A new Detroit can feel like it's wearing you. The canvas is stiff, the shoulders hold their shape, and the sleeves don't quite bend where your arms do. That's how it should be. It's also why the jacket looks so good a year later.

Why it feels stiff

The Detroit is made from Dearborn canvas, a heavy, tightly woven cotton designed to take real wear. The density that makes it hard-wearing is the same thing that makes it rigid at first. Rinsed versions are softer out of the box because they've been pre-washed. Rigid and aged finishes take longer.

The only method that works: wear it

There's no trick that beats wearing it. Put it on every day you can for the first few weeks. Drive in it, carry bags in it, sit in it. The canvas softens where you move most, at the elbows, shoulders and the crook of the arm, and those are the creases that make it yours.

Most people notice a real difference within a month of regular wear. After a season, it moves like a different jacket.

Things that help

Keep your hands in the pockets. It softens the pocket openings and the front panels.

Roll the sleeves occasionally. It loosens the cuffs and forearms.

Hang it on a sturdy hanger between wears so it keeps its shoulders while the rest relaxes.

Things to avoid

Don't wash it to soften it. A wash will take some stiffness out, but it also takes out colour evenly and loses the fades you'd get from wear. Wash only when it actually needs it, cold and inside out, then air dry.

Skip the tumble dryer entirely. Heat can shrink canvas and damage the lining.

And don't try the shortcuts you'll find online, like sanding it or soaking it in fabric softener. They age it quickly, but it looks forced rather than worn.

What you end up with

Give it a year and the canvas fades along the seams, the collar softens, and the creases sit where your body puts them. No two broken-in Detroits look the same, which is the whole appeal.

Start yours now

The Detroit Jacket is in store at 32 Yarm High Street, 10am–5pm, Monday to Saturday, and online at triadsclothing.co.uk with free UK delivery over £100 and next-day dispatch on orders before 3pm.