{"id":78140,"date":"2025-09-22T04:03:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T04:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/78140\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T04:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T04:03:10","slug":"shane-watson-im-a-fashion-editor-and-ive-trawled-the-high-street-for-the-chicest-trench-coats-here-are-the-most-youthful-for-women-over-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/78140\/","title":{"rendered":"SHANE WATSON: I’m a fashion editor and I’ve trawled the High Street for the chicest trench coats – here are the most youthful for women over 50"},"content":{"rendered":"

By SHANE WATSON FOR THE DAILY MAIL <\/p>\n

Published: 20:06 EDT, 21 September 2025 | Updated: 20:07 EDT, 21 September 2025 <\/p>\n

Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission – learn more<\/a><\/p>\n

You know you\u2019re officially middle aged when you find yourself in pursuit of the perfect waterproof.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re young you think waterproofs are for dads and trainspotters and insist on wearing your leather jacket\/faux fur whatever the conditions.<\/p>\n

You get a bit older and now you own a waterproof but only wear it reluctantly (you still think you look a trainspotter).<\/p>\n

And then, before you know it, you\u2019re into your fifties and you find yourself booking a comprehensive First Aid Course and dreaming of a quality rain-repelling mac that you will really want to wear.<\/p>\n

We may be more realistic these days, but we\u2019re just as determined not to succumb to unglamorous outerwear. (To be fair others may have sorted out this particular issue years ago, but for years, I\u2019ve been stuck in a waterproof resistant limbo).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy enough to find an elegant rain-proof coat for winter (and for that I recommend Ilse Jacobsen at John Lewis<\/a>), it\u2019s the light one you can wear all year round that\u2019s liable to do you no favours.<\/p>\n

\"You <\/p>\n

You know you\u2019re officially middle aged when you find yourself in pursuit of the perfect waterproof, writes Shane Watson<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/a> <\/p>\n

Up until now I\u2019ve taken the view that you can wing it: wear your winter waterproof coat when it looks like rain and all will be fine.<\/p>\n

But at this time of year, you don\u2019t want the warmth or insulation and you look wintery and overdressed; all you need in autumn and spring is a super lightweight rain repeller to do just that.<\/p>\n

The other great advantage of a lightweight waterproof is you can roll them up, tuck them away, and they\u2019ll take up no more room in your bag than a swimming costume. I did warn you this had become something of an obsession.<\/p>\n

Suddenly this summer I realised I want the right clothes for the job and that flailing around in the wrong clothes is ageing, like brandishing a giant golf umbrella.<\/p>\n

A modern technically flawless waterproof is a smart move in more ways than one. It helps that roughly 50 per cent of the women I most admire for their style own one of the macs in this range. It also helps that \u2013 although these are not the cheapest macs on the market \u2013 they\u2019re the ones that, anecdotally, perform best.<\/p>\n

The one that gets my girlfriends\u2019 vote and the one that\u2019s changed my whole attitude to rainwear is the Rains long jacket (\u00a3100, uk.rains.com<\/a>). It\u2019s a three-quarter length mac that has a hood with an inbuilt peak. This might seem strange at first \u2013 a bit Ice Station Zebra (that Rock Hudson Cold War classic) \u2013 but bear in mind it\u2019s the unadorned hood, drawstring pulled tight around your face, that really ratchets up the negative glamour points and when did a hood like that ever keep the rain off?.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/a> <\/p>\n

The peak is a Rains signature and, once tried, it\u2019s hard to believe it took so long to make a properly rainproof hood. Other features that make this mac stand out from the crowd include the super light waterproof fabric \u2013 which looks expensive and feels like rice paper; the colour range \u2013 mine is khaki (\u2018marsh\u2019) but others swear by navy or cream; the V cut in the back hem to stop it looking too straight and solid; the welded seams to guarantee no leaks and the repelling efficient length.<\/p>\n

You can buy this style in a shorter and cheaper version (\u00a365, johnlewis.com<\/a>) or indeed an even longer one<\/a>. It all rolls away to nothing and the unisex poppers and sleek lines give it a kind of Scandi chic.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sold, of course, but you may want to shop around and there are plenty of decent waterproofs out there that cost a lot less. Marks & Spencer does a \u2018clean long-line hooded rubber parka\u2019 in hunter green or light beige (\u00a379, marksandspencer.com) that\u2019s similar to mine albeit a bit heavier and minus the magic peak.<\/p>\n

M&S also does a funnel neck, hooded rubber parka (\u00a359)<\/a> that looks neat although it\u2019s a shame it only comes in black.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/a> <\/p>\n

Ichi has a mac in the same sort of mould (\u00a369.99, johnlewis.com<\/a>), with popper fastenings, in a khaki or beige colour, but it doesn\u2019t have quite the smooth streamlined cut that keeps these waterproofs from looking dowdy and crumpled.<\/p>\n

If you want something a little more feminine then Orla Kiely does a mac in a pretty shade of olive green (\u00a398, regatta.com<\/a>) that would certainly add to what you were wearing. And that\u2019s the idea now. Hard working, look enhancing and ripe for style-spotting not trainspotting.<\/p>\n

\"Orla <\/p>\n

Orla Kiely’s \u00a398 mac is in a pretty shade of olive green<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/a> <\/p>\n

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