Page 12 | Fed up of all the gorpcore

needmorebooks · 2025-12-21T06:52:18+00:00

Is it just me? It’s everywhere. Look around a city centre and there’s just puffer jackets cropped and long and brightly coloured Rab or Patagonia jackets. Basically everyone dressed for climbing in the Peak District for a trip to John Lewis or Coffee1. I own outdoor wear but it’s for well, long walks in the forest, going to the coast or going up mountains. Why has it become so ubiquitous? And it’s all ages and classes seemingly. I don’t get it. It’s just boring and scruffy too imho. I want to see people looking nice in wool coats and looking like they take a bit of pride in their appearance. Sorry if that’s controversial, maybe this should be in AIBU? I hate feeling like I’m overdressed when I just have a long wool coat on, I hardly see others in the same. Just fed up of the sea of gore-tex and hiking shoes. Anyone else?

Pistachiocake · 22/12/2025 01:55

I wasn't around in the 50s, but they probably would have worn waterproof, padded hooded things if they'd had them. They probably didn't like having to wear corsets/stockings/uncomfortable shoes either. Surely modern dress is much better for health. Even the generation above me say how having to wear high heels and itchy tights at work did them no good as they got older (joint/foot/back/UTI issues), and at least they had waterproof padded anoraks, so they wouldn't have been shivering in wet wool. And surely washing modern styles/fabrics is easier too? You can wear what you want, but most of us (as you say) see, to prefer the modern way.

Floisme · 22/12/2025 07:54

I have come round to the view that the national mood is depressed, and that one of the ways this manifests itself is in how we dress, and that another sign is the spiky defensiveness whenever this is pointed out.

Lastfroginthebox · 22/12/2025 08:36

needmorebooks · 21/12/2025 07:56

Oh how did people cope without gore-tex. All the women and men in the 50s with their wool coats seemed to do just fine.

Setiously though if you’re in town it’s car to shop to shop to car. Not much outside needed.

The person who said they don’t need to dress up to go to the shops, yes I get that but these days no one dresses up for anything. People eat out in the evening for meals in hoodies. Ugh. It’s nice to just dress up a bit, you don’t need a reason.

Not everyone enjoys dressing up. If you like it, do it. It doesn't matter that we're not all the same.

NormasArse · 22/12/2025 08:36

Microlight or down jackets are much more comfortable than a woollen coat when going from one temperature to another.

Also, I’m not buying a coat I’ll hardly ever use just to please someone in a department store 😂.

I dress for the weather because I’m usually outside.

narniabusiness · 22/12/2025 08:43

Ive been taken aback by the defensiveness as well @Floisme. You may well be right. I don’t recognise this country where it’s windy and has heavy rain every day. Where umbrellas are dangerous objects and nobody travels by car. Where no one can afford a coat, but can afford anoraks.
There seems to be a rewriting of the past as well. That everyone would have dressed more casually given the chance. The concept of cutting a dash or the Bella Figura seems to be completely incomprehensible. I am hoping that dressing more formally still exists in other countries.

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 22/12/2025 10:42

I have an amazing long wool coat which I love - I know the word “dashing” is usually used for men, but that’s how I feel in it. But, I walk everywhere, and live in NE Scotland so it’s not always a good option. I don’t have hiking clothes (don’t go hiking) but on a day like today when it’s pissing down, my long Arket puffer coat is definitely my outerwear of choice.

OttersMayHaveShifted · 22/12/2025 11:13

narniabusiness · 22/12/2025 08:43

Ive been taken aback by the defensiveness as well @Floisme. You may well be right. I don’t recognise this country where it’s windy and has heavy rain every day. Where umbrellas are dangerous objects and nobody travels by car. Where no one can afford a coat, but can afford anoraks.
There seems to be a rewriting of the past as well. That everyone would have dressed more casually given the chance. The concept of cutting a dash or the Bella Figura seems to be completely incomprehensible. I am hoping that dressing more formally still exists in other countries.

Welcome to Cumbria. The first year I moved here, it rained at least a little bit of every day from mid-October to February.

Binus · 22/12/2025 11:37

narniabusiness · 22/12/2025 08:43

Ive been taken aback by the defensiveness as well @Floisme. You may well be right. I don’t recognise this country where it’s windy and has heavy rain every day. Where umbrellas are dangerous objects and nobody travels by car. Where no one can afford a coat, but can afford anoraks.
There seems to be a rewriting of the past as well. That everyone would have dressed more casually given the chance. The concept of cutting a dash or the Bella Figura seems to be completely incomprehensible. I am hoping that dressing more formally still exists in other countries.

It's probably your hyperbole that's causing you to struggle with recognition.

Also, if your concern is rewriting history, best you address that with the OP, as she's the one who initially decided she was able to speak for the people of the 1950s.

Mercurial123 · 22/12/2025 12:15

needmorebooks · 21/12/2025 07:56

Oh how did people cope without gore-tex. All the women and men in the 50s with their wool coats seemed to do just fine.

Setiously though if you’re in town it’s car to shop to shop to car. Not much outside needed.

The person who said they don’t need to dress up to go to the shops, yes I get that but these days no one dresses up for anything. People eat out in the evening for meals in hoodies. Ugh. It’s nice to just dress up a bit, you don’t need a reason.

Who cares, enjoy your wool coat in the rain.

narniabusiness · 22/12/2025 12:22

OttersMayHaveShifted · 22/12/2025 11:13

Welcome to Cumbria. The first year I moved here, it rained at least a little bit of every day from mid-October to February.

Show quote history

But the OP wasn’t ‘I’ve just been to Kendal and everyone is wearing walking gear’.

narniabusiness · 22/12/2025 12:23

Binus · 22/12/2025 11:37

It's probably your hyperbole that's causing you to struggle with recognition.

Also, if your concern is rewriting history, best you address that with the OP, as she's the one who initially decided she was able to speak for the people of the 1950s.

Show quote history

Thats very rude and obviously directed at me personally.

EnterQueene · 22/12/2025 12:32

Inspired by the OP, I am planning to wear my lovely wool coat when I head into town this afternoon. It isn't raining for once (just grey) and I will wear my Uniglo light down jacket underneath for warmth. I shall stride out looking stylish in a sea of puffas & parkas 😀

Binus · 22/12/2025 12:37

narniabusiness · 22/12/2025 12:23

Thats very rude and obviously directed at me personally.

Show quote history

It's not rude, you spoke of not recognising various descriptions and they were actually exaggerated versions of the things people really said (which is, incidentally, impolite in itself). So perhaps it'll be easier for you if you realise that nobody has actually said they live in a country where it rains heavily 100% every single day. As opposed to, say, a lot in the past few weeks.

But yes, a post replying to you is directed at you personally. That's how these things work!

BauhausOfEliott · 22/12/2025 12:42

It’s not a style I’d ever wear, but I also wouldn’t ever worry about feeling overdressed because my coat was different to the coats of some total strangers. That sort of thing just never bothers me.

I think a lot of people do need an all-weather coat for walking etc, and simply don’t want to spend a lot of money on another coat as well just so they’ve got something different to wear to the shops. So they wear their walking coat everywhere.

Ultimately they’re warm and waterproof and have loads of pockets so I can see why, if someone is only going to own one coat, they’d pick a style with maximum function.

Also, I own a really nice vintage winter wool coat and it’s far from ideal in rain! It gets heavy and soggy and smells a bit. A Goretex parka or something would actually be far more practical, really.

Isobel201 · 22/12/2025 12:45

I wear a black puffer jacket for the stables as its easier to do carriage driving in, but it would also do as a warm jacket for dog walking. Its practical and warm, and I wouldn't mind wearing it in the shops if I wanted to.

Floisme · 22/12/2025 12:51

I do think those of us who enjoy this stuff should stop worrying so much about being 'over dressed'. I'm not talking specifically about wool coats, I'm thinking more generally about choosing something nice to wear because you're going into the office for the first time in a month, or out to the theatre etc. We don't need permission and we don't need to wait for anyone else to do it first. I will guarantee that, if you do, someone will notice and admire your outfit, even if they don't say so out loud.

Binus · 22/12/2025 13:22

Floisme · 22/12/2025 12:51

I do think those of us who enjoy this stuff should stop worrying so much about being 'over dressed'. I'm not talking specifically about wool coats, I'm thinking more generally about choosing something nice to wear because you're going into the office for the first time in a month, or out to the theatre etc. We don't need permission and we don't need to wait for anyone else to do it first. I will guarantee that, if you do, someone will notice and admire your outfit, even if they don't say so out loud.

I agree. For anyone dissatisfied with the current state of sartorial affairs, this is more sensible and less likely to lead to frustration than waiting for other people to wear the clothes you want them to be in. If you like it and feel it's suitable for the occasion, wear it!

RabbitFurCoat · 22/12/2025 13:37

Mikart · 21/12/2025 07:30

I don't possess a cloth coat.
I have 6 Uniqlo padded jackets and 2 down coats. Oh and waterproofs. I also wear walking boots daily.

Same re boots - stupid bunions, had them since my teens - even my nice blundstones leave me in agony now. I have one pair of barefoot freet boots that don't cripple me. They leak as well. Peel my socks off after every walk.

GalaxyJam · 22/12/2025 13:38

Floisme · 22/12/2025 12:51

I do think those of us who enjoy this stuff should stop worrying so much about being 'over dressed'. I'm not talking specifically about wool coats, I'm thinking more generally about choosing something nice to wear because you're going into the office for the first time in a month, or out to the theatre etc. We don't need permission and we don't need to wait for anyone else to do it first. I will guarantee that, if you do, someone will notice and admire your outfit, even if they don't say so out loud.

I agree! Where whatever you want to wear, whenever you want to wear it! And let others do the same, even if they choose to wear a puffer jacket.

RabbitFurCoat · 22/12/2025 13:38

Floisme · 22/12/2025 12:51

I do think those of us who enjoy this stuff should stop worrying so much about being 'over dressed'. I'm not talking specifically about wool coats, I'm thinking more generally about choosing something nice to wear because you're going into the office for the first time in a month, or out to the theatre etc. We don't need permission and we don't need to wait for anyone else to do it first. I will guarantee that, if you do, someone will notice and admire your outfit, even if they don't say so out loud.

Hear hear!

Floisme · 22/12/2025 14:09

GalaxyJam · 22/12/2025 13:38

I agree! Where whatever you want to wear, whenever you want to wear it! And let others do the same, even if they choose to wear a puffer jacket.

Show quote history

I would just add one thing - and this isn't aimed at your personally @GalaxyJam as I don't know you: please can we also not spam threads about what to wear for a trip to London or a nice restaurant with, 'Who cares'.

GalaxyJam · 22/12/2025 14:13

Floisme · 22/12/2025 14:09

I would just add one thing - and this isn't aimed at your personally @GalaxyJam as I don't know you: please can we also not spam threads about what to wear for a trip to London or a nice restaurant with, 'Who cares'.

Show quote history

I wouldn’t have assumed it was aimed at me, because I’ve never done that.

JaneJeffer · 22/12/2025 14:51

Another lovely, jolly Mumsnet thread 🤶

canyon2000 · 22/12/2025 16:02

narniabusiness · 22/12/2025 08:43

Ive been taken aback by the defensiveness as well @Floisme. You may well be right. I don’t recognise this country where it’s windy and has heavy rain every day. Where umbrellas are dangerous objects and nobody travels by car. Where no one can afford a coat, but can afford anoraks.
There seems to be a rewriting of the past as well. That everyone would have dressed more casually given the chance. The concept of cutting a dash or the Bella Figura seems to be completely incomprehensible. I am hoping that dressing more formally still exists in other countries.

I live in Leeds and this autumn/winter so far has been really quite wet and windy! There have been a few named storms already.
I don't usually take an umbrella as I find them annoying to hold, and they are pointless if it is windy.
I don't usually travel by car as I live near a train station and a bus route which are quicker forms of travel than a car into the city.
I can afford coats but I have no need for a wool coat and don't want one. It also requires quite a lot of room to store coats.
I don't feel particularly defensive but I do think it is rude to being called boring and scruffy and to say don't take pride in my appearance because I don't dress up to go to the shops!