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The must have to counter the UK’s cruel summer? Meet the barn jacket

This boxy, big pocketed item is part wax jacket, part chore coat, and an all-purpose guard against an unsettled forecast

Versatile and hardy, the boxy big-pocketed design – which has its roots in French workwear, with brands including Carhartt giving them an American spin from the 1920s onwards – it is the perfect outerwear for a summer that can’t make up its mind. “ Originally worn by farmers for their weatherproof and functional design, [barn jackets] have recently evolved into a high fashion staple,” agrees Panzoni. “They’ve mostly been utilitarian in my mind until I started to see them for the fashionable option they are.” She featured barn jackets in her popular secondhand-focused newsletter Long Live recently, recommending wearing them “over a frilly white cotton maxi shirt and a roll neck sweater.”

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