Alternatives to Barbour

Hello and welcome to Code Culture. My name is Michele, this is my dog Marshmello, and we are your hosts. In my last video, I looked at whether or not Barbour is still relevant in 2026. And the short version is that yes, it is still relevant, but only if you buy the jackets that are still made in the United Kingdom. And if you do not find a jacket made in the UK that you like by Barbour, then you should be looking elsewhere. And today, well, elsewhere. We are looking at four companies that I personally am looking at as possible alternatives to Barbour. Now, let me be clear, I do not own any of these companies that I'm going to mention today, so this is not a video review. I cannot speak about their longevity, I cannot speak about how these jackets feel because I don't own them. So this is a video about what I, as a buyer of many wax cotton jackets, of many Barbour, of many Bell stuff, am considering right now as real alternatives to Barbour. None of these brands paid me any money, this is just me doing my own research and coming to my own conclusions. I may be wrong in what I'm about to say, and if I'm wrong, please correct me in the comments. The thread that connects the four companies that I'm going to mention today is the same thread that should connect every company that is asking serious money for their garments or any product, really. And that thread is manufacturing integrity. Where is it made? Who makes it? How much does it cost to make? Whether or not the heritage that is on the label is actually reflected in the manufacturing process of the specific garment. Because as I said in my video called The Made In Lie, that you can find somewhere on the screen right now or in the description below, the country of origin, the country where a garment is manufactured, is not just an emotional value. It is the foundation that justifies the prices that these companies are asking us. And I will not recommend a brand that I believe is lying about that foundation. Before I start talking about the four brands that I recommend you look at, let me address the one brand that I have decided not to include in this list. Many of you will probably think that a good alternative to Barbour is Belstaff. Belstaff is another British company with a very strong heritage that has been making wax cotton jackets for a very long time. I actually own more Belstaff jackets than I own Barbour. I love their style. I love the cut. I love the fit. I actually prefer them to Barbour. I own several wax cotton Belstaff. I own several leather Belstaff. And I also own several jackets and garments from their motorcycle line. My first motorcycle jacket was actually a Belstaff jacket many, many years ago. So I have an emotional attachment to that brand. But in conscience, I cannot recommend Belstaff as an alternative to Barbour right now because they are doing exactly the same thing that Barbour is doing. They have moved production to countries where labor is cheap and they're not passing those savings to us consumers. So recommending Belstaff as an alternative to Barbour would make me a hypocrite, no matter how much I love that brand. There is an important distinction to be made though. Many of Belstaff leather jackets and many of Belstaff motorcycle garments, so for instance, the Trialmaster motorcycle version, not the regular Trialmaster version, are made in Italy. Now, Italy clearly is not the country where Belstaff is originally from, but Italy has a long tradition of leather manufacturing and it has a long tradition of motorcycle clothing manufacturing. So if you were interested in leather jackets and in motorcycle clothing, I would definitely recommend that you consider Belstaff. But I will have a separate video about Belstaff because they do deserve their own in-depth analysis and please subscribe if you're interested in that. The first brand I'm looking at as a valid alternative to Barbour is John Partridge. It's a brand that is definitely not as famous as Barbour or Belstaff or other companies that make wax cotton and I actually discovered it thanks to comments in some of my old videos. I started looking at them and I really started to fall in love with what they're doing. John Partridge has been making jackets in England since 1969. They are based in Staffordshire, so in the heart of the English countryside, and they are still connected to the area for which these jackets were originally made for. What makes it a very interesting alternative to Barbour for me is a combination of various factors that are quite rare to find all in one company. My understanding is that not some of the jackets are made in England, but all of the jackets are made in England. That simple. The labels seem to be very clear and their communication on this is very clear. In a landscape where most companies have moved production to Asia or Eastern Europe to save money, the fact that a British company with a strong heritage is still making stuff in England to this day is worth mentioning. Second, John Partridge are rougher and cheaper than Barbour. And when I say rougher, I don't mean it as a value judgment, as something that is less well done than something else. I mean it as a description. They do not seem to be concerned about fashion. There is a famous photo of King Charles, when he was still Prince Charles, wearing a patched wax cotton jacket that most people think is a Barbour, but it actually was a John Partridge jacket. And that says something about the heritage of that brand. And John Partridge jackets are priced lower than Barbour. So you now have a jacket which is entirely made in the UK, which is styled as a wax cotton jacket, should be styled, that is not made in Moldova or in Indonesia, and it costs less money than the Barbour's counterparts made in Moldova and Indonesia. The value proposition is a no-brainer. One more thing worth mentioning about John Partridge is that although they do not have an in-house repair facility, they do have an agreement with a small independent family business called Marlin & Son in Yorkshire that specializes in restoring wax cotton jackets. This is something that I really like. You have a British company making a true British product and relying on other British providers to service that product. There is an intangible value in that which I appreciate. And honestly, if I am going to buy a wax cotton jacket next, John Partridge is going to be the first brand that I look at. If you're looking for a product that has that strong heritage that Barbour is increasingly failing to deliver, I feel that John Partridge seems to be, at least on paper, a really compelling offer. The second brand that I am considering as an alternative to Barbour is something completely different. It's actually an Italian company called Manifattura Ceccarelli. It's a relatively new brand that was founded in 1998 in the city of Forlì in Emilia-Romagna. Emilia-Romagna is a region north of Tuscany where they make amazing food, by the way. It is not a fashion brand and it's definitely not trying to be Barbour. It's a company that uses wax cotton and oils and paraffins to make jackets that are really designed for functionality for hunters, for hikers. So it's definitely more rugged in terms of looks than Barbour. Why would a person into Barbour consider Manifattura Ceccarelli? Because if what you love about Barbour is the idea of a garment made with care that can last a lifetime, then this company can definitely deliver on that. And Italy has a long tradition of excellence in textile manufacturing and when made in Italy is done correctly, not when it's actually a lie like I've explained in my Made in Lie video, there is an excellence that goes with it. So if I'm buying something that I know is 100% made in Italy, like the case of this Manifattura Ceccarelli that makes all of their garments in their own studio in Forlì, then I know that I'm buying something of good quality. One thing that I find particularly compelling for Manifattura Ceccarelli is the fact that the founder for over 10 years was manufacturing Filson jackets on license for the European market. So the company definitely has a lot of experience in working with wax cotton and frankly their jackets are simply beautiful. I have seen a few of them in Italy, I did not buy one just because they are very expensive, but they definitely look something in between a Barbour and a Filson. It doesn't surprise me that there is that background of working for Filson, but there is also that Italian use of colors that to me is really appealing. Concerning the repairability of the jackets, Manifattura Ceccarelli clearly states that the jackets are meant for life, they are designed to be repaired. I am not sure whether or not they actually repair them at their own facility and what the cost would be. I actually tried to contact them and get them to actually send me a jacket for this video, but I haven't heard from them. If you want something that is not British but it still has that excellence of craftsmanship, Manifattura Ceccarelli is definitely worth looking at. It definitely does not have that heritage that Barbour or even George Partridge have, and it's priced higher than Barbour. The jackets are quite expensive, although in line with Filson and some of the most expensive Barbours. Another alternative to Barbour that I am considering is the Private White VC brand. Private White has been recommended by several of you in the comments to my videos, and I've been looking at them and I feel that they are the answer to the question, what if you want British excellence made in England and you have no limit on money? And the answer is Private White. Private White was founded in 1853 by a gentleman who was a private in the army, Private White. The heritage is not invented, the heritage is there, and the company is still managed by the White family. Garments are still made nowadays in Manchester. Private White VC is extremely expensive. I cannot say whether or not the quality of the products justify the price that they're asking. What I do know is that the jackets are made in England and that they have a strong repair service, so they repair all their jackets in the same factory where they make them in Manchester. For those who can spend the money and like the style, the value proposition is there. You are buying a brand with a strong British heritage which is still made in the UK in the same factory where it used to be made 150, 175 years ago. You know that the price reflects British labours, British suppliers, British material, actual craft rather than a heritage just mentioned on a label without anything to support it. They are definitely too expensive for what I am looking for, but if you can afford it and if you like the style, it's definitely a company worth looking at. The last company that I want to talk about is actually the oldest company on this list, and it's the one that I knew the least about, and the company is called Peregrin. They were founded in 1796. They have been making textile garments for a very, very long time, and they do have a few waxed cotton jackets that look really sharp on paper. Peregrin seems to be a very interesting proposition because, first of all, they are entirely made in the UK, so they have been making these garments in the UK for over 200 years, which to me again is something. While many other companies are offshoring the productions to cheaper countries, this company has decided to remain in the territory where its roots are. In terms of pricing, they are on par with the Barber. Their waxed cotton jackets have a very similar price, but again, you're buying something that you know is made in the UK, and there is value in it, at least for me, because for the same price of an Ashby jacket that is made in Moldova or Bangladesh, you are actually buying a jacket from a British company with a 200 years plus tradition, which is still made in the UK. Style-wise, they seem to be in between John Partridge and Barber. On paper, they don't seem to be as rough around the edges as Partridge, but they also don't seem to be as lifestyle-focused as many of Barber's offerings. So if you're looking for a company that is not doing all the things that Barber is doing and which make me in particular quite upset, this could be definitely an option to look at. In terms of repairability, they don't seem to have a repair service, or at least the recent one that they explicitly mentioned online. If this is something that is important for you, so keep that in mind, but again, the material used are the same used for Barber, so there is definitely plenty of repair options out there. Ultimately, it's a choice that we as consumers need to make, whether or not we are suckers for a brand or for a label, whether we accept to pay for a heritage that isn't there, for an excellence that isn't there, or whether we want to give our money to companies that deliver on the heritage that they promise, deliver on the excellence, deliver on the salary that they're paying to their local workforce. It's a choice you and I need to make. I have started to make that choice more consistently. Whether or not you make it, it's up to you. I will link the four brands that I talked about today in the description below. As I said, I was not paid by any of them. I do not get any money if you buy from any of these brands, so I really don't care. It's entirely up to you, but I hope to see you again soon. I'm going to be talking about Belstaff and other jackets pretty soon, so subscribe to the channel and let me know in the comments what you think.