Coming from a military family I learned early to always carefully avoided the ‘having-to-do-as-you’re-told’ route in life and never joined-up but I’ve always been a sucker for a uniform, especially an army one. We all like dressing-up and at some point or other it will probably have involved wearing some stuff that looks a bit army.
Barbour have always made some gear that looks a bit army (or farmy) and they do it very well. Barbour has its knockers (tits) and it’s maybe this knowledge that has seen them release such bitchin’ schmutter under their Dept. B thing. The relatively recent Dept B collections from Barbour have provided winners all-over-the-shop so far, offering a customised, bespoke collection, taking existing Barbour favourites and tweaking them a bit for a more ‘up-to-eleven’ look and feel.
The latest wares from Dept. B available at http://www.atoo.co.uk/ are a hybrid Helmand province/ Going to the match /Battle of Orgreave range that provide all the necessary elements; camouflage, water-resistance, corduroy, etc…that most situations demand.
The Shuttle shirt sits halfway between a chore jacket and work shirt (chort/chirt?) and features utilitarian (army) details to provide just enough post-casual/fatigues steez for any concrete commando. If Che himself had worn this shirt it wouldn’t have been the beret that became immortal.
The customised version of the Parachute jacket has got 21st century #NWmenswear written all over it. Featuring all the smart stuff that Barbour coats tend to feature, it’s a jacket that needs to be looked at and felt and cherished. It also has a detachable stuff-sack on the back that’s the perfect size for a sandwich and a small bottle of cordial or removing. It couldn’t be more up Proper’s street if it was in Proper’s house, having a brew and three biscuits (or Jaffa cakes).
The Barbour gear is available at A Too (bless you)
Michael Richardson @realsuedeshoes
