Barbour Bedale, Border & Beaufort Jacket Breakdown
For decades, the classic Barbour waxed jacket has been the cornerstone of British style, blending rugged countryside practicality with timeless fashion. But if you’re looking to invest in your first—or your next—iconic jacket, you face the enduring question: Bedale, Border, or Beaufort?
Here at Michael Stewart Menswear, we’re diving deep into the DNA of these three legendary jackets before the end of 2025. From the Bedale’s equestrian heritage and the Beaufort’s mid-length shooting pedigree to the Border’s full-coverage design, each jacket offers a unique fit, a distinct set of features, and a different stylistic personality. Read on for the ultimate breakdown to help you find your perfect Barbour match this year!
Video Transcript:
Hi guys, Sam here from Michael Stewart Menswear, and welcome back to another instalment of Barbour icons. This is the series where we take a deep dive into Barbour’s most timeless, classic and iconic styles. Now, this video we're actually covering three styles that we have looked at before. We've gone into detail about these ones, but the reason we're addressing them today is that in the past, we've had a lot of comments about saying, these jackets, they all look the same, what's the difference? Why would I pick a Bedale over a Border? Or why would I pick a Beaufort over anything else?
Well, the reason is quite simple: those jackets were designed for different purposes. There are subtle differences, so even though they may look the same, they really, really are their own individual and key piece. So, let's have a look at these, let's check them out, and I'll explain the differences between these three fantastic Jackets.
The Overview
So, as mentioned, we're going to look at the Bedale, the Beaufort and the Border. Now, to start with, what are you going to get? Why do they look so similar? Well, of course, you’re going to get Barbour’s lovely wax cotton, it's a lovely weight, water resistant, wind resistant, we love it, we harp on about it all the time because it's a fantastic material. You're also going to get on all these jackets, a lovely corduroy collar, a throat latch just to add a little bit of protection, press studs down the placket and Barbour’s nice, hefty brass two-way zip. That is standard. You're going to get pockets, you’re going to get hand warmers, but it's where these differences come into play is in the uses of those jackets. So that's what you're going to get as a minimum, now let's take a look at the Bedale first and why that is its own unique jacket.
The Barbour Bedale Jacket
So, beginning with Bedale, it is the shortest of the three, and the reason is that its initial use was for riding. It's an equestrian-based jacket; it's been designed with that in mind, and some of the features that come through are built just for that reason. So, it's a little bit shorter, it's not too long, and it sits just below the hip area. It's got elasticated inner cuffs for a nice bit of weather protection, and it has what they call their ‘polyester drip strip’, which sits along the bottom, it stops any sort of moisture and grime and dirt rising up and sitting into the cotton lining. So this is easier to clean, easy to protect you from the elements as and when you're riding and as well on the back, it has double vents, a little bit like an English cut style suit jacket. Double vented on the back, which can press the stud open or closed to give you a little bit more movement, a little bit more flexibility. All based on being on the saddle for maximum practicality.
The Barbour Beaufort Jacket
Next, let's take a look at the Beaufort, so this Jacket was primarily designed for hunting, for shooting, and there's two features that really, really cement that fact. First and foremost, it has a poacher's pocket on the back. So this is a zip-through pocket on the back here. Goes all the way through, ideal for keeping your game birds. Obviously, if you're going to wear it not for those reasons, you can keep anything else you want in there; it's a really, really useful pocket. No one ever expects it to be on the back, but it goes all the way through, nice polyester lined, so easy to clean, dead practical. And the second feature is the pockets, now every Barbour jacket, such as the Bedale, the Beaufort, the Border, the Ashby, has hand warmers; these ones sit a little bit lower, the reasoning for… if you had your shotgun and the shotgun was broken in half, over your arm there, it's easier to carry. It's not too high, it's a little bit lower, easier to move around and use, and it comes with a slightly longer length as well. A little bit more weather protection when you're out in the field, but practical and stylish nonetheless. We love its original sort of usage, but now we see it worn over suits, dressed up, dressed down, a fantastical little jacket.
The Barbour Border Jacket
And lastly, we have the Border jacket now. Simply put, this is just the Big Daddy. This thing is huge, but for good reason as well. So it's the longest of the three, and the reason is, this thing is just built for weather protection, whether you're out in the field, it is the farmer's special. This thing comes down low, it's hitting my knees just about, so if I were to wear wellington boots with it, they’d kind of meet in the middle, full body protection. But nowadays this thing is worn beautifully over suiting, it really, really works well as a lovely overcoat, but gives you all of that classic and timeless appeal that a Barbour jacket provides. There’s nothing else fancy with this; there are no bells and whistles, it’s just a really good quality Barbour jacket in a nice, big oversized fit with that extra added length to give you all the weather protection you need when the weather does really take a turn for the worse.
Things to Take Away
So, there we have it, that is the three B’s of Barbour, the Beaufort, the Border and the Bedale. Now we absolutely love these jackets; they are core classics for a reason. They've been in our collection for ages, and they will remain there because they are just fantastic. Everybody has their own favourite, my personal favourite is the Bedale, that's why I put it back on just to finish this video off with. I like the shorter length, I like the cut, I like the look of it, but across the board, practicality and the design of these jackets are just fantastic. So even though they're all a dark green wax cotton and yes, they do have a corduroy collar, each jacket serves its own purpose, and it serves those purposes very, very nicely.
Now, just a couple of bits to follow up on as well. For all three of these jackets, they are all interchangeable with the zip-in liners, so you can add some extra padding, some extra warmth when it comes to winter. And they all work with their press stud hoods as well, so you can actually add a hood to each of these jackets. Fantastic to just block out the weather, you know, whatever you need, these jackets have got you covered. And lastly, another point as well, here we have the Ashby. Now this I think falls into the category with these jackets, it is a reworking of the Bedale, has the same Raglan sleeves, the same fabric, corduroy collar, handwarmer pockets, the difference being, it's a bit of a slimmer cut, a little bit neater and it's got these brass buttons as well so it's just a little bit tricked out, a little bit nice, a little bit dressier but also a fantastic option to go for also.
Keep Up to Date with Us
Now, for each of these jackets featured, we have got a full YouTube review, so you can check those out if you want to get into the nitty gritty details of these jackets but for now, that is everything from me. If you enjoyed these videos, give us a comment, give us a like, give us a follow, and we will catch you on the next one. We'll see you later.
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