A waxed jacket is cotton charged with wax, and it earns its keep in British weather if you look after that finish. We fit them for men and for women. Holland Cooper and Barbour are the two names you will see most, with R. M. Williams and Schoffel in smaller numbers.
Olive, navy and brown are the usual cloths here, with the odd black or cream. The men’s and women’s blocks are cut differently, so tell us which you need and we will bring the right one.
A luxury waxed jacket for men, and a Barbour wax jacket for women, both belong on this page. It suits someone who is out in British weather and will re-wax the cotton when it goes dry. It is the wrong coat if you want a light mac that folds into a bag. The cloth is heavier, and a newly waxed jacket can mark pale seats until it has settled.
Barbour is the other name on this rail. See Barbour and our Barbour for him collection, and Holland Cooper for that house on its own.
If you will wear one in the wet and you will look after the wax, yes. The cotton lasts, and the finish is renewed rather than thrown away. If you want something light for a suitcase, they are the wrong tool: heavier, and with a smell of wax that some people love and some do not. The best luxury waxed jacket is the one that fits your shoulders and that you will actually re-wax.
They have been worn for generations in the country, and they are just as usual in town now. Buy the fit and the cloth, not a colour you have seen for a single season. Olive, navy and brown are the ones we see people still wearing years later. A cream jacket is lovely and less forgiving of marks.
With re-waxing, a good one lasts for years. The cotton outlasts any single coat of wax. How long depends on how often it is worn and whether it is dried properly between wet days. Hung up, and re-waxed when water stops beading, it is a coat you keep. Left damp and folded, it is not.
When the cloth looks pale, dry, or starts to wet out, it is ready. Warm the jacket, work a thin layer of the maker’s wax into the cotton, then warm it again so the wax melts in. Hang it somewhere airy until it is dry to the touch. Do not machine wash it, and do not tumble dry it or park it on a radiator. Newly waxed cotton can mark pale surfaces, so let it settle before you wear it against light upholstery.
Come to Gabriel’s Hill in Maidstone and try the jacket over the layers you actually wear. We will talk through re-waxing if you want the coat to last, and we will not talk you into one if a lighter coat would serve you better.
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