April Showers: Fashionable Ways To Stay Dry This Spring

It’s not a scenario that many relish: waking up in April to find a week of rain cloud icons on your weather app. Constant rain can make everything seem like a chore, from getting out of bed to your daily commute to just staying awake. Luckily, April showers are bringing an earlier visitor than May flowers this year: feminine, candy-coloured rain gear that might actually cause you to look forward to a drizzle.

Rain gear was once absolutely utilitarian, but this season designers have broken out of the black trench coat, yellow wellies box with pieces that are both practical and fashionable. This spring’s is a celebration of femininity, and gone are the days of hiding beneath bulky, unattractive coats just to stay dry. That loathsome feeling of spending money on a piece that you don’t particularly like? Gone, and replaced with a heart flutter of excitement for water resistant staples that will literally brighten your days.

Purchasing a coat for the spring can be a difficult mission, since you need to take into consideration fabric weight, water resistance, and fit. Add a hood to that combination, and you basically have to hit the raincoat jackpot before finding one that you’ll want to wear again next year. J.Crew hit on all four of these spring coat objectives with their Matinee Trench, available in a bright poppy shade that works nearly as well as coffee on dreary mornings. On days where there’s a torrential downpour, the adorable Japanese Flowers umbrella by Kate Spade provides even better protection.

Few things are worse than soggy socks, but no fashionable girl wants to wear the same rain boots day in and day out for an entire month. While wellies are wonderful for puddle jumping, occasionally you’ll want something less bulky, or dressier. My suggestion: a collection of waterproof footwear that will take you through the wet season. Hunter boots from Piperlime, with chunky cable knit socks from Nordstorm, really are the best thing for chilly commutes in the rain, and with a veritable rainbow of colors to choose from you could very well match every outfit with a different pair.

But with the wacky weather we’ve been experiencing around the world, you might not need something quite so warm, in which case Anthropologie is the place to go. The Florence Rain Flats from the US site are a perky little addition that you can wear throughout the summer storms. I also love the Coy Rain Wedges from the US site, which are practical in their own right – you’re not likely to become submerged in a puddle in these elevated platforms! The UK also has some great shoe solutions to your weather woes, so you won’t be disappointed.

Photo of Braided Updo Tutorial is courtesy of Cupcakes & Cashmere by Emily Schulman.

Of course, no rainy day is enjoyable if you’re dealing with a case of the frizzies. Rather than attempting to tame your mane with a slew of anti-frizz products, take a cue from fashion blogger Emily Schuman, who posted a fantastic tutorial on a Heidi-style Braided Updo, which will keep you from experiencing hair woes morning, noon, and night. In fact, this style is so easy and wearable that you may find yourself turning to it long into the summer months, when April showers are a distant – but decidedly dry – memory.

So, forget Easter eggs this year and go on the hunt for this Springtime look:

Matinee Trench (£148.58) at J.Crew

Hunter Original Rain Boots (£83.47) at Piperlime

Japanese Floral Umbrella ($78) at Kate Spade

Hunter Chunky Cable Socks (£43.41) at Nordstrom

Florence Rain Flats ($70) at Anthropologie US

Coy Rain Wedges ($128) at Anthropologie US

Braided Updo Tutorial at Cupcakes & Cashmere by Emily Schulman 

By Joy Uyeno