By Ben Kriz
Copyright gq
The best barn coats for men are a close cousin of the chore jacket—similar in spirit, but built tougher. They’re heartier, heavier, better insulated, and usually more water-resistant. Where the chore jacket belonged to the factory floor, the barn coat was made for the fields: a layer you could shrug on to tackle chores outdoors.
But ever since the ’80s and ’90s, the barn coat has been finding a new audience of urbanites who understand its utility, even on mean city streets. Today, alongside the waxy Barbour zip-ups and dad-approved L.L. Bean riffs, a ton of capital-F fashion labels—The Row, Auralee, Prada—have been herding the barn coat back into the center of the style conversation.
Reading to buy your first barn coat? Make sure it’s cut with enough room to comfortably slip a sweater beneath it, and that its craftsmanship ensures it’ll remain a reliable rotation beater for years to come. The former, of course, might demand some trial and error on your end, but the latter is exactly where we come in. These are the absolute best barn coats for men on the market right now, from the genre-defining joints you already know to the sleeper-hit versions you probably don’t.
Deep, easily accessed pockets? A warm corduroy collar? A charming plaid lining? This jacket from J.Crew is, quite simply, the platonic ideal of a barn coat. It has all the details dialed in, built upon a sturdy, 100% cotton washed canvas body that will only soften and feel more like your own in time. Originally launched over 40 years ago, there’s a reason J.Crew is still able to sell it four decades later. And we didn’t even mention the hook on the back, so you can hang this up with ease as soon as you enter your bustling, warm, overcrowded local bar. It’s the little things.
100% cotton
Color Options:
Dark Brown, Khaki
If the Alex Mill Frontier Jacket looks familiar, that’s probably because it shares an almost identical design to some of the classic designs from L.L. Bean jacket. It sets itself apart, though, through its flannel lining, washed black finish, and—look closely now—real Corozo buttons, which are about as durable as buttons can get. It is slightly on the lighter side however, so if you need a little more weather-proofing from your barn coat, their waxed cotton jacket will get the job done. Another banger from the Mill, which is on a run at the moment.
100% cotton canvas
Color Options:
Khaki, Black, Denim, Brown
We couldn’t round out a piece on barn coats without a nod to L.L. Bean, one of the OGs of the style. A century ago, Bean launched a rugged duck-hunting coat that slowly shifted into a catch-all field jacket—the ancestor of the one they’re still selling today. It’s made from hefty, water-resistant canvas, with a sewn-in lining, five roomy pockets, underarm gussets, and bi-swing shoulders so you can actually move in it. And like many things Bean, the sizing is inclusive, there’s even a “Tall” option for the vertically gifted among us.
100% cotton, 16-wale corduroy collar
Color Options:
Light Brown, Olive
Todd Snyder has excelled at making upgraded no-brainer staples that men love to rock. Here again, he takes the barn jacket uptown with this stable-inspired spin. Cut from heavyweight cotton canvas with a two-way zip, snap placket, and a neat throat latch, that’s more Trader Joe’s than Farmer Joe. Corduroy trim and a roomy fit keep the workwear DNA intact, but the sharp tailoring and smart pockets make it clear you don’t own any head of cattle.
100% cotton
Color Options:
Khaki, Green
What’s all this, then—a Barbour as a barn coat? The Beaufort isn’t cut from the same stiff American canvas, but the brief is identical: a country jacket for tramping through fields, feeding the chickens, or—let’s be honest—making it to the pub. King Charles even reinstated the brand’s Royal Warrant last year (he is the Menswear King, after all). Built long before DWR and Gore-Tex, its waxed cotton shrugs off rain, the oversize corduroy collar blocks the wind, and you can zip in liners or snap on a hood if you feel like accessorizing. Best detail? The little hand-warmer pockets perched above the main ones—perfect for thawing fingers after a day of grouse shooting or a lap of the Lower East Side. Just remember: it will need the occasional re-waxing, but that’s all part of the fun.
Medium-weight Barbour Sylkoil
Color Options:
Brown, Black, Olive
You might know Anglo-Italian for their stylish and understated take on, well, British and Italian tailoring—Pierce Brosnan has been known to wear their suits, if that tells you anything—but don’t overlook its outerwear, which is consistently excellent. The barn jacket is proof: premium Italian canvas, a suede collar, and a cut long enough to slide over a sport coat without looking like you raided your dad’s closet. Every detail feels dialed-in, and the minute you shrug it on, the heft tells you you’re wearing something substantial—an investment piece that means business (and looks it).
100% Cotton
Color Options:
Red, Blue, Green, Ecru
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.
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.
Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there’s bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ’s testing process here.)
