Hello lovelies! I’m back with another work wear Wednesday! In case you haven’t noticed, it’s May. And May had to follow the April showers that brought the May flowers, of course but I'm a month behind haha. Coincidentally, right now it’s actually drizzling haha so I’m already in the mood. Growing up a farm girl, I do always love the rain but to be honest I dread rainy days during the work week. It can actually be tricky to make sure you’re covered up while still looking professional! And if we’re being honest, I still have a relatively small work wardrobe so I only have about 3 rainy day appropriate outfits which means I’m up a creek on outfit ideas if it rains every single day in a work week. But at least I do have something, right?
Anyways, why I wanted to talk about this today is because when I was a 1L looking to get work clothes, I was focused on pencil skirts and blouses and “work appropriate rain boots” weren’t exactly high up on my list. But basically no matter where you live, you’re probably going to have to deal with getting to work without getting drenched at some point in your career. This post is just to help you keep those days in the back of your mind as you get ready to adult so that you’re prepared. So, here’s some basics…
Rain coat
Woah, didn’t expect to see that coming did you? In undergrad and most of law school, I was perfectly protected on my way to class with a DG pullover rain jacket. It kept me warm, it kept me dry, and it was comfortable to sit through class in. But then I got a job my 3L year and it rained one day and I realized that a windbreaker jacket couldn’t even be business causal, much less business professional. So I went jacket-less and just prayed my umbrella would be enough. Spoiler: it wasn’t. First off, usually when it’s raining it’s a colder day so not having a jacket at all was a freezing idea. Second, there was wind which not only made me more aware of how cold I was without a jacket but also made the rain blow sideways so my umbrella couldn’t protect both my head and my outfit so decisions had to be made. So yeah, rain jacket, v important. I shared the trench that I have in my outerwear post already so I won’t bore you with the same paragraph twice, but real quick here’s a tip. If you don’t necessarily need a rain coat right now, wait and try to buy one at the end of summer because they’ll likely be on sale then. You’re welcome.
Related: Professional Outerwear
Umbrella
Shocker, I know. But I do have some overthinker-type thoughts for this as well. If you can, I highly recommend a big dome umbrella. The little bell shape usually does a really good job of keeping everything covered and dry. Most of these tend to be clear because you can even pull them down over your face but then can still see, which I think is really smart. I have two big umbrellas that I love to use because I have a pretty big and very expensive purse that I want to keep dry at all costs, so I need to know my umbrella is big enough for the both of us.
But these umbrella’s biggest pro is also its biggest con. I have to keep my giant umbrella in my trunk because it’s just too big to fit anywhere else in my car. And it takes up a lot of space in my small work area. And it looks a little too extra if I have to carry it out leaving work after the storm has passed and it’s a sunny day. So the other alternative is a travel umbrella. I got one of these for study abroad and they are amazing. They made some that fold up into the size of your hand!! So it easily fits in your purse and you can keep it on hand at all times just in case (#mompurse) and don’t have to worry about accidentally poking people with your umbrella in the elevator. Just keep in mind that usually these don’t cover near as much so you are taking a pretty big risk. For sure always wear a rain coat when you use an umbrella to make sure that you’re staying as covered as possible. Okay I’m going to stop talking about umbrella’s because Rihanna is currently stuck in my head (and I’m sure now it’s stuck in yours too).
Rain boots
Ooh another surprise! But there’s some thought that you might want to put into these. I have tall rain boots which are great because they completely cover up my legs up to my knees so are perfect for dresses and skirts. If you have narrow enough pants (that won’t wrinkle too terribly), you can also tuck your pants into these and keep your pants protected. This is really important for me because I’m too lazy to walk all the way around puddles so I need to be able to just plow right through them and not have to worry about splashes getting everywhere. And because my trench coat is down almost to my knees, that means my coat + boots = an almost completely protected outfit, which is the main goal.
On the other hand, is short boots. Tall boots scream “not professional” so I always bring a small tote bag (like a reusable grocery bag) with me and a pair of flats in my purse and then will change out of my boots and into my flats once I get to work. If it’s still raining at 5, I can change back but if it’s not I do feel a tad ridiculous carrying a purse, a lunch bag, and a boot bag. But if your office is on the business casual side of life, you can probably get away with wearing short rain boots all day. The tradeoff is not having your pants quite as protected, but you only have to wear one pair of shoes all day. And short rain boots are usually designed a little more to look like regular shoes than big ol’ traditional rain boots. If you want to go this route, my advice is to definitely get a pair of black rain boots.
Clothes
Okay I actually don’t have much on this because basically my rainy day clothes are just my normal warmer clothes but just covered up with the above items. I do have just a few considerations for this, though. For your pants, you’re going to want to make sure you have them all hemmed to a perfect length. If it’s only lightly raining or just started raining you might not need rain boots yet, but if you have pants that brush the ground then the edges are probably going to get damp and gross.
If you do wear your rain boots with a skirt/dress, my recommendations to you would be to wear panty hose and/or get boot socks. Just because again, rainy days are usually colder days and you’ll want to be warm. Boots socks in general are a great investment because rubber shoes keep in basically no warmth so your toes will probably get a little cold. Bonus use for if it’s really snowy, you can also wear your rain boots as snow boots.
Rain hat
This is last because I think it’s the least necessary. When it rains, I typically will put my hair up because the frizz is real so there’s no point in me wasting my time to straighten my hair and the humidity always makes my curls fall. However, sometimes you have things like an interview or a presentation on a rainy day and need to feel on point and having your hair down does that. So a rain hat will do double duty with your umbrella to keep your hair dry (because oddly a lot of professional looking rain coats don’t have hoods). And if you are cursed with the frizz like me, an umbrella will only protect you against the rain pouring down on your head but not the moisture in the air that’s attacking your hair. I’m not saying a rain hat will give you blow-out luscious hair, but I am saying that the extra layer of protection will help.
Okay I’m done rambling for today! I will give a caveat for this post and warn y’all that I’m from the Texas panhandle which isn’t exactly known for getting rain (we actually have “pray for rain” on my churches prayer request list) so I don’t have just a ton of experience or tips for dealing with the rain (I’m sure you gathered that from my novel list of umbrella and rain boots haha). All this to say, if you’re from a rainy area or just have a consideration for how to stay dry while looking Rachel Zane, please leave a comment with your thoughts!!
