Coats and dress length confusion

[Musicforsnorks]

I know there used to be ‘rules’ but I’m not so sure they’re meant to be taken too seriously.
However, if I want to wear midi or longer dresses through winter, in subtle patterns or solid colours, what on earth do I wear over them in VERY rough weather?

I’ve got a below-knee navy didricksons parka and a couple of Barbour jackets. That’s it. I’m a bit of a minimalist with clothes and feel that wearing more frocks/skirts will make me have to spend more on suitable coats, etc to go with the various lengths.

I mean, can I see a midi dress worn with boots and a mid length rain Mac and big hood?

I’m so used to jeans in boots and everything else just ‘goes’ with them I never have to think about it too much.....

Thoughts/advice welcome😁

I had a look in Pinterest and these are the kind of things that came up.

On Pinterest*

I use Pinterest a lot, but I’m not really seeing anyone pairing dresses with stormproof coats - only wool coats, andnwhilst that’s nice I am wondering more about the times I will definitely need a hood !

Yeah I couldn't see anything like that either. Tbh I wouldn't care if it was just for a bad winter day to get you where you want to go and then take it off and even though it probably wouldn't look very fashionable, I wouldn't think anything of it if I seen someone wearing a winter coat with hood over their dress. I'd just assume they wanted to wear the nice dress to wherever they were going and didn't want to get soaked/ end up freezing on the way there. So I suppose it depends if you would feel daft.

Tbh in proper adverse weather, I just wear whichever coat is best for the weather. Even if that means my Berghaus hiking waterproof! I'd rather arrive and still look good under the waterproof (which will be off from the minute I get in the door anyway) than wear a coat which looks lovely but means I arrive as a drowned rat and look like that all night.

It doesn't look great, but when the weather's bad, i'm definitely not the only one dressed like that!

That makes sense, and I agree. I’m not bothered about fashion or trends but the idea of it does feel ‘off’ even though there’s only me judging.

In my situation, I am outdoors walking a lot (don’t drive a vehicle) so this would be a fair portion of my day, so I don’t want to have to buy tons of new things to make the dresses look ok, if that makes sense ...

And let’s be honest, most months of the year there will be some threat of rain, wind or both! I love wool coats, but I’m self employed and semi rural, I’m just not sure I want to spend too much.

Honestly, I just wouldn’t wear those dresses on bad weather days - they are likely to get flappy and wet unless they are completely covered, and be really annoying! I walk to and from work, which is about 30 minutes each way, and if it’s pissing down tend to wear shorter skirts with an almost knee-length parka. Opaque tights dry quickly.

FWIW, I am currently doing midi dresses with a leather biker, opaques, and trainers, and think they will work with my (v divisive on here) mid-length teddy faux fur coat, in a Royal Tenenbaums type way.

What Judy said

I live in Canada and its hard to dress nice but also wear a massive winter coat. Looks conflicting

Shorter skirts under parka in bad weather sounds like the best solution I agree.

Store editorials and shots of bare-legged models do seem to dismiss the concept of navigating a uk (and Canadian) climate! I’m surprised at how many A/W dresses are sleeveless, unlined, etc.