Rain Capes?

[Geronimo]

It occurred to me today that many of the issues re: raincoats and cars would be resolved by wearing a rain cape instead. Instead of taking it off when you get too hot, you can tuck a cape's tails (or whatever they're called) behind you. It ought to work well when you need to get in and out of the car repeatedly in the rain.
A cape like this interests me greatly:
http://www.northants.police.uk/museum_new/exhibits/15/ww2.htm
I'm looking for something like that - not as dressy as an opera cape and not as fluorescent as the results for 'rain cape' on google bring up (rain gear for bicyclists).
It would be a raincoat for warm and cool weather, and warm can involve 90 degrees F. No lining or little lining.
Does anyone know of such an animal?

 

[Creeping Past]

I use a couple of rubber-impregnated canvas rain capes/ponchos: one repro WW1 British and the other a WW2+ US one. But these are heavy and hot. The cape in your picture is heavy wool — much too heavy for hot weather.

Hilltrek make a Ventile cape, but that looks quite heavy duty. However, I think Ventile might be worth thinking about in a single layer, if you've light usage in mind, and as long as you're not thinking of standing around in constant downpour. Ventile is breathable, windproof and water-resistant up to a point. It does become saturated, though, but that's how it works: the expanded fibres prevent water seeping through.

What's Ventile?

 

[dhermann1]

Check out www.misterantony.com . They are located in Scotland and produce a terrific nylon/poly black Inverness rain cape, at a very reasonable price. It looks good and is amazingly effective against heavy rain.

 

[Mid-fogey]

These raincoats...

...are what we wore as cadets. I believe they wear them at VMI and West Point also.

It is basically a sleeveless coat with cape shoulders. You cannot beat it in the rain. The lack of sleeves made them tolerable in warmer SC weather. In the winter, we'd wear them over our wool overcoats.

 

[dhermann1]

What you're describing is an Inverness cape. They were supposedly invented for bag pipers, so they'd have elbow room to play. A real Scottish Inverness cape made of heavy tweed will set you back as much as $800 or more, but are impervious to almost everything short of a nuclear blast.

 

[Geronimo]

Thanks, all! The Inverness cape looks like what I'm after.

 

[avedwards]

A plain black Inverness is also very elegant and is what can be worn as white tie outerwear (at least in late Victorian times).

 

[H.Johnson]

The corresponding British Army military bandsmen's cape occurs in military surplus stores, usually very cheaply as not many people would want one!