
Europe is reeling under the effect of snow storms that have grounded planes and even put a complete halt to rail traffic, such has been their severity. The entire European mainland and the United Kingdom as well are all reeling under some of the lowest temperatures ever recorded in modern history. At times like these, fashion may be the last thing most normal people are thinking about. But for fashionistas, this is the prefect kind of weather for one of the hottest trends in apparel this season. That trend is the popularity of a jacket called the Barbour quilted jacket.
The Barbour jacket is named after the company that manufactures them. In this age of cheap knock offs, it is the name of the company that first made this jacket which has become synonymous with this style of jacket. The Barbour company was established by a Britisher called John Barbour who set up a manufacturing unit in an area of Britain called the South Shields near the end of the nineteenth century. The company started to make mainly work wear starting in 1894 and they produced all manner of work clothing from boiler suits to jackets and even heavy underclothes. The first jacket in the style that is now known world over as the Barbour jacket was first seen in the 1930s and since then it has become a popular work wear for rural Britishers and has become iconic of a traditional English countryside style.
The Barbour jacket is traditionally made out of cotton that has been given water repellent properties through a treatment of paraffin wax. In addition the jackets are also resistant to thorns and brambles and tend not to rip or tear thanks to the wax treatment. These jackets are normally quite long and are just above knee length.
Barbour jackets first shot to fame in the eighties when some of the more iconic and fashionable of the British royal family were seen sporting them. This led to these jackets becoming an instant fashion must have. By the nineties the fad had ended but in the past year due to a number of famous musicians and rockers in England being spotted wearing Barbour jackets at music festivals, the Barbour jacket is now back in vogue and a thicker version called the Barbour quilted jacket is perfect for the chilly temperatures that we are seeing right now.