COLLECTING my kids from school last Friday, I noticed one of my mum friends was wearing a worrying new trend – the dreaded Dryrobe.
I know for a fact that she can’t swim, so she had hardly come straight from a dip at the local lake — and it certainly wasn’t raining.
When I asked why she was wearing it, her only explanation was that it was warm.
But so was my coat.
You no longer only see these fancy fleeces during a trip to the seaside or at swimming ponds.
They are also evident on dog walks, at football matches, in the supermarket and even down at the pub.
It seems that the Dryrobe has become the nation’s favourite coat, with sightings everywhere from the Cotswolds to London’s Oxford Street.
And it is making me feel the same fury I once had for Ugg boots in their heyday.
Originally invented for surfers and swimmers, the Dryrobe is a £165 ankle-length waterproof garment designed to get you dry quickly after a cold dip.
It is an expensive bit of kit, which is oversized so you can get changed underneath it.
You pull your arms inside to take off swimwear without giving everyone an eyeful.
If you are one of Britain’s growing army of cold-water swimmers, then a Dryrobe definitely has its uses.
But they should remain at the beach or lakeside.
Ugly and unflattering
Wearing them elsewhere is a worrying habit that has been established by the kind of people who go to Tesco in their pyjamas and pink fluffy slippers.
These garments are ugly and unflattering and, if all you need is something to keep you dry and warm, that’s what a coat is for. A coat is a lot cheaper, too.
Wearing a Dryrobe makes you look a bit lazy, like you haven’t had time to think about what you are putting on as you dash out the door.
Despite screaming “no fashion sense”, these ridiculously pricey towels have clearly become a status symbol.
People are wearing them to stand out.
Perhaps they want to give the impression that they are active and outdoorsy, when they have actually only stuck one on to grab a bottle of wine and a packet of crisps from the corner shop.
Fashion mag Grazia has branded them “the must-have, all-season coat”, while celebrities including Harry Styles, Davina McCall and The Crown’s Emma Corrin have all been seen in one, further boosting the Dryrobe’s popularity.
You can get them in blue, black, red and purple, but the most popular is a camouflage number with a hot-pink fluffy interior.
In the past week, I have seen them on the London Underground, in the supermarket and in Next’s flagship store in Oxford Street.
I even saw a woman walking into her office in one.
During a recent family trip to Margate in Kent, it was harder to find people on the beach not wearing one.
It’s a similar picture in Brighton, where you can hardly move without brushing past one. I’ve got nothing against people wearing them for their intended purpose.
But I do worry about this growing epidemic — and I’m not alone. A “Dryrobe w***ers” Facebook group has more than 57,000 members and users share photos of them being worn when their owners are not swimming.
The must-have, all-season coat
Grazia
There is a woman at the top of The Shard in one, another in the theatre and a guy at Cardiff City Stadium wearing a Dryrobe while eating McDonald’s.
Charity worker Christopher Sloman posts pictures of them on Insta account @dry_robe_count. Alongside a photo of a woman wearing hers in Pret A Manger, he says: “She thought f that wild swimming, I’ll have a toastie instead.”
Even Mumsnet is offended by them, with one user posting: “I saw someone wearing one into my office yesterday, in central London. I get that they’re warm but they just look so massive.
“They are designed to get changed under at the beach, aren’t they? But they look a bit silly when you are not being outdoorsy.”
It is like wearing your wetsuit out for dinner or taking hiking poles to Asda. There is a time and a place.
We must take action now to curtail the seemingly unstoppable rise of the Dryrobe — or we might soon have entire families wearing them.
And what teen should be seen in the same coat as their 60-year-old granny?
This epidemic will only get worse.
Already there are doggie versions for £45.
Please, Dryrobe fans, save them for the seaside.
Or even better, the comfort of your own home, where they won’t offend my eyes.
LOUD AND PROUD IN MY DRYROBE
FABULOUS fashion director Tracey Lea Sayer, 52, says:
“SO, it turns out there is a “Dryrobe type” — and it’s me.
I am in exalted company, as other members of this often-sniggered-at group include Hollywood A-listers and pop stars.
I’ve had my camo Dryrobe with fluorescent pink lining for four years now and I love it.
Singer Rita Ora has the same one as me, while Harry Styles and Game Of Thrones star Emilia Clarke both have slick black Dryrobes with bright linings.
Yes, I’ve heard about the Facebook group that has the audacity to call us “Dryrobe w***ers”.
Well, guess what? The best thing about getting older is that I don’t give a hoot what other people think about how I dress.
Whether it’s a sharp-tongued broadsheet columnist who thinks Dryrobes are a “distressing trend”, or someone sniggering behind my back in the supermarket — I wear mine loud and proud.
Why? Because I am a firm believer in brands that do one thing and one thing only really well.
Despite there often being cheaper dupes of big labels, like Dryrobe rivals pictured here, Ugg, Crocs and Birkenstock all get my custom because I expect a level of quality that you can only get from the original specialist brand which dominates the market. And I am not alone. Dryrobes have been snapped up ever since their commercial debut in 2010.
And I am not alone. Dryrobes have been snapped up ever since their commercial debut in 2010.
There was a boom during and after the pandemic, when we all took to the great outdoors.
I bought mine for wild swimming, but soon realised that it was far too useful to only be worn on seaside holidays.
As well as feeling super-stylish, I wear mine oversized and team it with a big jumper, leggings, Grenson boots and a big bobble hat.
It is perfect for dog walking on wet and windy days. It keeps the chill out when I head to do burpees at Saturday bootcamp in the park. And yes, I’m partial to a mad dash around Sainsbury’s in it.
Oh, and did I mention it’s ideal for changing out of your wet cossie on a freezing beach without flashing your bum to the world?
It was invented after a mother made her teenage son — a keen surfer — a homemade changing robe out of some towels and an old tent.
Fast forward 40 years and that son, Gideon Bright, is 56 and running his Dryrobe business with a turnover of £16.6million.
I think he gets the last laugh — and me.
At £165 it might be expensive, but my Dryrobe is worth every penny.
I know I will wear this coat for the rest of my life.”
