What are Plus Size Raincoats, Really?

What makes a raincoat, a raincoat? The short answer is that a raincoat is a coat that either repels water or absorbs it. Most raincoats are made of material that is designed to repel water, although the better raincoats achieve this by being made of extremely tightly woven fabric.

Selecting a Plus Size Raincoat

Look for the type of material and the type of waterproofing. Vinyl raincoats will repel water, but do not "breathe." Wool, gabardine, polyester, nylon and microfibers are coated with resin, paraffin, even wax. The most popular plus size raincoat materials at this time are Gore-Tex, a plastic coated artificial fiber, and gabardine, a natural fiber, but new treatments and advanced materials show up frequently in the raincoat marketplace. (More about the history of raincoats)