Article by Justin Arnold

How do you go about choosing men’s designer clothes? Do you think about the practicalities, or the looks? Is quality important, or being up to date with the latest styles and looks? If you’re looking for a coat then it can be doubly difficult, for several reasons.

First of all, coats tend to last a little longer since we don’t necessarily wear them all the time. Depending on whether they’re all year round coats, winter coats or coats designed specifically for very cold temperatures or wet weather we’ll probably end up wearing them for only some of the time each year, meaning that they’ll probably last several seasons and many years. Most men’s designer clothes are made to a very high standard to be able to offer long lasting protection and to last from one season to the next, but of course this brings with it another consideration.

If you buy a t-shirt or sweatshirt you might be tempted to buy one that’s very much in fashion today, without worrying about the fact that in a year or two’s time it might already be dated. With coats you need to expect to be wearing them several years from now in most cases, but how about the styling and the fashion? It’s all right buying men’s designer clothes such as jackets and coats which are bang up to date with their styling, looks, cut and colours, but if they look out of date in a couple of years time you’re not really getting your money’s worth. Some manufacturers know this, which is why people choose their coats for long lasting quality as well as long lasting style.

For example, if you were looking for a coat to keep you warm not just this year, but for many, many years to come then you could do a lot worse than buy a Barbour quilted jacket. Both women’s and men’s designer clothes need to include the name Barbour somewhere because it is just so iconic. The name is synonymous with quality that lasts, and so you can be completely reassured when buying a Barbour coat that not only will it last many years, but it will still look as stylish and as good in many years time too.

But when choosing a Barbour quilted jacket it’s important to be aware of the fact that most of them are advertised as water resistant. Some people buy a Barbour quilted jacket thinking that by water resistant they mean waterproof, but this isn’t the same thing at all. Barbour do produce a number of excellent waterproof jackets, both in leather and wax jackets, and these are ideal for keeping you warm and dry. But when the temperatures plummet and you need a really warm coat, quilted jackets are definitely the answer.

Water resistant means that the material is designed to let surface water run off, but they aren’t designed for pouring rain as the outer layer will eventually let water through, which will become absorbed by the down inside the lining, and this will reduce the effectiveness of the coat in keeping you protected from the cold.

But as long as it’s a fairly dry cold then a quilted jacket from Barbour is an ideal choice. You’ll notice that Barbour offer many advantages compared with manufacturers of other quilted jackets, such as offering pockets which are lined and insulated to keep your hands warm, and small diamond sections to ensure an even distribution of the fine and coarse down to maximise the overall effectiveness of insulation. When choosing men’s designer clothes, and in particular warm coats and jackets, make sure you stick with quality that lasts as well as quality which can be found in the detail as well as the first impression.