I’m literally a child of prep schools. My father, my sons and daughter and I all ended up attending the same private school outside Baltimore, and while that’s not New England, it’s a town with a long prep school tradition in and of itself. There’s a lot of amazing things about these smaller schools, and a lot of legitimate questions about social impact etc. that I’m not going into today.
My point is, that between being an old-school preppy and growing up as an Oregon-Trail generation late Gen-X/first millennial, I’ve got deep cultural codings around J. Crew, LL Bean, Brooks Brothers, and I’ve got some personal history with a few former mainstays that aren’t my current vibe, like Vineyard Vines, the old, not really lamented Jos A Banks etc. I still have a fond feeling for Smathers and Branson, and I’ve definitely worn a few pairs of GTH pants, or as the principal at my wife’s old school called them “Ted’s Fancy Pants.” I’ve also got a pair of vintage Lilly Pulitzer pants in double knit polyester that have been to school dances by at three generations of men.
All that’s to say that I’ve got a long history with J. Crew. It’s basically the look that I affected through most of my youth, with some liberal lashing of Abercrombie since it was, of course, the early 90s. I moved away from it some in the first wave of menswear on the internet, but rediscovered a lot of what I’ve like about it after some members of the Brooks Review turned me onto Sid Mashburn. Sid was the first men’s designer at J. Crew, and makes some fabulous things under his own label. His first “heritage piece” was the J. Crew Barn Jacket.
When I was about fifteen, my older sister had a boyfriend I adored. He was the cool older guy who was willing to take me with them to concerts or to get some food, and would talk to me about D&D, school, life etc. I can’t really think of him without two things, a vintage olive barn jacket, and his Ford Bronco.
I’ve never actually owned a barn jacket of my own until now, when they’ve seemed to have come back swinging. I was looking a lot at some Barbour pieces, but they’re a lot of money given I work from home so much. I appreciate Filson, but I lean more east coast. Things came together when I saw the heritage 60/40 barn jacket on sale.
A few things I really appreciate about it. I wear a lot of sweaters. With a thick cardigan or jumper on, the barn coat cuts the wind and keeps off light and moderate rain, so I’m not overheating like I often will if I throw a parka over the sweater. I often end up taking off my outer jacket in the car because something about that combo of sweater, parka, and anything over 60 degrees is just too much. Yet, with the 60/40, I’m not too cold walking from the car inside, or even watching the kids at sports.
I didn’t realize what a neat material 60/40 is until I started looking at this. It’s one of the “original” performance fabrics, a mix of cotton and nylon designed to be more comfortable and breathable than pure nylon, while retaining some water resistance. The cotton fibers swell when they get wet, making a tighter seal against the nylon, and preventing the water from getting in. Sierra Designs brought it out in the late 60s, so it’s a traditional material that compliments the 1980s feel of the jacket in my mind. My jacket is actually a mix of cotton and polyamide, rather then true nylon, but it seems to work the same. Overall, its a very light
I appreciate the plaid lining and the patch pockets, it can hold a lot and they’re right at hand when you need them.
It’s a fun piece of prep history that’s at home with today’s styles.
Leveraged Intention 