15+ Rainy Day Outfits for Women That Beat the Gray
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There’s a kind of gray morning when the rain is light enough to ignore and steady enough to soak your jeans. A good rainy day outfit is made for that morning. It needs less gear than you’d think. The boots, the coat and the umbrella can come in one at a time.
The 15+ looks below come from Pinterest. I chose them so you’re covered for a whole wet season, from a drizzle on the way to coffee to dinner on a rainy night. When you take your coat off at the other end, nobody should be able to tell how hard it was raining.
How Much Rain Gear Does a Rainy Day Outfit Need?
Usually less than you’d pack, because most rainy days are light. In New York, more than a third of all rainy days bring only a drizzle. A real downpour comes about once a month, according to NOAA’s climate normals.
Even Seattle, famous for its rain, gets only about six downpours a year. Most of its rain comes light and long. That’s good news for your outfit. The rain gear can grow with the weather, and on most days the first piece is all you need.
That first piece is a coat that lets water run off.
Rainy Day Outfits for a Light Drizzle
Drizzle mostly lands on your shoulders and the top of your head, so the coat does nearly all the work. A trench was made for exactly this. Burberry introduced gabardine, the tightly woven cotton most trenches still copy, in 1879. A light rain runs off it, and the fabric still breathes.
Under it, the shoes and pants you’d normally wear can stay, as long as the walk is short. The one thing to watch is the hem, because the sidewalk stays wet long after the drizzle stops.
1) A Rainy Day Trench Over Olive Trousers and Sneakers
A beige trench hangs open over a cream cable-knit cardigan and olive trousers. The clear umbrella keeps the top half dry. It’s the outfit you’d wear on a dry fall day, with one coat added.
White sneakers are fine on wet, leaf-covered sidewalks for a short walk. The only catch is the hem. It sits right on the shoe, so it gets damp first.
2) A Long Trench With a Striped Top and Wide Jeans
When the trench is this long, it covers most of the jeans, and only the last few inches meet the weather. A black and white striped top keeps everything under it simple.
Black flats work as long as the walk is short. If your wide jeans brush the ground, though, expect a dark hem by the time you arrive.
3) A Check-Lined Trench, a Mini Skirt and Patent Loafers
Here the trench hangs open far enough to show its check lining, and that lining does half the styling. A white tank and a short beige skirt keep it light, while a burgundy bag adds the darker note.
If you want one drizzle shoe, I’d point you to black patent loafers like these. The shiny coating wipes dry in a second, and the mini keeps every hem out of the puddles.
You can walk through a drizzle in almost anything. Once the rain turns steady, though, the sidewalk fills up, and the water comes at you from below. So the next piece goes on your feet, and it’s back in a big way this fall.
Rain Boots Are Back: How to Wear Them on a Rainy Day
For a long time, rain boots were for gardens and festival mud. What brought them back is the outfit around them. A tall boot with a short skirt has been a fall staple in leather for years. A rubber boot draws the same line, and it keeps your feet dry.
The other half of the story comes from the British countryside. There, tall rubber boots, waxed jackets and check scarves have gone together for decades. Put that look on a city street, and the boots suddenly look planned.
So treat them like any knee-high boot. Keep what’s above them short or close-fitting, and let the whole shaft show.
4) Black Rain Boots With a Check Mini and a Plaid Scarf
If you only copy one rain boot look, I’d pick this one. A short gray check skirt shows the full height of the black boots, while a big plaid scarf balances them up top.
An olive jacket and a cream knit keep it warm enough for October. And if bare legs feel too cold, the same look works with black tights.
5) Black Mini Shorts, a Short Trench and a Leopard Umbrella
Shorts in the rain sound wrong until you see them with the boots. Black mini shorts and a black tank sit right above tall black boots, so the whole outfit reads as one dark line.
A cropped beige trench goes on top, and the leopard umbrella is the only print. It’s a rainy day outfit for early fall, when the air’s still warm.
6) Navy Rain Boots With Leggings and a Brown Bomber
Leggings are the easiest thing to wear with tall rain boots, because they slide into the shaft without bunching. A soft brown bomber and a black shoulder bag make it an everyday weekend outfit.
The sun’s even out in this photo, and the boots stayed on. That’s how you can tell they’ve moved from garden gear to something people wear for the look.
Black boots are the safe way in. Yet a gray day is also when a single color stands out the most. That makes a second pair worth a thought.
Red or Green Rain Boots: How to Wear Color on a Rainy Day
On a gray street, one bright piece reads stronger than it would in sunshine. Green is the classic countryside color, and red is the louder city version.
Either way, keep the color to the boots and let everything above them stay dark or neutral. Then the boots carry the outfit on their own.
7) Red Rain Boots With Brown Shorts and a Field Jacket
The glossy red stands out against the fallen leaves, because everything above it is brown and olive. A long dark field jacket covers the shorts almost completely, so the outfit still looks warm.
Brown shorts keep the line short, which leaves the boots as the main event. A brown mini skirt does the same job if shorts aren’t your thing.
8) Red Rain Boots, Sheer Black Tights and a Long Black Coat
Sheer black tights turn red rain boots into something you’d wear in the city. A long black coat covers the rest, and a red claw clip repeats the color once, up top.
It’s the colored version for colder days. The coat and tights do the warming, while the rubber keeps your feet dry.
9) Green Rain Boots With White Socks and a Clear Umbrella
Green is the softer way into color, and it looks most at home in a park. White socks folded over the top add brightness right where the boot ends.
A tan jacket and a green cap keep the rest calm. I’d copy the cap, too, because it keeps rain off your face when the umbrella tilts.
All of these looks count on a mild day. Rubber keeps water out, but it doesn’t keep you warm, and as fall turns into winter the rain gets colder. From here on, the outfit has to work above the boot as well.
What to Wear on a Cold Rainy Day
Cold rain is the trickiest weather to dress for. It’s too wet for a sweater on its own and too cold for a light trench. In some cities, it’s simply what winter looks like. In Seattle, more than half of the days from December to February bring rain.
So a cold rainy day outfit starts with a long coat that reaches the knee. A warm knit goes under it. Then your legs need the same care, either tights with leather boots or jeans tucked into rubber ones.
10) A Long Camel Coat Over a Pleated Mini and Lug-Sole Boots
A camel coat this long is what makes a short pleated skirt possible in cold rain. Under it, a navy sweater vest over a white shirt makes it preppy. Below, sheer tights meet white leg warmers.
Black lug-sole boots are the leather option for wet cobblestones. Their deep tread keeps a grip where a smooth sole would slide.
11) Light Jeans Tucked Into Olive Rain Boots
If you’d like jeans with tall rain boots, this is how they work. Slim light jeans go all the way in, while a navy knit and a monogram bucket bag keep it relaxed.
Tucking only works with a slim leg, because a wide pair won’t fit into the shaft. For wide jeans, short rain boots are the better match.
12) A Long Leather Trench With Wide Dark Jeans
A leather trench works for cold rain on the way somewhere, since water beads up on the surface. Belted and long, this brown one covers the outfit almost to the ankle.
The weak spot is the jeans. They reach the wet pavement. I’d have yours taken up an inch, and the dark hem is gone for good.
On drier cold days, our fall to winter outfits have more ways to layer a long coat. A wool coat has its limit, though. In a real downpour it soaks through and gets heavy, so on those days the coat itself has to change.
Rainy Day Outfits for a Real Downpour
Real downpours are rare. Still, they’re the days you remember, because that’s when an outfit gives up halfway to work. What holds up is a waterproof shell with a hood. Its seams are sealed, so rain can’t get in where the fabric is stitched.
Dark colors help as well, since splashes and wet patches disappear on black and olive. A big umbrella then covers whatever the hood can’t.
13) An Olive Shell Jacket With Cream Wide Pants
An olive Arc’teryx shell is the downpour jacket here, with the hood built in and a polka-dot crossbody bag across the front. With a shell like this, the rain stops at your collar.
Cream wide pants are the risky part on a wet day, because light colors show every splash. So I’d steer you toward dark trousers on a stormy morning, and the jacket works with both.
14) An All-Black Shell With the Hood Up
With the hood up and everything in black, nothing shows the weather. Wide black pants and a big bag keep it far from hiking gear.
I’d save it for the days you can’t hold an umbrella, like a windy commute in heavy rain. Just watch the leather bag, since leather spots in heavy rain.
15) Tall Rain Boots, Leggings and a Clear Umbrella
A clear umbrella lets you see where you’re walking when the rain comes down hard. Below it, black leggings and tall black rain boots keep the whole lower half dry.
A white boot sock shows at the top of each boot. It keeps the rubber from rubbing and adds a little warmth on a cold day.
A shell gets you through the storm. When the rainy day ends with dinner plans, though, you’ll want to take off something nicer at the door. Then the outfit under the coat matters again.
Rainy Day Outfits for Dinner or a Night Out
A rainy evening is when most going-out outfits give up, because the heels stay home and the coat stays on all night. You don’t have to do either.
A strappy heel lets water in and slips on wet stone. So swap it for knee-high leather boots with a low block heel. Then pick a coat at least as long as your dress, so the dress arrives dry.
16) A Cream Trench Over a Black Mini Dress
A cream trench is the dressiest kind of rain coat, and it covers a short black dress almost completely. Sheer black tights and black knee boots with a small block heel finish it.
Because the coat is longer than the dress, the dress stays dry on the way. So it looks fresh the moment the coat comes off.
17) A Long Black Coat and Knee Boots After Dark
At night, all black is the easiest version to get right. The long coat covers almost everything, so only the tights and the black knee boots show on the sidewalk.
Leather knee boots handle a wet street better than any open shoe. And with the collar pulled up like this, you barely need a scarf.
18) A White Umbrella, a Short Skirt and Knee Boots
A white umbrella lights up a gray street, and it feels more evening than a black one. Here it goes with a short black skirt and black knee boots on a wet crosswalk.
Keep the bag small. A structured one like this fits under the umbrella with you, while a big tote ends up half outside and soaked.
Look back over the whole wet season, and one thing decides how far each outfit can go: the shoes. So if you’re building a rainy day wardrobe, the boots are where I’d start.
Which Rain Boots Should You Buy First?
If you’re buying your first pair, I’d go tall and black. They go with minis, shorts, leggings and tucked jeans, and black hides splashes and mud. After that, add color or a short pair, depending on what you wear most:
- Tall black rain boots for the everyday rainy day outfit, with anything short or slim above them.
- A pair in color, red or green, for the days you want one bright piece. Keep the rest of the outfit dark.
- Short Chelsea rain boots if you live in wide jeans. A wide hem falls over an ankle boot and stays out of the shaft.
The drawback of rubber is that it doesn’t breathe. So wear a sock that reaches above the top of the boot. If you have athletic calves, look for a pair with an adjustable strap at the back. When you’re shopping, start with our women’s boots and coats.
And the next time it’s one of those gray mornings, check the sky before you pick the boots, because a drizzle only asks for a coat and the rubber can wait until the rain means it. For snow and freezing days, our winter streetwear for women has the warmer looks.
Questions About Rainy Day Outfits for Women
A trench or a long coat over trousers that stop at the ankle, with leather loafers or Chelsea boots. If the commute is long, wear rain boots on the way and keep a pair of flats at your desk.
A knit, a sweatshirt or a fleece that’s warm on its own, because a shell keeps you dry but adds almost no warmth. On a mild rainy day, a long sleeve is enough.
Wear it up, in a low bun or with a claw clip, and cover it with a hood or a cap when the umbrella isn’t enough. A light anti-frizz cream before you leave helps more than anything you do after you’re wet.
Snug at the ankle with room for a thick sock, so your heel doesn’t slip when you walk. Rubber doesn’t stretch, so if a pair pinches in the store, it’ll pinch on the street too.
