Years ago, I was looking for a waterproof jacket for the fall & spring. I have a rain jacket with a hood, its from Marmot and its fluorescent green…great for hiking/running, but I wanted something more muted for every day. I found Barbour! I love the waxed cotton, but I almost had a heart attack when I saw the price! J. Barbour & Sons opened in 1894 in England and made thornproof, water proof jackets, hats, & trousers. Waxed cotton came from the sailing/shipping industry. They waterproofed sails with oils, and used the same technique to make capes for the ship’s captain. Barbour originally marketed itself to fishermen and actually motorcyclists, then farmers & hunters & equestrians, and now to anyone who will pay >$300 for a jacket.

I do own a Barbour jacket. I got it at a closing sale at Fishing the Cape down in Harwich on Cape Cod. Barbour never goes on sale, ever. You can get 10% off if you buy it through Orvis.com or Tuckernuck.com if you sign up for their emails. My Barbour is an Argon, a men’s jacket, that has quilting instead of the tartan lining which makes it a little warmer than the Bedale/Beadnee/Beaufort. Now, if you look hard enough, there are MORE expensive waxed cotton jackets out there from Belstaff & Burberry, but here are some waxed cotton jackets in our beloved sage/navy that are more affordable than Barbour.

Here’s my Barbour, just got it this past summer.

Here is my favorite from Jack Murphy on countryandstable.com for $130! Darina Waxed Jacket This website has a lot of awesome deals from British labels.

Here are a couple from J. Crew: The Downtown Field Jacket for $148 and the Hooded Downtown Field Jacket for $228 that’s a little longer with a hood and a zip out vest.

Here’s one from H&M that has more insulation for $69.99 Waxed Cotton Parka

And now of course, the LLBean take on waxed cotton for $199 Town and Field Waxed Cotton Jacket and they also have a down version for $189 Upcountry Waxed-Cotton Down Jacket

And finally, this company Cotopaxi which is definitely worth checking out because of their generosity has a great waxed canvas jacket, a little longer, maybe a little snowboaderish but clocks in <$300 at $279 Bengal Waxed Canvas Jacket

Here are pics of the jackets mentioned!

I don’t know guys, I just happened to get an amazing sale the weekend I was down the cape with my friend. If a waxed cotton jacket has been on your radar, consider some of these. Barbour clearly doesn’t have the market on waxed cotton cornered 😉 When we see bloggers and instagrammers sporting Barbours, it can be hard to imagine that there will ever be a better jacket…#barbouriseverything right? Don’t forget though, they often get those jackets for free, look for the little c/o at the bottom of their post. If nobody is sending you free Barbour jackets, and you want a waxed cotton jacket this fall, do it while saving those pennies!! We all want to look like we have a family estate in the English countryside right? But what if you saved your money to actually go to the English countryside!!!