Weathering the rain in style - and staying dry!

I spent a good amount of today sitting around in a wet, windy and freezing cold tent in Prospect Park... and was dumbfounded as to how people dress for a rainy day. Come on, it rains about 25 % of the time in New York! Why not just roll with it and invest in some raingear that reflects your personal style, instead of opting for that drab and slobby look, wrapping yourself up in those unshapely garbage bag looking rain ponchos that people seem so fond of?

My outfit for the day consisted of a powder pink mid-thigh belted rain trenchcoat, a black/white nautical stripe mohair sweater, black skinny pants, a black chain-strap Chinatown Chanel tote (no laughing, please), a turquoise Thai silk scarf and my beloved bluebird rainboots, pictured above on the right. Sadly, I think I might have been one of the few who was at least somewhat warm, dry and cozy inside of that tent without deviating too much from how I normally dress.

The fashion cop inside of me was literally shuddering at the sight of one of my Festival Queen colleagues (pictured left). Rain poncho and flimsy Gristede's shopping bag legwarmers?! Or was there some other purpose that the plastic bags wrapped around her ankles were supposed to serve? When I started writing this blog, I vowed to keep it free of catty commentary - which I am highly capable of, if needed - and any pointing out of this and that person's most recent fashion faux pas... but I feel this is one of those cases where I just can't keep my mouth shut and, hence, breaking the rule is allowed. Fashion up, girl!

One of the makeup artists for the event (pictured right), on the other hand, tried to keep it uber-fashionable with a little black dress, silver jewelry and the most gorgeous boots I have ever spotted at a muddy park fest (not counting Kate Moss's Glastonbury wellies!). However, in my opinion there is actually nothing stylish or effortless about sticking to your signature minidress-and-stilettos look when spending a day in a muddy field and being soaked in sideways rain. Looking like a wet dog is not cute, and regardless, feeling miserable about freezing your limbs off is usually never worth it... nor is spending the following week in bed popping Sudafed.

When in doubt regarding what to wear for a casual outdoor event like this one, I guess Kate's Glastonbury getup is always a safe bet (I am not even going to think about posting a picture: I know you've all seen it a million times!). However, for those days when it's pouring like never before and you still want or need to look somewhat well put together, as opposed to as if you had just rocked out to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at APW'09.... check out some of my favorite rainboots (all from the FW09 collections), raincoats and umbrellas below for some inspiration. From left to right, row by row: Dior Patent Leather Rainboot, Chanel Camelia Rainboot, Coach Pammie Signature Stripe Rainboot (this one retails for a really nice price), Betsey Johnson Polka Dot Rain Trench, Chanel raincoat look, Marc Jacobs raincoat look SS08, umbrellas from Brollies Galore, Cath Kidston and Marimekko.






















So, dear readers, do you go fab or drab when it's raining?! I am dying to know! ;)