloves, which she had applied a liberal dose of talcum powder inside so that they slipped easily over the vinyl. The sleeves of the laminated nylon coat were also long enough to cover her hands, and they had velcro fastening straps, which she could pass over her thumbs to ensure the cuffs would not ride up and allow any water through. Some more talcum, and the long black rubber gloves providing the third waterproof layer slipped easily on, covering the nylon raincoat up to her forearms. Another larger pair of black silk gloves completed her hand protection, and she rolled the driza-bone sleeves into place, securing the wrist straps as tightly as she could. Another glance in the mirror, her collar pulled up tight against the headscarves, and she was ready for the worst the storm could muster!
Megan opened the door, and stepped out into the teeth of the storm. The rain lashed down in waves, and the overflowing gutter was now an ice cold waterfall. She bowed her head, thrust her hands into the soaking pockets of her raincoat, and stepped under the deluge. Immediately she felt the icy grip around her head, but this time, although it sent a chill through to her skull, it was not the unbearable freezing grip she had experienced before. The insulating layers of hoods and scarves were equal to holding the numbing chill at bay - certainly for the four or five minutes she spent engulfed in the overflow. There was no doubt that her coat and scarves were as shiny and soaked as before - even more so if that were possible. The additional scarves and masking were doing an excellent job of keeping her face and head protected, and there was no doubt in her mind that the three extra raincoats would hold out against anything the weather could throw her way. She was looking forward to another thrilling and exciting storm-walk.