Barbour Wax Jacket Review: The Double-Breasted "Elmis"

(Image credit: Courtesy)

published 11 November 2020

In our biweekly series, editors share the item so versatile, so chic, so comfortable that they wear it over and over and over again—whether it be a basic white tee or a super-trendy jumpsuit. Prepare yourself (and your credit card) for some guilt-free shopping.

Much like Barbour, I am a British stereotype. Unlike Barbour, I am not the cool, trend-setting kind of British, but the kind that spills tea all over herself and therefore requires sturdy, reliable, stain-proof clothing. Contrary to popular opinion and television shows, not everybody from my home country owns a Barbour (although the entire royal family does), so I didn't get my first until I was in my twenties and fed up with New York winters—which, if you're wondering, are colder, meaner, and wetter than winter across the pond. (I'd packed a fleece jacket that had seen me through two London winters for my move here. It was useless.)

The photos that I've chosen to feature here were taken on a mild fall day, because this is my story and I call the shots, but don't be fooled. On sleety, snowy, rainy, icy New York days (when I am not taking photos of myself because I have no desire to relive it, and also because I look like shit), my Barbour is the only thing that keeps me from breaking down and getting on a plane. (Not to London, obviously. It's less miserable there, but it's still London. I'd go to the Bahamas.)

Barbour Elmix Wax Jacket

Now that I've spent plenty of time complaining about my adopted country, allow me to count the ways I love my Barbour Elmis Wax.

I love the faux-fur collar that nestles into my ears and the belt that will magically make me look put-together when I go to real events again. I love the classic quilting on the inside that reminds me of home and also makes me feel like I'm in The Crown. (Fun fact: Barbour asked the Queen if they could please replace her battered, decades-old Barbour for free, but she was so attached to it that she said no.) I love the element-defying wax finish that can stand up to rain, sleet, and snow. I especially love the secret zipper I can slip a spare $20 in for when I inevitably lose my credit card. Unlike the edgy model pictured here, I do not own jodhpurs, but this jacket makes me feel like I could pull them off. This jacket believes in me.

If you're someone who's interested in pretending to be on the set of The Crown and/or want to stay warm and dry during whatever kind of weather you're enduring right now, may I present to you some of other Barbour items I endorse:

Shop Our Favorite Barbours

barbour Beadnell Wax Jacket

barbour Beadnell Polarquilt Jacket

barbour Acorn Waxed Cotton Jacket

barbour Deveron Quilted Jacket

Jenny is the Digital Director at Marie Claire. A graduate of Leeds University, and a native of London, she moved to New York in 2012 to attend the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She was the first intern at Bustle when it launched in 2013 and spent five years building out its news and politics department. In 2018 she joined Marie Claire, where she held the roles of Deputy Digital Editor and Director of Content Strategy before becoming Digital Director. Working closely with Marie Claire's exceptional editorial, audience, commercial, and e-commerce teams, Jenny oversees the brand's digital arm, with an emphasis on driving readership. When she isn't editing or knee-deep in Google Analytics, you can find Jenny writing about television, celebrities, her lifelong hate of umbrellas, or (most likely) her dog, Captain. In her spare time, she writes fiction: her first novel, the thriller EVERYONE WHO CAN FORGIVE ME IS DEAD, was published with Minotaur Books (UK) and Little, Brown (US) in February 2024 and became a USA Today bestseller. She has also written extensively about developmental coordination disorder, or dyspraxia , which she was diagnosed with when she was nine.