Question about Barbour waxed cotton jackets

[Racecar]

I am considering purchasing a Barbour Beaufort waxed cotton jacket. Someone cautioned me that if I had leather seats in my vehicle, the wax may come off and stain or discolor the leather seats. I do have light gray colored, leather seats in my vehicle. Has anyone had anything like this happen to leather seats?

I asked the person that cautioned me about this if he had any bad experiences like this. This person was actually a Barbour salesperson at Orvis. He said that he had not, but thought it could be a possibility. I have no experience to draw on from any type of waxed cotton outer wear, but it did seem reasonable that some of the wax and oil could rub off.

I still covet a Barbour jacket, but the thought of staining my leather car seats is somewhat disheartening. I figure I could always take the jacket off while in the car, but this idea is not very appealing. Hopefully, it will turn out to be a non-issue.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

First of all, I love my Barbour waxed cotton jacket. It is so great, especially today with wind driven rain and cold. I know my roommate Hemingway Jones has two of them. We are both big fans of the entire Barbour line.
I have leather seats in my car and have never had the experience you are talking about. If you heard this from one person, that person must have had a very rare, faulty jacket. Faults in the Barbour line are unheard of.
On a side note. If you are really interested in the coat I would check out www.coatsandhats.com
They have original Barbour, from England not the ones now being made in Australia which are nice too, but if you're buying an expensive British brand it should be made in the UK. Also the stitching on the Austrailians are different. I'm pretty sure the Orvis ones are the ones from the UK. Anyway back to coats and hats, they have a wide selection of Barbour jackets, at the best prices I've ever seen. Much more reasonable than Orvis. You do have to pay for shipping. However, you are buying British goods from a British company in the UK, so they can keep their costs down. They also, every so often put some of the barbour line on sale. I know I check their site every few weeks. I have done a lot of searching on line for Barbour jackets, since here in the states they seem to be a lot of money. Coats and Hats by far had not only the best selection but also the best prices. I was also very happy with the customer service and very speedy shipping.

Well, don't worry about your car. I wear my Bedale regularly and have never had a problem with the wax getting on my seat. They really are a great company. You can send your coat back for re-waxing, or any other alterations you might need. And they also do this quite quickly. All in all, you are buying a very good, reliable product. Not that this is all that important to you, but they now have a great ladies line out, if any ladies reading this are interested. It's like an ladies english country look with lots of great, very useful jackets sweaters and pants. They are all nicely tailored as well. Sorry kind of off topic.

I hope you check out www.coatsandhats.com before you purchase at Orvis. Unless they have dramatically changed their prices in the past month, you will definitely save some money by purchasing through them. Orvis really likes to up the prices of a lot of their clothes, almost to unnecessary heights.

 

[Micawber]

I have a lot of experience of wax coats wax and have worn Barbours in one form or another for decades, but there again I hunt and shoot so they are a natural choice. In my experience it is possible for the wax to rub off on upholstery if the wearer or vehicle gets unduly hot, however I would say that this is possibly more likely to happen after the jacket has be re-waxed.
Re-waxing is essential to maintain the waterproof qualities of the garment but the frequency depends on the type of usage, if regularly worn hard for outdoor pursuits then obviously the coat will require more frequent re-waxing than a garment that is used for less demanding activities.

Wax coats worn for country pursuits will become soiled and although they can be washed off with clean cold water the wax can become discoloured and this can also cause marks on upholstery. Coats in and around town a lot will also become grubby so the same caveats apply.

I wouldn't call waxed Barbours driving coats and usually remove mine when doing so

 

[Racecar]

Don't worry, Daisy. Hemingway Jones already pointed me towards Coats and Hats awhile ago. That is where I plan to purchase mine. I want the Beaufort in the rustic color and Orvis only carries it in the sage color.

I was just in the Orvis store and saw the Barbour jackets and started looking at them when the salesman approached. I guess he may feel that he talked me out of buying one, when actually, I have always intended to get one from Coats and Hats.

I must admit that it was awfully tempting to buy one that day. It was cold and raining here in Washington D.C. just before Thanksgiving. That is quite the motivation to shop for a Barbour jacket.

 

[konrad96]

I'm a first time poster, though I've hung around a lot over the last year. As a long time jacket freak, and barbour destroyer, felt compelled to respond to this thread. You absolutely don't need to worry about Babour jackets staining seats...unless you've rewaxed your jacket a little too heavily. New barbours, without rewax, are absolutely fine. i've worn mine on cloth and leather car seats without any difficulty - and I've so far worn out 5 or 6 different jackets. And I have to recommend them wholeheartedly. They're the only jacket you can wear absolutely anywhere. Have worn them to Royal Garden parties, mountain trips, shooting weekends, motor races, scissor sister concerts, and they somehow always seem to fit in. You can throw one on over a dinner jacket, or shrug it on over a thick pullover and jeans, and it's always perfect. (true country folk generally have a few dog biscuits hidden in one of the pockets. I carry two horse chestnuts (conkers!) in my pocket, which I picked up on a riverbank on a misty irish morning. They're now six years old and are aged the colour of old walnut. Ah...romance...)

but back to the point, barbours are fine, unless you rewax them, and then they can mark stuff.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

.

As an aside, they are extremely popular in Italy. Near one in four well-dressed men were wearing them, usually over suits.

 

[Racecar]

Konrad, congratulations on your first post. Thank you for deciding to post for the first time in response to a question that I posed.

I would also like to thank everyone that responded for giving me your input as to this question. Just to let everyone know, I ordered my Beaufort Jacket in the rustic color (dark chocolate brown) from the coats and hats website, and I have already recieved it. They have very fast service.

Both Orvis and all of the other websites that I have seen, only carry the Barbour Beaufort jacket in the sage color. I am just not that fond of green, so I wanted the rustic color. The coats and hats link takes you to The Outdoor and Country Store that is located in the UK. They have the biggest selection of Barbour products that I have found. They were the only place that I saw that sold the Beaufort jacket in the rustic color. They also seem to have the best prices, however, the US dollar's value compared to the British pound doesn't exactly help in this regard. Thank you to Hemingway Jones and Daisy Buchanon for pointing me in their direction.

I also got the matching, zip-in, quilted waistcoat liner and matching hood to go with it. They all have the same color tartan lining, and I also got a 100% cashmere scarf from Barbour, which matches the tartan lining in the jacket exactly. I am now so color coordinated that I don't know what to do with myself.

Just because I ordered and recieved my Barbour jacket, does not mean that I would not like to hear other folks response to this question if they have experience in this regard. Your input is always welcome and appreciated. Any advice would just aid me in the use of my new jacket.

 

[PADDY]

Barbour en Espana tambien!

Spanish love them too!

As an aside, they are extremely popular in Italy. Near one in four well-dressed men were wearing them, usually over suits.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

They're also very popular with members of Chile's upper class, which tend to wear mini houndstooth check sportcoats, polo shirts, chinos, and penny loafers. Incidentally, this has become the 'uniform' for the wealthy classes all over the world.



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[Blackgrass]

Has anyone ever had any quality issues with their Barbours?
I have sent two back because of the the stitching coming lose around the pocket areas. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[Eric in West Se]

Filson

This is my first post here. I looked at the Barbour jacket you mentioned. I think you should look at Filson coats and jackets. My whole family wears Shelter Cloth Hunting Coats.

See:
http://www.filson.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2117298&cp=2065674.2065689

I work for Filson, designing the website, but was a customer before that. These coats are made in the Seattle factory. Numerous weights and styles available.

Eric in W. Seattle

 

[interlocutor]

for what it's worth...

For the Barbour waxed jackets, bestinthecountry.co.uk has even better prices. I've bought from them and been very happy. They don't carry the Barbour tweed jackets, but they do have some nice ones from Chrysalis (be prepared to wait!).

 

[Fardad]

Just make sure you get the right style for your height.
My Bedale looks a bit off on my 5'8" build.
Sorta makes me look 'childish'. Can't really describe it.

 

[hipster]

Eric at Filson

Filson is great. I have 3 wool vest's, and the shelter clothe Flyfishing jacket. Next purchase in the new gray multi vest.

That Yukon cape cape (both colors) look fantastic. Just havent pulled the trigger on buying one.
My father received the wool western vest for X-mas.

Big fan, although the prices are an issue.

 

[Milu]

If a waxed Barbour jacket gets warm it is absolute murder on cloth upholstery. It is not so bad on modern light coloured leather auto upholstery.

 

[RockBottom]

Anyone ever compare Barbour to John Partridge and Oxford Blue? I got an Oxford Blue from Sierra Trading Post a few years an have been very happy. I'm sure Barbour is better, but they are 4 to 5 times the price of the Oxford Blue.

 

[Trotsky]

I love my Oxford Blue. One piece of advice though, when they say order a size down, I would do it!