How did I not realize this until now?

[luzula]

About 15 years ago, I discovered my favorite outdoors garment: the Ventile anorak (or smock, as anoraks seem to inexplicably be called in the UK). I ordered one from the small Scottish company Firemore, which sadly seems to be out of business now. I measured myself, sent them my measurements, and they sewed me a smock to order. I wear this garment pretty much every day: it is light, windproof, reasonably rainproof since it's so tightly woven, large enough that I can layer sweaters underneath in winter unless it's really cold, and does not have the unpleasant crinkly quality of Goretex-like jackets. But since it's pure cotton and I wear it so much, it does wear out, and I've gone through three of them by now (I think). So, the model is called the Glenmore smock. Glen More, or the Great Glen, is where most of Flight of the Heron is set. : D How did I not realize this until now??

I was sad when I saw that Firemore had disappeared, but luckily there seems to be another company (Hilltrek) selling similar clothes. I guess I will order their Braemar smock when my current one wears out (but obviously I should have done so before Brexit...)

Comments

[regshoe]

Oh, how neat :D And that looks like a very useful garment!

(I recognise both 'anorak' and 'smock'—an anorak is a waterproof jacket and a smock is a loose-fitting shirt/dress type thing that can be worn over other clothes, so I suppose these things are sort of both, or halfway between?)

[luzula]

It's a wonderful garment!

See, to me "anorak" means a jacket that you pull over your head, that doesn't have a zipper. It should also have a hood, but does not necessarily have to be waterproof. Of course it's an Inuit loan word, so I suppose they were made of skins to begin with...

I thought for a moment that the "smock" use might be specifically Scottish, but no, in Scots, "smock" seems to mean a type of shoe.

[abbylee]

I continue to find it fascinating and frustrating and neat how many words we use in slightly different ways in different places that make it weirdly hard to communicate!

Also, I really like that the company you linked to offers so many customization options like pockets and extra sleeve/jacket length!

[luzula]

Yes, words for clothing do seem to be pretty different in different places!

I'm pretty sure if you email them with specific requests they will do that, too.

[ride_4ever]

Connection between garment and FotH! I <3 the serendipity of when IRL things and fannish things connect!

[luzula]

Yes, it is fun! : )

[ride_4ever]

And here's two of my serendipitous IRL things that I now see as fandom-adjacent. When my family came from Europe in the early 20th century to settle in America, they settled in a place called Benton Harbor, like Fraser's first name. The number in my street address is 2727, and both the precinct in due South and the precinct in one of my other C6D fandoms (Forever Knight) is "the 2-7".

Hooray for a jacket which really works!

[jesse_the_k]

When I find something that really fits I get a backup right away. When your current smock wears out, Braemar may have been out of business for three years.

/slithers away cynically.

Re: Hooray for a jacket which really works!

[luzula]

Yes, possibly I should have got ten backup smocks from Firemore, instead of just two... Would have lasted the rest of my life.

Definitely I should get a Braemar smock soon.

[philomytha]

I wouldn't automatically call that a smock, but I see why they do - I would assume an anorak has a zip or other front fastening, but a smock you pull over your head. It looks really useful, I want one now!

[luzula]

See, to me an anorak is something that lacks a zipper and that you pull over your head! And yes, a very useful and comfortable garment.

[chestnut_pod]

Huh, why is that called a smock? When I think "smock," I think a painter's loose garment.

[luzula]

I don't think I ever use the word "smock", so I'm not really sure what it means, except a vague impression that it's a dress-like garment.

[isis]

I would not think of cotton as a material for a waterproof overgarment!

[luzula]

It's very tightly woven and the fibers swell up when moist, which then prevents water from passing through. Ventile was worn by pilots during WWII for their immersion suits if they fell in the water (probably they used double layers though).

But sure, it's not 100% waterproof (if it isn't doubled). Like, it can stand up to a brief heavy rain, or a long drizzle, but not a long heavy rain. I usually wear a rain poncho over it in that case.

[(Anonymous)]

I think of a smock as something with smocking on it, as worn by farm labourers - I bet their cotton and linen smocks had the same water-repelling properties as yours. I used to do smocking as a kid - it can be very pretty, embroidered over closely pleated fabric, but it's a dying art now. Your smock cerntainly looks really comfortable and breathable.

[hyarrowen]

Blast. If an anonymous comment appears, that was me.

[luzula]

Oh cool, I had no idea what smocking was, but I looked it up on Wikipedia now. Interesting, and cool that you've done it!

I bet their cotton and linen smocks had the same water-repelling properties as yours

No, I don't think so! Ventile is very tightly woven and the fibers swell up when moist, which then prevents water from passing through. It was invented in the mid-20th century and was worn by pilots during WWII for their immersion suits if they fell in the water (probably they used double layers though).

But sure, it's not 100% waterproof (if it isn't doubled). Like, it can stand up to a brief heavy rain, or a long drizzle, but not a long heavy rain. I usually wear a rain poncho over it in that case.

[hyarrowen]

Oh, how interesting! I didn't know about that at all. If only I'd known while we were all waiting for Gore-tex to come along...