Barbour’s New Bedale Jacket Restores a Rare Detail from Vintage Examples

The British jacket maker teams up with Journal Standard to reissue a forgotten version of the company’s now-iconic Bedale.

Close-up of a black fabric garment with a gold Barbour zipper and metal snap buttons.Journal Standard

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The Barbour Bedale might be the brand’s most recognizable jacket, worn by everyone from the British royal family to that stylish dude at your local coffee shop.

But the version hanging on the rack is not the one that necessarily built its reputation as the brand’s definitive style.

Decades ago, Barbour traded two of the original’s four flap pockets for slanted hand warmers you see on current production models.

A new collaboration between Barbour and Japanese retailer Journal Standard reverses that decision, reviving the four-flap-pocket configuration of the OG Bedale and pairing it with some modern adjustments in terms of fit and finish.

Man wearing a dark brown wool jacket over a white floral zip-up shirt sitting on a gray textured sofa.
The Barbour x Journal Standard Old Bedale brings back the original configuration of four flap pockets on the front of the jacket.
Journal Standard

The Bedale’s original design

Barbour introduced the Bedale as a British equestrian jacket: short enough to clear a saddle, with a two-way zip and enough structure to handle wet weather. Since then, it’s become the template for waxed-cotton field jackets.

Close-up of a black jacket with gold zipper and snap buttons, showing a beige and green plaid lining.
The two-way zipper was originally designed to accommodate wearers on the backs of horses.
Journal Standard

The silhouette has stayed largely consistent throughout the years, with the exception of the pockets, of course.

The four-flap configuration that defined early versions gave the jacket a utilitarian symmetry across the chest and waist, while their replacement changed both the look and the storage logic of the Bedale in one fell swoop.

Black Barbour jacket with corduroy collar, snap buttons, and flap pockets.
Four flap pockets give the Bedale a unique symmetry lost on modern versions of the jacket.
Journal Standard

What the collab actually changes

The Journal Standard version brings back those four flap pockets, which is reason enough for anyone who has spent time hunting down older Bedale examples to turn their head.

Dark gray wool jacket with a black corduroy collar and brass snap buttons, partially unzipped to show plaid lining.
The jacket preserves other Bedale features, such as the corduroy collar and tartan lining.
Journal Standard

That said, this is far from a one-to-one archival reissue, as Barbour and Journal Standard made two departures from the source material that distinguish this jacket from a simple reproduction.

First, the pair replaced the waxed cotton shell with wool, a material shift that moves the jacket away from wet-weather utility and toward something more suited to urban, cold-weather wear.

Close-up of black fabric with Barbour logo embroidered and a metal button with Barbour branding.
Wool is an uncommon choice to replace the waxed-cotton exterior, though this isn’t Barbour’s first stab at a wool Bedale.
Journal Standard
Person with short hair wearing a dark gray coat with a black collar, viewed from the back against a plain light background.
The jacket comes in two colors, black and brown (pictured).
Journal Standard

The brands also adjusted the crop to sit higher than the standard Bedale, giving the jacket more casual, contemporary proportions.

Close-up of a dark brown wool jacket pocket with brass snap buttons and a navy cuff, worn over a floral shirt.
Journal Standard also cropped the jacket to sit even higher than the Bedale, already one of Barbour’s shorter styles.
Journal Standard
Man wearing a black button-up jacket with multiple pockets and light-colored pants, with a dark gray baseball cap.
The adjustment gives the jacket more contemporary proportions.
Journal Standard

Availability and pricing

The Barbour x Journal Standard Old Bedale is currently available for preorder, with an expected ship date for November. It costs 82,500 Japanese yen (approximately $518) and comes in two colors, black and brown. Each style is lined with Barbour’s renowned tartan.

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