This Upgraded Waxed Canvas Jacket Nails Details Others Don’t

There’s a lot to like about Billy Reid’s modern and luxurious take on the classic waxed canvas hunting jacket.

A cropped image of a male model wearing a Billy Reid waxed canvas hunting jacket. The blacked waxed canvas jacket is shown from right above the models waist to the models neck. The central zipper is slightly unzipped at the top and the collar of the jacket is popped up.

Published October 24, 2024

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Waxed canvas outerwear is having quite the fall. We’ve already seen brands like Patagonia to Flint and Tinder bring the water fighting treatment to different jacket styles than we’re used to. We’ve also seen the granddaddy of waxed canvas, Barbour, launch several new riffs on two of the most iconic waxed canvas jackets ever made, the Beaufort and Bedale.

But the take that’s captured my eye the most so far comes from a somewhat surprising source, Billy Reid.

Contrast Lining For The Win

Billy Reid Hunting Jacket shown laid flat and zipped up on a light tan background. — Billy Reid’s hunting jacket borrows a lot from traditional waxed canvas hunting jackets at first glance. But a few key design details also go a long way to modernizing the jacket’s look and feel.

The brand isn’t exactly a stranger to waxed canvas and certainly not to outerwear. In fact, the newly released Hunting Jacket was inspired by an “archival” jacket the brand made in 2022

What’s new here revolves around a few key refinements that, taken together, give the classic jacket a more modern, luxurious edge that looks sharp.

First, there’s the light brown colored sleeve lining, which is easily flashed by rolling up the cuff. I’ve rarely thought brown and black made for a good color pairing, but this implementation feels rich and intentional.

Finessed Flaps

A close up of the sleeve cuff and bottom right corner of the Billy Reid Hunting Jacket laid flat and zipped up on a light tan background. The image highlights the lighter brown interior lining of the sleeve cuff that's shown rolled up. — Anyone wearing the Hunting Jacket can easily add a pop of color by rolling up the cuff.

The sculpted pocket flap covers also make the rectangles on Barbour coats look crude by comparison.

Though the jacket doesn’t look slim by any means, this same pocket detailing, plus the absence of a more traditional game-storing pocket in the rear, helps the jacket look less bulky overall.

Subtle Stitching and Muted Hardware

A close up of the buttoned up neck cuff of the Billy Reid Hunting Jacket being worn by a male model. The models chin is barely visible. The image background is a light tan color. — The diagonal stitching pattern on the Billy Reid Hunting Jacket’s collar is interesting and also extremely subtle.

The stand collar with button closure is clean and tidy, thanks to vertically stacked buttons aligned with the central zipper. A subtle diagonal stitching pattern helps visually break up the collar’s blockiness when fully popped, tamping down any priest-like vibes too.

Rounding it all out are the zippers and zipper pulls. Compared to the shiny gold hardware Barbour is known for, Billy Reid’s choice of textured antique brass adds rugged balance to the jacket’s other more tailored and modern details.

A close up of the distressed antique brass main zipper on the Billy Reid Hunting Jacket. The close up highlights the diagonal stripped textured detailing on the zipper. The image background is a light tan color. — The textured antique brass hardware on the Billy Reid Hunting Jacket is quite different from the shiny gold zipper hardware Barbour jackets are known for.

The result is a contemporary, city-ready take on a classic piece of outerwear that should feel more natural for those who think classic waxed canvas outerwear feels like fox-hunting cosplay.

But at nearly $700, it’s also an investment that’ll require deliberation for anyone lacking landed gentry-level wealth.