In terms of sheer durability and timeless style, it's hard to beat a leather jacket.
Hard... But not impossible.
I've been searching for a jacket with that same rugged appeal for quite some time - something that could deliver the same general vibe without the addition of any animal products.
I was looking for a replacement, a substitute.
But what I found in the end was something far superior. At least in my opinion.
Enter the waxed denim jacket.
Of course, this is nothing new. Waxed denim and cotton has been around for ages, and it's always been considered a top-notch fabric. It's an extremely heavy, rigid textile favored by bikers, metalheads, and fashion enthusiasts all over the world.
Say what you will about waxed denim, but you can't deny that there's nothing else quite like it. It seems to have this perpetual "wet" look, with a dull shine not unlike leather.
The waxing process gives the denim a slightly battle-hardened, tastefully scuffed pattern with real character.
But despite its rugged, renegade look, waxed denim is surprisingly versatile. Wear it into the mosh pit, or to a casual brunch the next day. Waxed denim has that timeless, vaguely formal vibe which leather claims to have a monopoly on.
The particular waxed denim jacket I'm wearing here is from Raised By Wolves, and it's made in Canada. The fabric, however, is made in Scotland by Halley Stevenson. These Scots have been going since 1864, which is pretty spectacular.
Waxed cotton is a very British tradition, and quite a few old companies in the UK have been making these fabrics for countless years. Another prime example is British Millerain, which specializes in waterproof, waxed cotton gear.
And that's yet another benefit of waxed denim. It's completely waterproof. If you live in the rain forest of British Columbia like I do, this is a pretty big deal. Yes, wearing raincoats all day every day DOES get old after a while.
When I did wear this jacket out in the rain, I was pretty impressed. The water just rolled right off the fabric, dripping away in beads without soaking the jacket.
British Millerain's motto is "Home & Dry," which is pretty fitting. They definitely deliver on their promise.
I won't spend too much time talking about the brand of this jacket. Why? Well, it's pretty simple really... You can't actually buy it right now. Raised By Wolves sells almost entirely limited edition stuff.
So when it's gone, it's gone. But who knows, it might pop up on their site once again someday...
Denim also seems to look better the more you wear it.
The natural fade means that years from now, you'll love your denim jacket just as much as you do now - maybe even more. I can't wait to see what my jacket looks like in 5 or even ten years!
I'm not sure you'd get the same effect with faux leather or even real leather. There's definitely something cool about an old leather jacket, but it's not going to fade and transform to the same extent as high quality, raw denim.
So if you're thinking about buying faux leather, you might want to step back and ask yourself if that's really the right choice.
For me, it definitely filled that empty gap that a leather jacket would have otherwise filled.
