Toppers for torrents

Today's day-long thunderstorms whet my appetite for rainwear.

I like trenchcoats but they don't suit me; I get the same effect as with drawstring pants: a beamy, dowdy back view. If they did, though, I'd spring for this Louise Amstrup short trench from the drool-worthy Rous Iland web site. (Applause for a European shop that will ship internationally.)

I love the bright blue stripes on one arm, the sweeping collar, the eccentric pockets. Finally, an original trench, not at all masculine.

Then I remembered a comment from Mme. Genvieve Dariaux' classic, "A Guide to Elegance", which I discovered in a summer cottage we rented in the '80s.

(Her book has since been reissued; an instructive, tartly-written compendium of Parisienne wisdom.)

She wrote that chic women in the city do not wear rainwear, but simply carry an umbrella.

Et voila! I put on a very lightly padded black nylon blazer than I found on triple markdown at Talbot's for $36, but it looks like Prada, especially since I changed the buttons.

(Very, very rarely does Talbots pull this off and when they do, they deserve pronunciation a la Tar-jay.)

Grabbed a big proper umbrella, and out the door.