Urban Umbrella Use Guide
Rainy Days in New York need not get you down. Grab your fantastic looking, statement making or just plain functional umbrella and read on.
Be mindful of the following easy-to-comply-with umbrella use tips offered by Sales Manager Jason Sturtevant at Archer Hotel New York, and you’ll be comfortable using (rather than wielding) your umbrella during these typically wet weeks in The City.
Choosing the Right Umbrella
As with luggage, handbags and briefcases, your height affects the size umbrella you should carry. If you are six feet three inches tall, you are able to manage a large umbrella politely. If you are 5 feet 2 inches tall, you need to carry a smaller one. Be aware of where the pointy metal tines are aimed – if you are tall, you have more flexibility here.
The optimist’s “Sky Umbrella” featured above in this post may be curated for your use at Archer Hotel New York, or The Museum of Modern Art.
Grand Opening
Step to the side of a crowd and look around you before opening your umbrella, as if you were about to begin whittling. Don’t open it until you are sure you are clear of others and their eyes, hair-dos, etc.
Raise and Lower, Raise and Lower
Once in use, your umbrella should be ever in your control. Be aware of people coming towards you and raise and lower your umbrella as needed to avoid bumping or otherwise making passersby nervous. People with no umbrella have the right-of-way on the sidewalk (yes, they do). They are getting so very wet, so we let them hurry by without hassle.
If rainy days in your city bother you, just frame them differently and you may begin to enjoy them. Think more “Singin’ In The Rain” and less “Vertigo” or “Howard’s End,” and you’ll know how to behave when skies are grey.
Never Run With Scissors
Just like you learned in Grammar School, pointy things should be carried vertically alongside your body – not jutting out in front or behind you.
In Closing
Be certain that you close your umbrella before going indoors. This is not a negotiable guideline. Give your umbrella a firm shake (outdoors), and then look for a logical place to store it inside. Is there is a patch of tile near the door, a cloak closet or a break room? If someone comes in from the rain to visit you at work or home, take their umbrella right away and help them dry their coat/jacket before they must brave the elements again.
You are undoubtedly considerate and kind, as you have read this far. For more gentle reminders and primers on etiquette for urban situations, follow this blog. Share this post to help keep sidewalks safe in New York during April.
