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?

Many people still wore hats day in day out which protected them from the rain. Ot some women had those plastic scarve things that they’d protect their hairstyle with if it suddenly rained. The men often had so much brylcream that wind and rain hardly moved their quiffs probably. Businessmen often still carried an umbrella for if it poured down.

OP isn’t the one making snarky comments here.

Yeah agree, I think people are getting confused between gorpcore and just wearing a puffa jacket because it’s cold and rainy. I wonder if it is just a London thing but round our way the favourites are Patagonia fleeces, Salomon trainers and Arcteryx beanies. Definitely a fashion decision rather than just wearing wet weather clothing. It’s a bit boring…not to mention slight overkill for a Friday night in the pub. Also Barbours are very fashionable in Peckham!

Surely you know it’s a fashion thing, and fashions change? The generations before you would probably have looked on in horror at some of the things you wore, too.
I have loads of coats, I love them and have coats for every occasion. I don’t expect other people to wear only the coats I deem attractive and suitable though. I genuinely couldn’t care less what other people wear to keep warm and dry.

I don't do chic. I prefer practicality and comfort and don't give a shit what others might think. I make sure all my clothes are clean but I am totally not comfortable "dressing up." Not at all.

I'm personally rather glad that dress codes for places like the theatre are now so much more relaxed. These days you stick out if you do dress up and I love it that way.

Yesterday I went to the theatre in jeans, a t-shirt, a light cardigan and a denim jacket. Very comfortable.

I have one wool coat which I bought about 15 years ago and honestly, since the day I bought it I have hardly had any cause to wear it. I wouldn't call it a good buy, though I thought it might be at the time. I think it is buried on the coat rack but I am honestly not sure.

Do what suits you. I'm glad things are so much more relaxed these days.

Firstly, that’s the median household disposable income, not the average household income.

Secondly, this thread is in Style and Beauty, where people discuss what they and others wear. There are plenty of regular S&B posters on lower incomes who do manage to style different outfits for different occasions.

You are just virtue signalling.

Some of us use public transport, walk or cycle so it's not just car to shop for the more eco friendly/energetic/hard up amongst us.

I have one good quality, long wool coat that only gets worn to winter funerals. It's smart but heavy, bulky and soaks up water like a sponge AND it doesn't have a hood. It's also not that warm.

I have down jackets in various weights, colours and degrees of rainproof. I layer these up if it's very cold so they are adaptable. They are light weight, colourful and lift my mood.

I'm in my sixties and associate long wool coats with my beloved granny's generation.

edited to add - I'm often very dressed up under my layers of feathers. I get to my destination dry and comfortable and then reveal my finery.

I know what you mean OP, and I speak as someone who is addicted to the comfort of her very un-lovely big puffa and practical trainers! I'll atone for it in the spring, promise!

Just wear what you love, don’t care about anyone else. I look glam every day because it’s how I like to look, I don’t give a fuck what anyone else does. Infact it means I stand out more!

Some posters don't seem to be getting that if you've only got the budget for one winter coat, in this climate it's going to have to be the warm and waterproof one.

I have a couple of woollen coats, quite old but nice. I mostly wear my four seasons raincoat because I walk around the city a lot and it's often wet. That coat also has fabulous pockets.

My pet hate is umbrellas. They get in the way, quite dangerous in crowds. Horrible things

You have too much time and shits to give! I don’t care what other people wear! If they want to wear a summer dress in winter, that’s up to them! Let them! Who cares?! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Okay, it’s the average UK take-home income after tax etc, still for most families £3000 a month is not going to go far in terms of covering rent/ mortgage, bills, food, childcare, travel etc. I’m still willing to bet the OP household is well above average if she is able to buy multiple expensive coats.

Style and beauty might be for discussing what you and others wear, but it doesn’t have to be for judging people and putting down strangers because they’re not wearing wool coats and Barbour jackets. It’s not virtue signalling to point out not everybody can afford these or that not everybody can drive wherever they go. Practicality does come into it for most people, even those who want to look stylish. It’s the middle of winter of course most people are going to be dressed for cold winds and rain.

I love that people can be comfy and practical. I used to be a leather Chelsea boots and formal coat kind of gal for shopping trips, even to the pub etc but now I wear Chelsea wellies or trainers and a parka.

The problem is formal/smarter wear costs, even expensive ones, have declined in quality incredibly, they are awful! I bought one last year for a work event and it had rubbed loads just from wearing it.

Not everyone can afford proper wool or take care of it properly.
A lot of casual wear is easy to wear and lasts a long time.

And as a tall person the spokes are at eye level for me. Awful things.

Exactly this. You were 100% correct in your points about people in town potentially not being privileged enough to be able to ignore weather conditions.

And yes, there's a substantial difference between talking about one's own clothes and those of others. Most S and B threads don't actually involve whining about things others are wearing, thankfully.

It is because the OP is complaining that people favour practical outerwear over chic outerwear and posters are giving reasons why - the weather.

The OP seems to live in some kind of utopia where it rarely rains and where you can park right outside every shop/pub/cafe/restaurant you want to visit. She also wrongly assumes that everyone drives.

This is not everyone's reality.

@RampantIvy , I'm not tall (UK average height for a woman) and find them at eye-level too. Where I live there are many women shorter than me.

@needmorebooks , my local town is mostly a puffers, joggers and trainers kind of place, but a nearby more upmarket town people dress up more.

I agree about the utter shit masquerading as 'wool coats'. I'd never buy a new high street one. But one advantage of them falling out of favour is that you can pick up fabulous second hand and vintage ones, 100% wool, for a song.

And to umbrella haters - and trust me, I used to be one and, at 5'3, I know all about those spokes - I repeat my endorsement of the Fulton Birdcage.

What makes you think you look any good in your long wool coat?

This is an unnecessarily nasty comment. This is Style & Beauty, not AIBU.

I suppose that a hood is more practical? Those birdcage ones always remind me of the Queen Mother!

I think the gorpcore is part of a wider trend towards androgynous dressing where both men and women dress pretty similarly (and pretty boringly). I’ve always thought we’ll actually end up like Star Trek one day. Though they didn’t need outerwear,

My late nan used to bemoan the casualisation of dress over her long lifetime, she thought it was people being lazy, prioritising comfort over style. She thought that was a sign of societal decline - because what we wear does have a collective effect.

This is Style and Beauty where people are more likely to care about what they (and others) wear, it’s more than just being dry and warm and not naked. The amount of threads asking about stylish waterproof coats shows there’s still aspirations out there, it’s just hard to look classy when the rain is lashing down.

But I live in London where there has been way less wind and rain these last few weeks (I’ve had plenty of wear out of my hoodless jacket) and even here casual gorpcore is ubiquitous; so even if it wasn’t raining would people buy the smarter option.

The pandemic and wfh made everything more casual and I’m not sure there’s any going back. People now reject high heels and ties and restrictive bras and waistbands, and good on them really. I think there’s probably a half way house though.

Maybe we like our choice of coat, and couldn't care less whether you like it or not

It’s absolutely none of your business what people wear. They do not dress so you have something to look at. You should wear exactly what you want to wear and have confidence in that and leave other people to wear what they wish.