Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A waxed jacket is a jacket treated with some kind of oil or bee wax to make it water resistant. The treatment works into the fibres of a woven cloth — traditionally cotton — so that rain beads and runs off instead of soaking in, while the garment stays supple enough for outdoor work and country wear.
Mackintosh (raincoat)
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| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/waxed_jacket ). 1/7/06 |
Waxing and oiling cloth is one of the oldest waterproofing technologies in clothing — the same principle that proofed sailors' smocks and fishermen's gear long before synthetic membranes existed. Wax fills the spaces between fibres and coats each thread, so water meets a surface it cannot wet and rolls away. The cloth underneath keeps its natural hand and breathability to a degree no early coated fabric could match, which is why waxed cotton became the standard outer layer for farmers, gamekeepers, riders and motorcyclists who needed weather protection that could be repaired indefinitely.
The trade-off is maintenance. The finish is sacrificial: it cracks at folds, thins at shoulders and elbows, and needs periodic renewal. In return the owner gets a jacket whose weather resistance can be restored at home with a tin of dressing, and whose appearance improves with age and patching rather than perishing like a failed plastic coating.
The terms overlap in shops but describe different finishes. Waxed cloth carries a dry wax finish; oiled cloth, its close relative, carries an oil-based dressing and tends to feel slightly richer and darker. Modern coated waterproofs bond a synthetic layer to the fabric — lighter and more completely waterproof when new, but not renewable once the coating fails. The waxed jacket's enduring niche is exactly that renewability, paired with a toughness in thorn, brush and workshop conditions that thin coated shells rarely match.
Fit is cut for layering — room for a sweater underneath and sleeves long enough for riding or working outdoors — because a waxed jacket is almost always the outer shell of a system, not a garment worn alone over a shirt in cold weather.
A waxed jacket is a jacket treated with some kind of oil or bee wax to make it water resistant. The wax is worked into the cloth so water beads off the surface rather than soaking through.
A waxed jacket is water resistant rather than fully waterproof: it sheds showers and wet brush well, but prolonged heavy rain can eventually work through seams and worn areas. Keeping the wax finish maintained is what keeps the resistance up.
The finish is renewed by re-waxing — applying fresh wax dressing to the cleaned, dry jacket, working it into worn areas and seams. Waxed jackets are not machine washed, since detergent strips the wax; they are sponged clean and re-proofed instead.
For choosing a waxed jacket, comparing finishes and re-waxing one step by step, see the full Waxed Jacket Guide.