Good post Alvey. The English aspect is often overlooked in favour of the US and Continental angle. Not least by me!

Smedley is pretty hard to beat. I’ve had a couple of merino polo sweaters on the go for maybe twenty years. No sign of age whatsoever.

There’s the obvious MiE Clarks, Pantherella and Baracuta. All of which I’m happy with but not particularly devoted to.

Sanders desert boots I love from a comfort point of view but a lot of people are saying they don’t last the distance.

My recent Gloverall find hasn’t had a testing yet but I suppose the fact that it still looks mint after 60+ years is testimony in itself.   

MiE Loakes are great but I have to say for me top of the tree are my Church’s brogues, which are so good that I actually feel like a better person when I wear them.

Edited to add: I’ve had some really good old Austin Reed shirt finds over the years. Easily tick every box for cut and detail. I’d have to double check whether they’re actually made in England though.

Last edited by Spendthrift (2022-11-01 10:58:26)

Loake still have a store in Guildford. Same shop as the much missed Harringtons (mark 2).

The Royals I got from Harringtons are MiE but a lot of the shoes in the Loake shop aren’t sadly. Like a lot of Northampton brands they’ve had to diversify (in their case into ‘Loake for Debenhams/Next etc’) That said I’m still minded to pick up a pair of black Sovereigns to fill a gap in the wardrobe.

Unfortunately even I’m unlikely to make a seven hour round trip to the Smedley factory, but if I’m ever nearer that way I’d make a special trip

Last edited by Spendthrift (2022-11-01 11:11:32)

I forgot to mention Cordings. Great indestructible moleskin trousers and shawl collar knits. Raincoats and overcoats look good too

The list is taking shape

Footwear: C&J, Clarks Desert boots and Loakes

Socks: Pantherella, Corgi

Jackets: Grenfell and Baracuta

Shirts: Smedley

Knitwear: Shetlands - genuine made in Scotland

I’ve just started looking for vintage Alan Paine sweaters. Bought one and loved it. Nice saddle shoulder lambs wool.

Don't want to sound too depressing so I would say I like what some small companies are doing to bring manufacturing back even if they are not necessarily  'my cup of tea' product wise.

Good Measure -Sweatshirts

Community Clothing

Old-Town

Last edited by RobbieB (2022-11-03 02:36:06)

Johnstons of Elgin- Made in Scotland

I've had a few items from these guys and can vouch for the quality...

https://hebtro.co/

I don't do desert boots now so cannot comment but Sanders for formal shoes are wonderful. Especially the danite sole military/Derby type shoes.

Nobody mentioned Sunspel yet... I think some is overseas but some definitely not. I think although I don't have any Private White has developed well and their quality on such as macs is very good. I was sceptical but they have endured and focus on quality.

"AndyV. Hebro cords are supposed to be superb. Have you any?"

No Alvey, I don't. I have a couple of pairs of their moleskin trousers. Very "comfy weekend" feel to them.

Last edited by AndyV (2022-11-03 09:00:07)

Maybe 'trainers' are not Ivy but New Balance have a UK/USA connection
I have a few pairs and good they are too.

I have a few MIE Fred Perry polo shirts and they seem to be better quality than the made in China ones. In my youth all FP were made in England, of course.

I'm currently toying with the purchase of a vintage Bruar cable-knit in.. Burgundy! Great Minds and all that..

Drakes I can't seem to get behind, I've taken a dislike to them for no particular reason. Their website is an un-navigable mess and that doesn't help if like me you're unable to visit a B&M Location on the regular. Their instagram feels awfully snobbish too and that's a particular bug-bear of mine.

What is interesting to me - and something that has only occurred to me fairly recently, after some discussion here and also with some of you via Instagram is I feel like JS are positioning themselves to align with Drakes.
It's the first time in my living memory that I can think JS have done such a thing, they've always been a stalwart and reliable provider of a certain thing but in the last few years have increasingly brought production "in house", trimmed things/brands/lines they may have been known for, increased prices fairly radically, and developed their own particular style. Fundamentally they're attempting (with a certain amount of success I imagine) to become a brand, rather than just a shop. I've written my feelings on the subject elsewhere on these forums.

As for British Isles made, there's no doubt that Irish Tweed (especially that made in Donegal) has a serious place in the Ivy canon. MacGee still weave tweed on the island, although the clothing production has joined the ranks of other brands fobbed off to the Portugese.

Padmore & Barnes maintain their design offices above an oddity of a shop in Kilkenny but the factory has long since closed, so another one made off shore. Surprisingly, the shop has a modicum of dead stock MIEire shoes in their inventory, no mail order though!

Irish linen is still produced here, although the bulk of the flax is now imported, the historic crop making way for increasing sizes of dairy herds.

Hannah Hats however still churn the bulk of their production out from a relatively small factory somewhere in the wet of Donegal.

I'm sure there are other worthy brands keeping a modicum of production going in the British Isles, so all is not totally lost but it's not like the states, where there seems to be a genuine spark of interest in not only keeping existing factories going but in actually bringing manufacturing back to the US - and not just in a limited way.