i’ve been an anglophile for as long as i can remember.  england gave us the beatles, the queen, fish and chips, english premier league soccer, barbour, and many many other great things.

barbour was one of those brands i discovered through a friend – the only person i knew that had one or anything like it.  it smelled weird.  it was expensive (so he said) and in 2003 they were hard to find which made it very appealing to me.  i didn’t get mine until several years later when you could fine them online at certain retailers.  now that’s not the case.  they are everywhere.

this past weekend in charleston, just about every other male between the ages of 20 and 50 were wearing one or so it seemed.  the popular option was either the bedale or beaufort in green.  so many dudes were wearing them that my girlfriend pointed it out before i could comment on the situation.  and if i may be honest, i was wearing one too; albeit, the barbour x white mountaineering joint i got in london in december.

when did barbour become the preferred jacket of frat dudes and forty-year-old attorneys?  in college, i didn’t have enough cheese to afford a barbour.  now they seem to be handed out with frat letters, southern tide checkered shirts and sperrys.  it’s kind of a bummer because it used to feel like an exclusive club.

but look, they’re great jackets.  they’re timeless.  they’re beaters.  they fit like they’re supposed to.  they’re just everywhere now and that’s ok.  i’m going to have to get used to it.  if i ever lived in london, i’d see twice as many of them.  it’s a good thing they make other models besides the bedale and beaufort.  it might be time to throw mine on ebay.  rest in peace, barbour.