In the world of men’s fashion there are some names which stand the test of time better than most, and a few names that are synonymous with quality. Often with such names what you’re buying into is a reputation as much as anything else, because you know that you’re getting quality that lasts and a style that lasts too.
That’s often the problem with some men’s fashion items these days. They might look good today, but in a year’s time, 5 years’ time or a decade’s time will they still look as good? The answer in many cases is not only that they certainly won’t still look stylish, but that it’s not terribly important because they’ll have fallen apart by then anyway.
That’s the thing with fashion and style, often quality isn’t important because the style will become outdated before the whole thing falls apart anyway. But in men’s fashion there are a few names which you can count on for both quality and longevity, and Barbour jackets are one such example.
Barbour jackets have a long heritage, and have been the jacket or coat of choice by many leading figures, including the Royal Family, as well as being the first or only choice by those people who need to have a hard wearing and eminently practical coat for either their work or their pastimes, be that hunting, fishing, shooting, farming or hiking. Barbour jackets have changed relatively little over the years because the basic principles of the designs last so well. Having said that there are new styles and models brought out regularly which add a little more functionality, create a more specific type of coat for a particular activity or climate, or include colours which offer a greater choice.
But essentially Barbour coats are about quality you can rely on not just for this season, but for as many seasons as you’re likely to be around. It is far from being unheard of that Barbour jackets outlast their owners, and can almost become heirlooms, You can’t say that about many men’s fashion items. But with a staggering reputation for quality that really does stand the test of time, it is perhaps sadly inevitable that today it is possible to find Barbour jackets on sale online for a fraction of the price you might normally expect to pay, because they aren’t genuine Barbour.
Counterfeit Barbour jackets are being sold, and if you take a brief look online at an auction site such as Ebay you’ll almost certainly find Barbour jackets listed for a remarkably small sum of money. Yet of course what you’re getting isn’t Barbour at all. It won’t be made from the same high quality materials which Barbour uses and they won’t include the sort of features for which Barbour jackets are renowned.
Almost certainly you’ll find the cut isn’t as good, they’re not as comfortable or as effective at protecting you from the wind, the cold or the rain, and you will definitely find that within a very short space of time the coat is starting to look shabby and fall apart, meaning you have to go out and buy another one. In fact it doesn’t take many counterfeit Barbour jackets before you’ve more than paid the price of a real one, which would certainly last you a very great deal longer.
So if you’re looking for a Barbour coat and want to make sure that you’re getting a men’s fashion product which is the genuine article, what can you do? The simple answer is to avoid the anonymous retailers on Ebay and similar sites, and stick with a genuine retailer with a high street presence and a long standing reputation for delivering the real thing. Trying to save money by buying counterfeit clothing almost always ends up with you spending more in the long run, whilst feeling damp in the short run.
