Women's Anorak (Coats & Jackets)

An anorak pulls over your head. Instead of a full front opening it has a half zip or a short placket, usually a hood, and often one large pocket across the front. Fewer openings mean fewer places for wind and water to get in, which is the entire reason the design has lasted.

Weather protection lives in the details rather than the shape. Taped seams, where a strip of waterproof tape is bonded over the stitching on the inside, are what make a shell waterproof, since the needle holes leak without them. A water-repellent finish on the outside makes rain bead up and roll off, and it wears away with use. It needs renewing about once a season. Drawcords at the hood, the waist and the hem close the gaps that let wind up the body. A waterproof layer also traps your own sweat, so underarm zips or a vented back yoke earn their place.

A trench coat solves rain in a dressier cloth and a longer length, with a full front opening. Bombers stop at the waist and offer no hood and no rain protection. Denim jackets fail completely in wet weather. Puffers insulate rather than block water, and many anoraks carry no insulation at all, since they are meant to go over a fleece or a knit.

Hill walks, dog walks, festivals and coastal weather all argue for one. Packing does too, since a light shell folds to the size of a water bottle. A day of moving in and out of buildings argues against it, because taking it off means pulling it over your head and disturbing everything underneath. Nothing about a shell looks tailored either.

Turn it inside out and follow the seams for tape. Bare stitching means water resistant at best, whatever the label promises. Hoods want three adjustment points, at the face, at the back and for volume, and a stiffened brim keeps rain off your glasses. Use a technical detergent instead of ordinary powder, which leaves residue that attracts water. Keep fabric softener away too, since it destroys the finish outright. A warm tumble afterward, where the label allows, reactivates the repellent coating.