Fed up of all the gorpcore

[needmorebooks]

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?

Not just wool coats, other coats that aren’t gorpcore are available.

I have a long wool coat - there is nothing quite as warm and I wear it a lot. I can throw it over anything and feel smart. I am not keen on puffer jackets and if out for a walk prefer to layer up with wool jumpers/fleece/goretex raincoat. Puffer jackets are bulky and don't feel as nice to wear.

My bar will never be as low as yours if you think the wearing the product of the torture and abuse of animals sets you apart in a good way.what do you wear to really smart occasions? A coat made out of Dalmatian puppy fur??

i said some people -I’m judging you purely on your treatment of animals

All sorts of things are available. It's down to lifestyle, where you live in the UK, and personal choice, surely?

I agree with you op. I've got a nice wool boucle jacket that looks really smart. I feel way more dressed up when I wear it. It was actually quite hard to find one that wasn't puffy.

I don't know how the human race survived before the intention of puffy coats.

Exactly, I’m sure the poster wouldn’t be faring well walking across hill and dale in the driving wind and rain! Why have numerous costs? What a waste.

They got cold and wet.

This is a micro trend I’ve been seeing on Instagram (so is probably quite London centric?) and yes I’m with you OP, I do think it’s odd for people to be buying Arcteryx beanies to wear to the pub or Solomon trainers for wearing to the shops.

In saying that, I exclusively wear a puffer in winter since it’s much more practical and I don’t go anywhere dressy. I might take my winter Barbour out for a spin today though now you’ve reminded me.

I'm in my 50s. I don't think I've ever had a wool coat If it's dry and not that cold, I probably don't wear any coat. Otherwise, it's my expensive Goretex waterproof coat, which is a few years old. I do also have a long Barbour type coat, which is good armour for blackberrying, but often gets too hot otherwise.

I'm not wearing it for fashion. I'm wearing it for practicality. It's waterproof, it has a hood, I can zip a fleece into it if I need more warmth, it's got a good number of packets. If it's raining hard, it keeps me dry down to my thighs. It does what I bought it for. I do not are whether anyone thinks I look boring. Other people's entertainment was not part of my consideration when buying it.

Reading comprehension is pretty bad on this thread. I’ve said a couple times now I have a fairly outdoor life which I wear outdoor clothing for hiking etc. My comment was on the amount of it is worn in a city setting.

I am so pleased leisure wear is in and fusty uncomfortable formal is out. You'd hate me! But I am comfortable and dry. I don't care if others want to dress up - if I had to I wouldn't bother going out.

Exactly. They got cold wet and miserable and put a brave on it because they had no alternative.
Then God invented Gore-tex and world changed.

This thread has given me the chance to show off my latest coat. Not v practical I guess, but I love it!😁

So is my black Gore-tex (which cost nowhere near £200) okay given I live on the Very Wet West Coast of Scotland? Or is it just the bright ones you don't like?
I've owned wool coats and you barely ever get to wear them at this time of year. We get days of constant rain, and if you haven't lived here you can't quite imagine it because it is literally constant. It's not like the South of England where you'll get a hard downpour but then it actually stops/lessens for a while.

I don't know how the human race survived before the intention of puffy coats.

They wore furs or died of hypothermia.

(I've never had a puffy coat, but I know how to layer.)

These are my exact feelings OP. I have this kind of clothing, for walks. I don’t feel the need to wear on the school run or grabbing a coffee.
I wear nice wool coats. I’ve noticed a few school mums dressing nicely, and these are my people.

Hallelujah! 🙌

I need a coat with a hood as I walk everywhere. 20 minutes down to the shops and 20 mins back is 40 mins in the rain. I don’t look stylish but it’s better for me and the environment

Interesting. Where I live in the countryside people wear a lot of tweed tbh. I thought this was a bit affected until I lived here long term. I ended up dressing like this too: tweed is incredibly practical for cutting wind, for not getting too wet constantly going in and out of drizzling rain, and looks fine indoors too.

The modern fabrics weirdly make you feel more drenched. I have a puffer that goes underneath my long tweed coat and is very cosy. I've got a fake fur one too. I'm not making pretensions of being well dressed here, I'm just saying tweed is actually very good fabric for this miserable weather.

Im sure everyone I know has multiple coats!

It's been lashing rain on and off for weeks where I live. That fur trim would look distinctly bedraggled!

I don’t see this at all where I live. People are wearing a variety of coats and jackets, but I don’t think I’ve seen goretex once!

Not this again.

Domestic sheep have been selectively bred over thousands of years to continuously grow wool, unlike their wild ancestors, which naturally shed their coats. Without human intervention, an overgrown fleece causes numerous health issues.

Come back and comment when you’ve seen a sheep suffer with fly strike due to overgrown coats.

“Dressing nicely”

actually means “dressing in a way I like and approve of”

it’s really rude and narrow minded to be saying others are not “nicely dressed” just because it’s not what you would choose

Where do you live where everyone is in hiking gear to go to the shops? I never see it. Puffers, yes, but usually nice ones but no, yet to come across anyone in hiking gear in the local town centre. Also quite a few wool coats around especially long ones over jeans and nice trainers