Waxed jackets for women: armed against the elements

It’s no wonder that the waxed jacket was invented by a Brit – for protection against the notoriously awful British weather. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the Scotsman John Barbour brought the first model out as a weather-resistant jacket for outdoor workers: fishermen, hunters and farmers. Nowadays, though, it’s not just ‚Sloane Rangers‘ (Scottish slang for snobs with a house in London’s Sloane Square and a hunting cottage in the countryside), but ‘it girls’ like Alexa Chung and Olivia Palermo who are wearing these cool jackets and helping them to make a comeback.

1. Give the rain the cold shoulder!

When the fabric for the waxed jacket is manufactured, a water-repellant material is worked into the thread. This makes the rain drip off of the jacket, while still giving your skin plenty of room to breathe. The original models were designed with practical use as their top priority: wrapped in wind and water resistant wax textiles, you can barely feel the weather at all.

2. The threads have it in them

Wax jackets for women now come in many different designs, from sporty to casual and even elegant. The main differences between these designs are the cut and the details: long, short, with or without a hood, with buttons or a visible zip, with a fur or corduroy collar, with slots or with hidden pockets. The color palette ranges from classic dark green, khaki and brown to navy blue or even red or bright neon colors.

3. Royally rotten weather

In the eighties, green wax jackets were thought to be boring and bourgeois. In the nineties, however, the jacket was all of sudden popular everywhere. It’s no surprise then, that the most famous lady to don the look was Princess Diana. Her reputation as a fashion icon helped this good old-fashioned jacket to become a worldwide favorite. Later the hype died down – only to be revived again when the beautiful Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) took a liking to it. Wax jackets are now firmly established in the fashion world. And in day to day use they are also very durable: with the right care, high quality models last a long time and get more gorgeous every time you wear them.

Their image as the favorite jacket of the Queen of England has finally been discarded. The practical and stylish piece has now earned itself cult status. Tip: the wax jacket is great for a wander through the city in fall or for festivals. But in these cases, leave your SUV, silk scarf and golden retriever at home!

Whether you’re going to a festival, out horseback riding or on a fishing trip, the good old wax jacket is always up for joining you.