When Derek Guy speaks, the menswear world usually listens.

Derek is behind the fantastic @dieworkwear account on X which soared in popularity following Mr Musk's takeover of Twitter when the algorithm pushed the account into pretty much every user's feed via the 'For You' tab.

Around playing Gok Wan with Trump's administration, Derek goes deep on everything you didn't think you needed to know about menswear.

As a fan of both his work and even bigger fan of all things wax, I was happy to read his take in response to a comment describing the Barbour jacket as an overt symbol for the right. He wrote about the history and the differing models but then one tweet in particular really caught my eye.

Offering up alternatives to Barbour, he listed John Partridge with a couple of accompanying photos. As soon as I saw this, I took a screenshot and sent it on to the owner of John Partridge, Kim Mehat.

It's no secret that Mallin & Son and John Partridge go way back, starting with our partnership to reproof the jackets of their customers. A collab jacket followed and we've stayed in touch throughout both our journeys. In the fashion industry, it really pays to build a network of good people and Kim is certainly one of them.

Running a factory that makes for many labels, John Partridge doesn't need to drive for sales like many other brands. This I admire but it also frustrates me a little. Here's why.

Our rewaxing customers come from all corners and John Partridge owners are our third largest customer behind Barbour and Belstaff. I would wager that approximately 90% of the Partridge jackets that land with us are really, really old. By the process of pure maths, this shows that they've been around to serve that customer for a good while.

This Partridge customer tends be a little older and lives in very rural areas. Their jackets were purchased years ago and have been lived-in since. We always get jackets landing in the workshop with pockets filled with straw and even had one with a gun cartridge that we still have and don't actually have any idea what to do with (ideas welcome).

There's the famous image of then Prince Charles in a patched up wax jacket often misidentified as a Barbour when it is in fact a Partridge.

Their customers tend to invest in quality things and my own background in research has qualified this assumption many times over. This is an ethos we share and one of our own core values.

Furthermore, when the jackets land we can qualify that they are indeed bombproof.

In recent years, we've visited the factory many times to see the newer stuff made which if you didn't know, is in the heart of Wolverhampton. Here's where the frustration comes in.

They have been quietly making their jackets in the UK and producing quality that stands up against ALL of the main players that you already know about. We know this because we've worked with and seen a version of pretty much every wax jacket available on the market from the 1950s to the present day.

Private White are one brand currently at the top end of our scale for detail with some Barbour pieces still making the grade whilst a lot of the fashion angled stuff doesn't quite meet the same standards that it used to.

If Partridge wanted to really push the brand higher (with the competitive marketing budget to suit I might add), they really could be the true alternative to Barbour on a mass scale. This is what the quality of the product deserves.

I have lived in a Landowner (their staple wax jacket) which saw me through a long Autumn and Winter before being rested for Spring, when it becomes a little too warm to wear.

In the early days, we used to stock them at shows, pushing the quality and introducing the brand to new ears and eyes. We'd get many comments saying they thought that they were a cheaper Barbour or some people even thought they were owned by Barbour.

We've always banged the drum because we genuinely believed that they were great jackets. We still do.

In 2024, they released a new, Premium range of jackets under the 'Partridge England' label and we decided to take a closer look at the Hinterland Hybrid jacket.

I prefer a jacket that sits at the hip and my daily 'wearer' is an older Barbour Bedale. I also have a few more jackets that veer into work-wear territory like the Carhartt Detroit which is a staple of every mEnSwEaR gUyS' closet.

I have previously owned a few vintage Filson jackets which I hunted as my grails but I always found them unwearable. The tin cloth is stunning but the tin man wear-ability not so much. Maybe I needed to invest more time into it.

The hinterland reminds me of a more refined (and wearable) Filson. A Filson crossed with a Carhartt Detroit.

The subtle details remain from the Landowner like the soft collar and the lined pockets (a massively overlooked touch by many). Same with the moleskin collar.

The one we tested was in the 'Tan' colourway which created a patina with every twist and graze of the jacket. We're big fans of this but not everyone is. The black version would be more subtle but due to the nature of the 8oz dry-wax fabric, everything was recorded into its patina.

This jacket does feel bombproof and the one we have has a quilted lining, making it suitable for Autumn and Winter's harshest elements. The cut is boxier and it feels slightly cropped. Knowing that they work with many customers in Japan, I feel there's a big influence from that world on the pattern here.

The Hinterland is a jacket makes me dream of chopping wood to build a lodge, brush up against some trees, fight a bear and 'beat up' before jumping into my flat -back truck and driving to the local dusty town with two shops at a crossroads, until it carries the marks of a life well-lived.

Or more likely the Hinterland is a jacket that will be worn to chop wood for the log burner after brushing up against locals at Richmond farmer's market whilst carrying a flat-white before jumping into the Defender to retreat to an Air BNB.

If you aren't aware of John Partridge, you should really take a look. This departure from a more country-inspired narrative is genuinely great.

I may not have the following of Derek Guy but I know wax jackets. John Partridge isn't just an alternative to Barbour, it's an alternative to all wax jacket manufacturers and one you should certainly consider.

Visit John Partridge to learn more.