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But as useful and pretty as they can be, what ­happens when an umbrella is blown inside-out by wind or crushed in a car door?

Most models are made of polyester and metal or ­plastic, but the makers of the Brelli (www.thebrelli.com), claim it's the world's first biodegradable umbrella.

Made of bamboo, a renewable resource, cotton string and a biodegradable clear canopy, the Brelli is meant to disintegrate in a landfill (but not a downpour) in less than five years. Totes, the well-known ­rainwear brand, is getting in on the green trend too, with its Eco line of products made of recycled materials.

Perhaps even more than umbrellas, rubber rain boots have taken young women by storm. In the past couple of years, styles in an ­amazing array of patterns and colors have been popping up ­everywhere, ­including ­college campuses and the closets of well-dressed middle schoolers.

Ema Horvath trembles as she reaches into the box and pulls out a snake.

She pants and smiles as she describes, in a thick Southern accent, the satisfaction of holding the serpent between her fingers. Then she mentions those who don't experience that same fulfillment.

”I look at them and I wonder, "Can they handle?'“ Ema says.

For about eight minutes, Ema, an eighth-grader at the School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Lexington, is a Pentecostal snake handler. In the next hour, she might be a snobby prom queen or a dying teenager.