The Barbour Wax Duke Jacket Review
Next from our ‘Barbour Icons' series, Sam reviews the Barbour Wax Duke Jacket. The Wax Duke is a re-design of the classic Barbour Enfield jacket but with a sharper silhouette. A very classy style and an ideal addition to your outerwear collection. A mediumweight jacket coated in Barbour's signature 6oz Thornproof wax for durability and protection against all weather conditions, with quilted lining for a warm and cosy finish.
Video Transcript:
Hi guys, Sam here from Michael Stewart Menswear and welcome to Barbour icons, the series where we take a deep dive into some of Barbour's most classic and iconic pieces of outerwear. Today, we're going to go to the International range and take a look at the Barbour waxed Duke. This is a style that we've stocked for many years, we absolutely adore it and I'm sure you will too. So join me as we take a look at the fit, the features and a bit of background about this fantastic waxed jacket.
Background of the Barbour Wax Duke Jacket
So a little bit of background first, it's a great place to start, the Duke was based on the Enfield jacket, it's another jacket very very similar to this, but Barbour decided to make it a little bit more robust. They added in a nice quilted lining to the inside which makes it perfect for when things start to take a chill. Externally you're going to see some features that are iconic to the Barbour International range. It's very motorcycle inspired, it's really, really evident but I think it's tastefully done as well so starting at the top you've got a press-stud throat latch. Of course, you've got a corduroy-lined collar which is nice and soft around your neck and that theme also continues to the corduroy-lined inner cuffs as well. You've got a nice press-stud placket, underneath there is a hefty double zip as well. All the hardware is matching in silver and of course, you've got things like the four pockets and the elbow patches as well which just ties back into that motorcycle heritage. Branding-wise on this jacket, it's very, very subtle. You've got a nice bit of embroidery with just the Barbour logo towards the bottom pocket there and of course the Barbour International patch to the left shoulder.
The Barbour Duke Fit
So let's talk about the fit, this is where the jacket gets a little bit interesting and I need you to listen up because this is very, very important! The Duke jacket is a very small-fitting jacket. It is super-slim, it comes up very, very tight and throughout my time working with these jackets, I probably can't even count how many I've had to exchange. So, very, very simply...it comes up small, size up one. For example, I'm a 38 chest, I'm a size medium, I wear a medium in most of my things and I'm wearing a medium now and I'll be honest it is small, it is snug. There's not much movement here and if I could fasten it up...I probably could but I think I'd find it's not very comfortable especially if you're wanting to wear anything else but a t-shirt underneath. So again, the easy way to combat that is to go up one size from your usual and you'll be absolutely fine. Now the jackets that we carry in the Duke style, we have four colours, we've got Black as I'm wearing, a nice dark green or sage as they call it as my friend is wearing here. We've also got a navy and rustic which is a nice dark brown colour.
What Colours Does the Jacket Come in?
So with the Duke coming in four colours and also having quite a minimal design, we find it's really, really easy to wear to style and to integrate into your existing wardrobe. Most guys, no matter what their personal preferences can probably find they can pick one of these jackets up and it's going to suit their style, it's going to fit into their wardrobe really, really nice and really become their everyday go-to jacket and that for me is what this is...it's an everyday jacket because of the nice quilted lining, the bit of the warmth, the waterproof nature of the fabric, it's super easy to throw on as you leave the door and it's just going to be with you all day, covering your back, keeping you nice and warm, keeping you dry and looking great whilst doing so. Because it is a slim fit and because it is flattering I think it is just an essential go-to for any jacket. So if you are in the market to get something new for winter and you're keen on being quite sustainable and having a jacket that you purchase once and use forever, the Barbour Duke is going to look after you, it's going to do just that and because it has a nice, clean, minimal modern styling, it's going to look great year after year.
So there we have it, I think that's everything you need to know about this fantastic jacket. Of course, we'd love to get your opinion on it as ever. So, do let us know in the comments below if you've already got one and you're after another colour. Or perhaps you're in the market for a brand new everyday jacket that's going to see you through winter, autumn and straight into the year after then I think this is the one for you. As always you can view the whole collection at michaelstewart.co.uk or if you want to see one before you buy it you can pop into the store, try them on, get that perfect fit and away you go with a brand new fantastic jacket. That's all from me today, join us next time in the Barbour Icons series where we'll take another look at a different jacket from the Barbour collection. Bye for now.
