The Ashby is the wax jacket for the man who tried on a Bedale and found it a touch short and boxy. Introduced in 2011 as the longer, more tailored take on that 1980 original, it is the one we reach for first when a customer wants the country look without the country cut.
Underneath it is the standard Ashby: medium-weight waxed cotton, brown corduroy collar with a throat tab, zip front behind a studded storm placket, two handwarmer and two bellows pockets. What the Icons treatment adds is tartan you can see from the outside: Classic Tartan wax panels down the side body and under the sleeves, and a lining cut on the bias so the check runs diagonal behind the zip.
Sage sits on the greyer, quieter end of the olive family, softer than classic olive and easy with brown boots and a navy knit. The wax darkens at the elbows first and the corduroy wears in like a favourite pair of cords. Sponge clean only, never wash it, rewax every few years.
Regular fit, cut a little longer than the Bedale with room for a shirt and a mid-weight knit. Take your usual size. Over a heavy sweater, or with a liner zipped in for winter, go up one. The back length runs about 30.7 in (78 cm), enough to cover the seat.
One jacket to carry you from the first cold morning in September to the last one in May, over a blazer on Monday and a hoodie on the dog walk.
