In some ways, dressing for inclement weather is harder than it used to be.
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
In 1938, the writer Margaret Dana began an Atlantic essay by describing an everyday indignity:
A man went into a large city store not long ago and bought a raincoat. He wore it that afternoon, walking several blocks through a hard storm, and arrived at his destination soaked through to the skin, raincoat and all. He was, of course, very angry, and returned at once to the store, demanding satisfaction. The store refunded his money politely … but explained just as politely that it was not actually or legally culpable—rather that the rain itself was to blame. For, the store reminded him, he had bought a showerproof coat, while the rain that afternoon had been close to cloudburst in degree.
From there, Dana embarks on an impressive investigation of what waterproofing really means, but I’m sharing her essay to make a more general point: Dressing for inclement weather is tricky, even when you try your hardest. Today’s newsletter explores the origins of winter wear and how it’s changed over time (not always for the best).
On Winter Wear
Your Sweaters Are Garbage
By Amanda Mull
The quality of knitwear has cratered. Even expensive sweaters have lost their hefty, lush glory.
The Military Origins of Layering
By Rachel S. Gross
The popular way to keep warm outdoors owes a debt to World War II–era clothing science. (From 2019)
When Did Humans First Start Wearing Clothes?
By Sarah Zhang
No one can know exactly, but archaeologists have found a few unexpected clues.
Still Curious?
Other Diversions
P.S.
Dana undertook another important investigation (and opened it with an absolutely fantastic lede) in 1938: How warm is wool, anyway?
— Isabel
How Winter Wear Has Changed
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20.01.2024
In some ways, dressing for inclement weather is harder than it used to be.
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
In 1938, the writer Margaret Dana began an Atlantic essay by describing an everyday indignity:
A man went into a large city store not long ago and bought a raincoat. He wore it that afternoon, walking several blocks through........
© The Atlantic
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