Baracuta ⚠️ With reservations

The Harrington original. Since 1938, everyone copies the G9 - the two-button collar, Fraser tartan lining, elasticated waist. Baracuta is to the lightweight jacket what Levi's is to jeans: the inventor become reference.

Manchester, 1937. Brothers John and Isaac Miller, already experts in rainwear, found Baracuta. A year later the G9 is born, designed as a golf jacket: two-button collar, elasticated waist, back vents, and that Fraser Clan tartan lining that would become the house signature. The name 'Harrington' came later, borrowed from Rodney Harrington in the TV series Peyton Place (1964).

In 1950, Isaac Miller begins exporting to the US. The G9 explodes. Elvis Presley wears it in King Creole (1958). Steve McQueen makes it his signature - Life Magazine cover in 1963, The Thomas Crown Affair in 1968. James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Gregory Peck, Bing Crosby. The G9 becomes the jacket of those who are cool without trying.

But Baracuta's story is also one of a brand tossed around. Successive buyouts, loss of family control. In 2012, Italian group WP Lavori in Corso (which also distributes Woolrich and Blundstone in Europe) acquires the brand. The G9 remains UK-made, that's the positive.

On specialist forums, opinions split. enthusiasts: 'the best Harrington there is', the Fraser tartan universally praised. But enthusiast tempers: 'the standard poly-blend fabric isn't worth the price', wool or nylon versions are superior. enthusiasts: 'v. not impressed'. GQ acknowledges the $450 price 'tends to give even the most giddy outerwear enthusiasts pause'. Grenfell, the British competitor, is cited as the better-built alternative.

The G9 is an undeniable cultural icon. But today, you're mostly paying for the name and the history. At this price, the standard fabric should be better.