SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

While in a major store in Leeds today (April 12 2018) I was amused to see a display of 'Pacaway Macs', which were what I would have called Pacamacs. These plastic macs were updated in that they were bright yellow but were essentially the same as the old Pacamacs that were popular a long while back. Wow, the plastic head covers that women used to wear to keep their head/hair dry might even come back! .

Leodian wrote: Wow, the plastic head covers that women used to wear to keep their head/hair dry might even come back! .

They never did, my mother in law had some

In bright yellow with hood up should think they look like chemical protection suits

Norman Clegg in Summer Wine always seemed
to carry ir wear one.
Top money to anyone who could actually repack the swine

In the 1950/60s wewere extremely conscience of what we wore. Suits, Jackets, Shirts and Ties were the order of the day, even on a Sunday Lunchtime nipping down to the Pub it was unthinkable to go out with being smartly dressed. As for Rain wear i had to have a Single Breasted long Gaberdine Mac ( Like F. Sinatra used to wear in films ) and the thought of wearing a Pacamac was out of the question. My Mother came home one Saturday with one for me and as i recoiled in Horror she said "I thought it might do when you are out Fishing " Like Mothers she was right and some Sundays i would be out all day and the rain would simply roll off whereas all other Outdoor clothing would be sodden and weigh a Ton.
As dogduke says It was impossible to Repack it in the Envelope it came in.

( Did not help me catch Fish any better either )

Every holiday on the East Coast a Pacamac was an essential purchase when it rained , as it usually did. I don't ever remember wearing one anywhere else apart from Brid or Scarboro'. They only came in 1 colour -grey and slightly transparent. They never seemed to last from one holiday to the next and I don't ever remember throwing them away so where did they all go? I hate to think of my old Pacamacs floating around in the Giant South Pacific Gyre garbage patch.

One year about 1953 the latest rainwear fashion fad was the Sou'Wester. It was bright yellow. Sure enough my mother packed mine for outings. I can remember wearing it only once while waiting for a bus in a teeming downpour outside the Fforde Green on Harehills Lane feeling a bit self conscious being dressed like a pint sized Grimsby trawlerman washed up in Harehills.

Cheers all for your replies .

Something I did not mention in my first post was that a Pacaway Mac costs a bit under £30 (£29.50 to be exact!) . I've just had a look at the store's website and found that the item is called a Pack-Away Mac (it was Pacaway Mac on the display I saw) and they come in a various colours and designs.

Leodian wrote:Cheers all for your replies .

Something I did not mention in my first post was that a Pacaway Mac costs a bit under £30 (£29.50 to be exact!) . I've just had a look at the store's website and found that the item is called a Pack-Away Mac (it was Pacaway Mac on the display I saw) and they come in a various colours and designs.

Can anyone remember what they cost back in the day?

I think by my day (kid in the 70s) it had become the Kagool/Kagoul. They didn't cost much but then again they were barely shower proof let alone waterproof. Like Black Prince most memories of wearing one were on the coast, mainly east but Blackpool too. I think I probably had a couple of wet days at the coast even in the summer of 76

tyke bhoy wrote:I think by my day (kid in the 70s) it had become the Kagool/Kagoul. They didn't cost much but then again they were barely shower proof let alone waterproof. Like Black Prince most memories of wearing one were on the coast, mainly east but Blackpool too. I think I probably had a couple of wet days at the coast even in the summer of 76

Hi tyke bhoy. The nylon kagoul came in by the mid 6o's. I was a keen hiker and got my first Kagoul in 1966.
The kagoul was a vast improvement on the pacamac which came out in the 50's and it probably put the nail in the coffin of the original pacamac.
bp