As long as it's clear vinyl with a white plastic handle.
Top commenter Trixie raised the excellent point that see-through umbrellas should cut down on run-ins. And they do make it easier to see where you are going.
However, I am frequently the only person squinting quizzically up at the sky with a dry umbrella rolled tight while people under nearly-dry umbrellas bump and scrape each other left and right squinting quizzically at me. (Once, a colleague walking next to me in a light mist asked why I didn't put up my umbrella. I said it was because it wasn't raining. She gave me a confused translation-error nod.)
Clear umbrellas make it easier to see other people, but 99.9% umbrella usage at the first hint of precipitation means there are a lot more umbrellas on the street on any given cloudy day, so, poke-in-the-eye-wise, it's a wash.
OK, but the idea here is ingenious - an umbrella you can SEE THROUGH so you don't RUN INTO INNOCENT PEOPLE because you are huddled under your umbrella like a LITTLE SISSY WHO IS AFRAID OF RAIN.
ReplyDeletesorry to be all shouty, but I am the exact eyeball-height for the metal tippy bits on umbrellas, so this is a sort of pet peeve of mine. go Japan!
couldn't agree more! come visit and we can be the only two umbrellaless people for miles around.
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