The Compact Umbrella

Recent FashionBeans articles have been particularly centred on the coming holiday season. A season which should conjure images of sun-kissed skin, hot white sand mirrored against a back drop of sparkling clear water and perhaps a Mr Whippy ice-cream (or two).

Not torrential down pours of absolute chaotic magnitude, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Nor ‘tropical’ (although nothing felt tropical about it) thunderstorms which brought to life scenes from films such as The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. The aftermath of such storms resulted in my University library flooding, the streets of my city erupting into some sort of rapids and the metro I ride on a daily basis being ‘closed until further notice’.

The one item I wished I had during all of this? An umbrella.

When your day has been ruined, you cannot get to work, you cannot join your friend for lunch and you have to swim home, the one salvageable metaphoric ray of sunshine comes from knowing your appearance (from about the shoulders upwards) is still intact.

Of course, freak weather like this *touch wood* happens very rarely but preparation is key to success (thank you random motivational picture hanging above the urinal at work).

This is why I have scoured a variety of retailers to find a selection of small compact umbrellas, in the unlikely event a situation like this will occur again in the middle of summer. These umbrellas are small enough to discretely slip away into your bag and convenient enough to carry daily.

My top 4 choices are below, so let me know what you think or if you can find any more vibrant alternatives.

Compact Umbrella:

Compact Umbrella

Compact Umbrella

Compact Umbrella

Compact Umbrella