Wet weather advantage

[pelmut]

The weather here has been atrocious for several days, with high winds and torrential rain.  I had to walk some distance in the rain yesterday and, despite a long waterproof coat, the bottom of my skirt got soaked for about six inches above the hem.  When I looked down, I noticed it had happened, but felt no discomfort as I was wearing longish boots and the wet hem was held away from my legs by the way it hung over my underskirt.  Within a short while it had begun to dry out because it was moving freely and exposed to the air on both sides.

If I had been wearing rain-soaked trousers with shoes I would have been horribly uncomfortable; the wet wouldn't have evaporated and would eventually have found its way into my socks and shoes.

[rivegauche]

I think the advantage is in wearing a shorter skirt in wet weather. Your tights get wet and possibly muddy but they are easy to wash compared with trousers or a skirt.

[weeladdie18]

It is a well known fact that motor cyclists , and some military personel whilst on parade , have worn nylon tights under their trousers for years.
Wet suits are now lined with nylon .When the nylon film gets wet the external heat from the surface of the body gets into the nylon mesh and warms the
surface of the skin....A technical person may have a more accurate way to describe this warming process.

Thin layers of skirts between the hem of waterproof clothing and the ankles may get wet but can be easily dried.
Sometimes there is enough warmth in a car heater to dry a skirt whilst the garment is still being worn.

One may be able to wear two layers of skirts and only remove the wet outer layer.
I wear an Inverness Cape over my Kilt ....The hem of my Inverness Cape is probably half way down my Kilt Hose; so only my socks get wet ..

The waist band of a typical summer skirt can be raised above the hem of a waterproof outer garment

I have discovered the perfect way to stay dry.......Do not go out in the rain..........L.O.L.

[Big and Bashful]

Most of the time when it is raining I stay dry by wearing one of two things; a house or an office. Seems to work most of the time!

[dillon]

Can’t advise you. Here in the Carolinas the weather is magnificent...for now. I just returned from a few days at the farm. Aside from a machine breakdown that took me half a day to diagnose and fix, it was a fine trip. But I have had to make a difficult decision, which is to demolish the 1970s double wide, which had been added onto a couple times, on the place and start over with a modular house. To repair the structure would put me over 50% into the cost of replacing it with a nicer home. And I’d still have a sh—ty residence with 6’10” ceilings that makes a 6’3” guy feel like Gulliver. I can’t walk beneath a ceiling fan in it. Had the repair estimate come in at half the cost I might have adapted, but... I am not a man of great means, and must make decisions judiciously. Unfortunately, zoning changes prevent me from replacing it with an equivalent mobile home. Still, it feels good to have ambitions once again.

[Fred in Skirts]

Can’t advise you. Here in the Carolinas the weather is magnificent...for now.

Just colder than usual!!

[dillon]

Can’t advise you. Here in the Carolinas the weather is magnificent...for now.

Just colder than usual!!

Not cold yet, but it will be. For now it’s my kind of weather. I can’t function in the 90 F-plus temperatures we had all summer.

[Kirbstone]

My heart bleeds for all you guys in Virginia & the Carolinas. Here we take heed of that well-worn German expression that there is never bad weather, just unsuitable clothing. When on the surface of Mars, one needs to kit up with suitable outerware !

Tom

extreme wet and wind.jpg

[denimini]

Yes, a flared, waxed cotton skirt could act like an umbrella for the lower half and wearing a pencil skirt under it would ensure that your stride was curtailed to prevent your feet getting wet from rain.
The idea of two skirts is an interesting one; one could be worn up under the armpits, to be lowered after wading through waist deep water and the other removed
It also is easier to hoist a skirt than roll up 2 legs of pants.

My nearest town for shopping has no street stormwater facilities, typically for this area, because it so rarely rains. When there is a storm the streets are torrents and is more like crossing a river than crossing a road. A miniskirt doesn't solve the problem of boots filling with water in this situation.
The Council has little bridges that they place between the footpath and the crown of the road when expecting rain.

[pelmut]

Yes, a flared, waxed cotton skirt could act like an umbrella for the lower half

I've made a waterproof overskirt from a leftover piece of lightweight tent material, it is just a tapered tube with a slit at the (generous) waistband end.  Two pieces of Velcro [hooky & velvet fastener strips] on the waist band, one each side of the slit, can be overlapped to adjust to a wide range of waist sizes; the slit closes up and eventually overlaps as these are fastened together.  The slit allows you to still get at a pocket if you have one in your skirt.

The waist band opens up wide enough to pull up over a bulky skirt or down over outer clothing if the ground is already wet.  The whole thing is rather shapeless but very practical; it rolls up smaller than a plastic mac and, of course, it can also be worn over trousers for those unfortunate enough to find themselves wearing them.

[shadowfax]

I thought that I would try walking in the rain, skirted with hose so I walked over to a local store about quarter of a mile away.
I felt really comfortable. When raindrops landed on my lower legs there was no clammy feeling like when one is wearing trousers.

I wore the same outfit as pictured here.
Floral corduroy A-Line skirt, black tights (pantyhose) and patent, block-heeled Mary Jane shoes with a short, microfibre hooded rain jacket which covered about half of my skirt.

After I got home, I headed back out into the rain again to take out the trash.

The rain wasn't heavy enough to soak my corduroy skirt through.

[Big and Bashful]

Living on the West coast of Scotland gives me plenty of opportunity to walk in wet/windy weather. With denim skirts I find that initially they feel much better than jeans, as only the upwind side gets pushed against the leg. Once they get soaked through they are at least as uncomfortable as jeans. Ankle length skirts really cling to the legs and really need to be lifted slightly which seems to make them move better (Now I know why women often lift a skirt slightly on the upwind side). I think knee length skirt and long socks work better than longer skirts once they are wet, as the skirt doesn't impede the art of treading and good wool socks don't feel so cold and dry out better than cold clammy wet denim jeans.
I have tried lighter skirts, however the choice of skirts in Monster size is very limited. The ones I have tried weren't good, the rain just felt like it went straight through them, I could feel every drop hit my legs.
I haven't been caught in the rain with my 12 yard tred. kilt, good job really, if that got wet, with my weight as well I would probably sink into the Earth's crust!

I haven't tried layering skirts in wet weather.

Since my knees are bad now and getting badderer (Or should that be now they are worsing? yes I am being silly!) I don't tend to do much walking, I try and save my knees till I need them for work so I don't often head out, skirted or otherwise, so less and less skirted shenanigans these days.

[dillon]

After struggling through a week-long 'Nor'easter' I am myself beginning to feel my (presumed) family ancestry of the Scottish Borders, and the dreary weather of the Isles. They say the sun will shine for 2 days before the next rain... I'll believe it when I see it. Taos, New Mexico, is calling me loudly!

[Kirbstone]

We have a nice warm dry place much nearer than New Mexico where climbing plants grow in profusion and pelargoniums & similar blooms flower the whole year through. It's 43 feet of insulated conservatory which we call the Garden Room. Quite essential really in this wet & windy isle and all the decent hotels have them, some so large that they will seat 100 diners.
The light is good the year round and MOH has her sewing table there. To give us the same 'advantage', in 2002 we stuck a 15 foot ditto onto our Kerry bolthole, which has the enviable view to go with it. That cancels out the ferocious weather conditions down there and even a few minutes Sun will send the interior temp. soaring into the high 20s Centipede. Nice!

Tom

[Daryl]

Yes, skirts are an advantage in wet weather and also in circumstances where wading is called for. On our trip to Florida this spring I was able to wade well into the ocean just by holding my (normally mid-calf) skirt above my knees, while my wife had to first sit down and roll her pantlegs up just to get in over her ankles.

The advantage of being less clammy when wet is a huge one too, and one that I have experienced a few times when a sudden intense shower caught me waiting for a bus or something like that.