The London Lounge

How long do you keep your Barbour going?

Those German arrivistes are always trying to blend in with the Normans.

Pssst wrote: How long do you keep your Barbour going?

I'd say neither, just an exemplar of great good sense. Wear your Barbour until it falls apart, usually it will last long enough for you to find a wife/seamstress.

Not to mention efficient use of resources. Why buy a new coat for that kind of work?

I should just mention here that I've had a Barbour Berwick tweed shooting coat (similar to the Chrysalis/Holland & Holland style) for several years and it's seen heavy use. The cuff edges were starting to become threadbare, and the stitching at the rear hem (where one sits on the coat) had worn through, though the cloth itself was in excellent shape. I discovered that Barbour had opened a store here in Philadelphia, so I took it in to see what could be done. They sent it off to their U.S. service workrooms in New England; the sleeves were long enough for them to turn the cuff under and re-attach the sleeve gaiters with a felled seam as on the original, and they re-sewed the rear hem, both with matching thread. The coat looks nearly new and they didn't charge me a cent. I should get several more years' wear from it now.

That's a level of service you don't often see these days, and I think the company and the manager of the Philadelphia store deserve to have it acknowledged. Thanks and well done!

couch wrote:Why buy a new coat for that kind of work?

Yes, with that kind of work it would end up like the old one in no time. When you know that every wear brings a tear, you just keep adding patches until the Barkenstein no longer holds together. Some things (and some people) become more interesting beyond their normal life span...

The old hedger and ditcher himself.