It Never Rains in Southern California-Part two

Damn You, a second time Albert Hammond, for thy lies! It does rain in Southern California! And when it does, it’s insane! This I got to bear witness to a few weeks back. It was not even cats and dogs, it was bloody elephants and buffalos and lions. It was literally torrential rain pouring side ways for seven days! For most Los Angelinos the rain is actually a pretty beautiful break. It gives you an excuse to sit inside and eat chocolates and drink red wine, an excuse not to go for a run, and most importantly, an excuse to not be so bloody social, active and happy! A chance to hibernate like all other human beings do a little bit during the dark and cold winter.

My backyard.

Unfortunatelly during this specific week I had promised to walk my friends dog, Alfie, as his regular walker was on holiday and they live just around the corner from my house. No big deal really. An hour or so of walking in the sunshine along the beach with a cup of tea from Abbotts Habit in my hand.. there are bigger favours to do….unless of course this is in the middle of torrential rain and tornado warnings.

On day one I gave it an hour or so to finish, I mean I knew the forecast said a week of  pouring, but at the end of the day, this is CALIFORNIA, the sunshine state, it’s bound to stop before you know it.

Three hours apres regular walking time and no sign of blue skies I figured I should just wrap up in some waterproofs, get out and have it done with. Unfortunatelly the most waterproof garments I found in my wardrobe was a wetsuit and flip flops. I gave this outfit some consideration before realising that not even in Venice could I pull it off. Not with a dog on leash…and not without a surfboard. Re-considered bringing my board for a while, but it’s super heavy and not really dog walkable.

So I dug deeper in my treasure cove aka my wardrobe and ye and behold, there in the midst of sequins and denim are all the freebees only someone in the film industry can accumulate. Rain proof-ish jacket from Discovery Channel. Blue. Size XXXL. Umbrella, even brighter blue, from Universal. I decided to let go of vanity and do my best to stay warm and dry. So said blue wind proof jacket and umbrella was put on, paired with a Max Payne grey and black fleece, also a freebee, jeans (writers own) and trainers (also writers own). The trainers were soaked before I even left my garden but they were old and I did not really care. I was just going to take the dog out, let him pee and poo and be back before I knew it. Sadly the dog, Alfie, is not a big fan of rain and was not even co-operating with part one of my plan; Leave house. He refused. REFUSED. He sat down and I literally had to drag the poor thing out the door, still in sitting position. Figuring his dislike for rain would make him take care of his business much quicker I was still convinced this was an in and out job. 40 minutes later I am still out in the rain. Alfie is giving me his rescue-dog-puppy-eyes and is shivering of (pretended) fear. There has been no taking care of any kind of business and for the past half an hour the umbrella has been covering Alfie, not me, in a desperate attempt to protect him from getting cold and wet and thus maybe, hopefully making him have a pee.

Twenty minutes later magic happens and I return home, absolutely soaked to the bones. By day two my trainers has still not dried and I pull out old shoes number 2 for the same treatment. The walk is not much different from the previous day, except that we discover that the garage has been burgled, by tramps looking for dry warm clothes.

Every day for seven days I am thinking I should stop degrading my fashion self in this blue combo and buy myself a pair of awsome wellies and a beautiful rain coat. And every day I stop myself by thinking yes, I should, but as soon as I buy it it will stop raining and I will never have use for it again. So for seven days I dug out an old (dry) pair of shoes, donned my blue outfit and was walking a dog looking like a walking film poster.

Yesterday it rained again and I had a meeting with Fashion people in Downtown. I swore to myself I must not slip in to something a little bit more comfortable but remain my stylish self. I figured high heels, leather ,would be a good choice, staying as far off the ground as possible, and leather jacket. Surely leather is water proof? Cows don’t wear rain coats do they?! Needless to say I arrived soaked, and freezing. And blue lips was so last season.

Sun is out again today, sky is clear blue and I was out running in a t-shirt and even got a bit sun burned. But I know there is more rain coming, especially if I don’t buy appropriate rain wear. So the hunt is on:

For my feet I was thinking these babies:

Red Celine wellies to brighten a grey day.

I am not normally a colour person, but I think a rainy day requires a bit of colour therapy… However I could go with any of these Hunters, black or brown, pretty classic and will go with most things in my wardrobe.

 

Jimmy Choo+Hunter-I see myself walking the queens dogs whilst sipping cognac AND smoking a cigar...in the rain.

Hunter-Lacing and rivets, perfect for your next S&M party or rainy day.

And I am normally not a big Dolce & Gabbana fan, but when they come up with these babies I might have to change my mind:

Dolce & Gabbana- I am thinking of accessorizing with a whip, Chanel clutch and maybe a horse.

Dolce again. Same horse different bag.

Dolce once again-And here I was thinking wellies came from Target and had pink flowers on them! I guess things have changed since I was 8.

And Good Old Burberry just added chains. If recession budget does not allow for any of the ones above I recommend you get inspired by these:

Burberry-Just add water, sorry, chains. And you will never have to go through the rainy days like I did.

I know I kind of need something on the top part of the body and I kind of want one of these:

A yellow classic. Think it comes with a pipe. And a beard. And a ship!

But mainly so I can put Alfie in this:

If the coat for you comes without pipe, beard or ship at least you can buy one of these yourself.

But what I would love is really this 1967 vintage Balenciaga rain coat:

If anyone happens to have one of these lying around please let me know and I will gladly take it off your chest.

Let it rain I say.

ShareThis