IT WAS THE early nineties. I was on a coed paddling trip and it was pouring rain, and her name was Annie. She knew everything about canoeing and was hunkered down in an oddly long rain jacket.
鈥淲hat are you wearing?鈥 I finally asked.
鈥淎 cagoule,鈥 she replied, which sounded sexy and French and only solidified my crush.
Later I learned that the term is French (it means 鈥渃owl鈥), and that , inspired by British mountaineers, made the waist-cinchable rain jacket twice鈥攊n 1978 and again in 1991.
I tell you this because Patagonia is celebrating its 40th anniversary this September by giving ten of its earliest designs a 21st-century makeover. The company reinvented everything from its Stand Up pants ($129) to the Quilt Again vest ($199, center) to the Alpiniste sweater ($299). As for the classic cagoule, it鈥檚 now called the Post Foamback ($349), and it鈥檚 cut from a new waterproof-breathable fabric. I think I might get one鈥攜ou know, just for old times鈥 sake.