Why British countryside dressing has been big this year

Terrelonge also notes that the kind of fabrics found in these countryside styles, the waxed cottons, leathers and tweeds, are aspirational, in an understated rather than showy way. Plus, for the wearer, there’s a quiet confidence lent to them by the assurance that these textiles are going to stay warm and dry, even in the changeable British weather. Psychologically, she says, these kinds of tactile fabrics “that signal nature… create a calming and secure feeling” as well as “feelings of ‘I’m going to go out [with] purpose in the world’, making people feel more competent and capable in a time when we have a lot of, well, a lack of control.” 

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This ties into the deeper reasons why people might be reaching for barn jackets and their ilk. “We’re living in a world where we’re made to feel anything but safe and comfortable. Through social media, through the news, through the political climate, through the economic climate, everything is very unstable and feels very unsafe… these types of fashion are the opposite of that,” believes Terrelonge. “They hark back to a simpler time.”

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Sasha Wilkins, a former style editor for WSJ magazine who runs a blog called LibertyLondonGirl.com – which charted her move from London to the countryside, cottage life and the trials and tribulations that come with it – agrees”. She tells the BBC: “We’re living in really uncertain times. And I think psychologically, we want to wear clothes that hark back to our shelter, that make us feel more comfortable and cosy.”