What to Look For in a Waxed Canvas Jacket
A waxed jacket is a waxed jacket, right? So what’s the difference? Plenty.
Avoid polyester: Most high-quality waxed jackets will be made of cotton. There’s a good reason for that: it’s breathable, it’s durable, it takes to wax well, and it can be re-waxed. Lesser jackets use a waxed polyester, which will break down instead of breaking in.
Know thy waxes: Traditional wax offers a more rugged look and heavy weather resistance, while lightweight waxes can be more flexible and comfortable for everyday wear—but not really built for more than a light rain.
Pay attention to construction: Sealed seams are non-negotiable; they prevent moisture from seeping in. And what’s on the inside matters, too. A quilted lining adds insulation, while tartan adds a little warmth and a lot of Scottish style. And you’ll appreciate a corduroy-lined collar twice over: when you see yourself in the mirror, then again when you pop it up to block the wind and feel those soft wales (instead of rough waxed cotton).
Find your fit: A jacket’s shape and fit is subjective, and plenty of brands above offer theirs in a whole host of cuts and variations. That said, traditionally, waxed jackets are longer (to protect your thighs from rain) and roomy enough to layer a thick sweater. A detachable hood is a nice touch if your waxed jacket doubles as your only rain coat.
A Brief History of the Waxed Canvas Jacket
Waxed cotton showed up in the early 1800s in Scotland, when one manufacturer added some oil to its strongest cotton canvas to conjure up a water-resistant but breathable fabric—a real eureka moment in outwear history. Sailors and fishermen understandably loved the waxed cotton jacket. Then the Royals caught on (Cotswalds manors are damp and muddy, even if your bloodline’s run the country for a couple centuries). And then the rest of the world did—including James Bond. One British Prime Minister even gave a personalized waxed cotton jacket as a gift to an American President.
How We Test and Review Products
Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.
Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.
How We Make These Picks
We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.
To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.
We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price.
Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs.