The Thread

Apex Products: The Technics SL-1210

In October 1972, Matsushita, the company we now call Panasonic, released a turntable under its Technics brand called the SL-1200. It was never supposed to be a clubroom icon. In fact, at that time, nobody at Technics was thinking about DJs in the way we understand them today. In 1972, the job wasn't even a job. Technics thought it had made an excellent record player for people with mega separates and patient ears, but following a touch of the old market research, they found their product had blown up in a world they knew nothing about.

A Particular Type of Englishman

To tell this most British of stories, we must begin where so many of our tales begin… somewhere else entirely. With a Frenchman, in fact. Having appropriated the language, the national menu and half the wardrobe, why stop there. Discussing the British criminal as performer, and why we can't stop watching.

The Longest Inheritance: Culture, Clothing, and What Makes Us Human

Britain has never been a single culture. Perhaps it's our instinct, if you can call it that, to confidently absorb something and, over time, forget it was ever foreign. The Romans brought roads and something resembling the pub. The Vikings left us words we still use daily. The Normans gave us two vocabularies for the same thing: pig and pork, cow and beef. The animal raised by one group, the meat consumed by another. To dress British is to wear a record of contact, of influence moving in both directions.

We Like Your Look: Che-san, Snow Peak Head of Design

There are few brands that capture the outdoor experience, weave in their own urban interpretation, and carry a sense of understated luxury quite like Snow Peak. When we're building our collections, one of the most important things we look for is DNA. We want to see it, feel it, understand what sits beneath the surface. There's a Japanese concept, 以心伝心 (ishin-denshin), or heart to heart, unspoken understanding that feels fitting here. The philosophy omnipresent. In each seam and choice of material, every piece designed to disappear into the experience rather than demand attention. Che-san is the person responsible for keeping this idea intact. As Head of Design, he carries the legacy of founder Yukio Yamai into a modern context. We sat down with him to talk influence, process and the discipline of designing for nature.

The First Women to Wear Wild

Think about the last time you got dressed to go somewhere you weren't supposed to be. Not literally, but the last time you dressed for something outside the everyday version of yourself. You know the feeling, when you’ve opted for something specific, something that signals to yourself, as much as anyone else, that tonight, the rules are negotiable. That gesture is a lot older than you might think.

Pillar to Post: The 500 Year Story of Royal Mail and the Scandal That Nearly Broke It

The red pillar box is one of the most enduring symbols of Britishness — so familiar it has become almost invisible. For 500 years, the Royal Mail simply worked. Then came Horizon, and the largest miscarriage of justice in modern British history. Read our take on a story of heritage, scandal and a nation's faith put to the test.

On Tartan: Pattern, power and identity.

We spend an extraordinary amount of time trying to tell things apart. People from places. Old from new. Ours from theirs. Brands from, well, other brands. The tool we reach for, almost without thinking, is identity: that consistent thread running through the surface - whether it’s the salt and wind of the west, or the discipline and geometry of the east. Sometimes plain for all to see. Sometimes only visible to those who care to look. And often, identity isn’t written down at all. It’s woven.

The Grammar of British Dress - British-core

Fashion has always relied on modifiers to categorise itself. The recent proliferation of -core aesthetics is simply the latest iteration, a shorthand for complex cultural references, sometimes insightful, sometimes redundant. That said, British-core somehow feels different, especially to us.

We Like Your Look: Brit Bones

With a name like Brit and style sharper than the tip of a Sheffield blade, how could we not ask Brit to join our hallowed list of ‘We Like Your Look’ interviewees? So smarten yourself, maybe even put on a tie on then pour yourself a seriously sophisticated cocktail and sit back for a cosy chat with the best dressed Brit in town.

We Like Your Look: Thomas Griffin

Top model, expert interviewer and all round good guy, Thomas Griffin is a man who has his finger firmly placed on the pulse of British style. Host and founder of the totally brilliant fashion podcast My Own Garms, he has quizzed some fascinating people about their style inspirations and me. As well as being incredibly knowledgeable about the broad church of style and fashion his fits are always reliably fire too. Making Thomas an obvious contender for being awarded ‘We Like Your Look’ status by British Attire.

We Like Your Look: Shelley Fox

Widely regarded as one of London’s most innovative fashion designers, since graduating from Central St Martin’s Shelley Fox has gone on to have her work both sold and exhibited all around the world. Now a leading design academic, she kindly took time out between moving continents to have a chat with British Attire about life in New York, rooting around Nick Cave’s archive and the surprisingly inspirational impact of mice.

Nice Try London But: Manchester is Greater

Having really enjoyed GQ’s recent ‘What’s So Great About Britain?' issue, I felt compelled to address the slight Southern bias that this optimistic outpouring showed. By shining a sartorial light on some inspirational figures situated a tad closer to British Attire’s home than our glorious capital. So listed below are the ten reasons that I think explain why Manchester is without a shadow of doubt the coolest city in the country.

We Like Your Look: Andrew Groves on British Menswear & Style

British Attire is a perspective, not a flag, and few bring clarity quite like Professor Andrew Groves, one of the UK’s leading authorities on British menswear and style subcultures. Educator of tomorrow’s heavyweights, founder of the Westminster Menswear Archive, and a walking index of how men actually dress, Groves has shaped taste from seminar room to studio floor. For the latest We Like Your Look, Neil Summers pulled up a chair and let him discussed all thing subculture, McQueen, and the stubborn poetry of British style.

Required Reading: 5 Books That Shaped British Attire

At British Attire, we’re not just hawking coats and calling it culture. We’ve always said we want to be more of a lens than a label... a Brit-ish perspective on quality, craft, and character. But a lens still needs polishing. And ours was sharpened, squinted through, and occasionally steamed up by a stack of very good books. Books that made us rethink what a brand could be, what style means, and why a £50,000 overcoat might actually be worth it. So here, in no particular order and with just the right amount of passive-aggressive Britishness, are five titles that helped stitch together the identity of British Attire.

7 British Icons That Actually Aren’t British

While some nations build culture by design, Britain has often preferred the art of gentle theft… a borrowed silhouette here, a repurposed ritual there, all tied together with a wink and a weatherproof coat. At British Attire, we celebrate this patchwork spirit, not just in the garments we curate, but in the objects, ideas, and icons we hold dear. Because to be Brit-ish is less about birthplace and more about presence. It’s a way of absorbing the world’s best bits, putting them through a drizzle-soaked filter, and calling them ours, loudly, and often in tweed. So, in that spirit, here are a few more things we’ve unofficially adopted. Some global by origin. All deeply Brit-ish by attitude.

Four Footwear Icons to Kick Off the New Season in Style

We’re not in the business of wishing summer away, especially this year as so far, it's been almost perfect! But, as the evenings quietly shift and the light changes gear, we’re seeing the signs: people are already stepping into the new season... quite literally. So, with thaty in mind, we thought we'd pull together a little shortlist of some of favourite footwear brands for men and women, as well as a few of the standout pieces. Featuring Ariat, Red Wing, Penelope Chilvers and Hunter. All tried, tested, and British Attire approved.

We Like Your Look: Joe Donovan

There are many things we like about Joe Donovan here at British Attire: His infectious laugh, his incredibly cute dog Pep, the amazing music he and his band Blossoms have been consistently making for the past eleven years and the fact he lives just down the road from us in Stockport. We also really love his unique sense of style, that effortlessly traverses between international rock star and mountain man. So to kick off our new series of interviews with people whose look we like, we decided to sit down for a brew and a chat with Joe.

The Contradictory Legacy of William Morris: Architect of the Arts and Crafts Movement

There are few Victorian figures more bewitchingly complex than William Morris. A poet, designer, entrepreneur, environmentalist, novelist, activist… and, rather thrillingly, a dreamer with calloused hands. Morris didn’t so much dabble in disciplines, as redefine them. Through founding the Arts and Crafts movement, he rewrote the visual language of domestic Britain and seeded the roots of modern design philosophy. Yet, within this brilliance lay a series of exquisite contradictions and unresolved tensions that make his legacy all the more human.

In Focus: Photography and the Rise of Fashion Magazines

Fashion magazines have long served as the primary nexus between art, commerce, and cultural identity. Nowhere is the interplay between image-making and consumerism more sharply realised than in the medium of fashion photography, an arena where aesthetics meet desire, and the page becomes a portal into aspirational lifestyles.

Clarks Archive Tour: Sole Searching in Street

Whether hearing the word ‘Clarks’ instantly conjures up images of the playground, the dance floor or the catwalk it’s safe to say that when it comes to British style this footwear brand is amongst the most legendary. So when the opportunity arose to take a tour of the Clarks Archive (or ‘Clarkive’ as I like to call it) I jumped at the chance of taking a deep dive into 200 years of shoemaking history. So popping on my beloved Desert Treks I hit the long and not so winding road down to Street in Somerset to tick a very special box on my British brand visit bucket list. Upon arrival I was ushered through the barrier and straight past a shoe sitting by the entrance that was the size of a small car, which added to the Willy Wonka style of levels of excitement I was experiencing. A feeling that was only heightened upon entering a room whose walls were decorated with well over 100 years worth of Clarks advertising posters. Rather than weaving my footwear findings into a narrative piece I have instead decided to compile a top ten of the things I unearthed during my day as a ‘Raider of the Lost Clarks’.

The Brit-ish Invasion: Two Nations United by a Common Love of Clothing.

When it comes to timeless style in the good old US of A, the lasting imprint of the American’s British forbears can still be seen all over the place, from Plymouth, Massachusetts down to Birmingham, Alabama. But when it comes to the land of liberty’s influence here on this side of the pond, where do you start? Continuing on our theme of all things Brit-ish we’ve decided to take a specific focus on some of the timeless American brands we stock at British Attire by taking a look at how they’ve earned their place in the British style pantheon.

From Quaker to Shakermaker, the Clarks 200 x Liam Gallagher Desert Rain

When it comes to iconic British brands, few if any can match the long lasting legacy of Clarks footwear. Currently celebrating their 200th birthday they’ve pulled out all the stops and collaborated with another Great British style institution, the king of the Mancs and big jacket final boss Liam Gallagher. In this piece British Attire will take a look back not in anger but in admiration of this Somerset shoemaker that’s become a cult brand beloved everywhere from the dancehalls of Kingston to the streetwear tribes of Shinjuku and lovingly endorsed by Staten Island hip hop kings and Manchester indie royalty alike.

Is Good Old Gorpcore Here to Stay

Back in 2017, writer Jason Chen came up with the term ‘Gorpcore’ while writing about the move away from ‘Normcore’ into a more technical outerwear direction in New York fashion blog The Cut. While Normcore was all about wearing chinos, New Balance trainers, and quarter-zip tops in understated palettes like Bill Gates (not to be confused with Dadcore), Gorpcore was a trend that took its inspiration from the hiking world, with GORP being an acronym for a type of trail mix (Good Old Raisins & Peanuts). Given the Big Apple’s long-held appreciation of a down jacket and hiking boots, it’s highly likely that Jason was being a little tongue-in-cheek with this term, but for whatever reason, the name took root, and before long Gorpcore became a buzzword used to describe everything from Virgil Abloh’s decision to dress runway models in Arc’teryx jackets to Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Biel being papped out in Hollywood wearing Haglofs. A monster had truly been created, and it had an adjustable hood and very sturdy footwear.

8 Slays a Week - The Runway Success of Fashion Week

Whether you’re a lifelong subscriber to Vogue or someone who wouldn’t recognise a catwalk star if they fell over them due to their ridiculously sized Vivienne Westwood platform heels we’re all well aware of the bi-annual buzz caused by ‘Fashion week’. But did you ever wonder how it all works, where they actually happen and why everyone wears sunglasses indoors? Well fear not because British Attire are here to help navigate you past the paparazzi, show you who to air kiss and who and who to jab with your Ozempic needle before sitting you down next to Anna Wintour for our whistle stop guide to fashion weeks.

Brit-ish Greats

In an attempt to clarify that British Attire is more of a lens of quality in which we look through when we’re sourcing our garments rather than being a geographical barrier, we’ve made a list of things we love that are Brit-ish. Why the hyphen you ask? Well, because just like the wonderful wares we sell, for something to be considered Brit-ish for us it doesn’t necessarily have to be British. One of the many things that’s made these sceptred isles so special is our ability to seek out the best of everything before putting our own uniquely Brit-ish spin on it. So to illustrate our point further here are some quintessentially British things that are actually a bit more Brit-ish.

Dockside Drip: Our Favourite Fishermancore Pieces Right Now

Think chunky Aran knits, classic Breton stripes and weatherproof outerwear, fashion meets utility in this maritime style moment that's causing a storm. Here are just a few of our favourite pieces that'll keep you looking cooler than carp sipping a Cosmo on Carnaby Street

Timeless Style: A Definition

At British Attire we reckon there’s something genuinely special about those ideas that outlast passing trends. Whether it’s next Tuesday or twenty years down the line, they're always in style. Read more to discover how we define timeless style and why it’s more than a mere fashion statement for us. It’s a way of celebrating heritage, quality, and a proper sense of staying power.

The Beauty of Waxed Cotton

From iconic jackets to ruggedly handsome briefcases, meet our go-to cold-weather heroes that’ll have you braving the chill in serious style. These handpicked beauties remind us exactly why we’re head over heels for waxed cotton, it’s tough, timeless, and ages like a fine single malt. Whether you’re battling drizzle on the moors or just trying to look cool on the school run, these pieces prove that staying warm doesn’t mean skimping on style. Waxed cotton: it’s the gift that keeps on giving (and keeps the rain out too).

Noughties Style: How to define the undefinable.

Prior to the arrival of the internet, when looking for style inspiration our options were extremely limited by today's standard. For most of us there were only so many style magazines available to flick through, a finite amount of fashion-conscious celebrities to observe or see in concert and just a handful of innovative clothes shops within easy reach. But then the modem connections kicked in, Ask Jeeves or Yahoo (finally) was booted up and the style habits of a generation were changed forever more.

Well-Heeled Heritage: The Stories Behind 5 Men’s Footwear Brands That are Built to Roam

Exploring the iconic brands crafting footwear as ready for cobbled streets as they are for the countryside.

Like a Horse Drawn Submarine Full of Picassos Sat on Top of the Himalayas

Discover the amazing origin stories behind four of our favourite British brands.

Styling on the Shoulders of Giants

How Prince Albert’s pursuit of peace sparked a British style revolution (as well as inventing shopping malls in Dubai and Paris Fashion Week).

How to Re-wax a Barbour Wax Jacket

A classic Barbour wax jacket embodies a perfect blend of timeless style and robust durability, designed to brave the elements with unwavering grace. Once you've invested in this iconic piece, maintaining its enduring quality becomes an essential ritual. To preserve both its distinguished appearance and its performance, it’s crucial to replenish the protective wax coating annually. This simple act of care not only fortifies the jacket against scratches and abrasions but also ensures it retains its superior waterproof and windproof properties. Discover how to keep your Barbour jacket in peak condition with our easy step-by-step guide.

British Musical Style: There is a Look that Never Goes Out

Inspired by Charlie XCX turning the world's wardrobes green this year via the Brat Summer phenomenon we decided to take a deeper dive into the way that musical scenes have influenced British fashion over the years. A marriage made in heaven, wherever there’s been an explosion of musical creativity you can be sure there'll be a matching outfit to go with it. What’s also interesting is that, just like British Attire, a lot of these iconic movements have connections in the Northwest of England.

Wellington Boots Care Guide

Here is our definitive guide to the cleaning and care of wellington boots. With our detailed advice on cleaning, storage, and polishing, you can rely on your beloved wellies for countless adventures ahead.

Heritage Crafts - Don’t Call it a Comeback

In today's fast-paced world, heritage style showcases timeless craftsmanship. British Attire celebrates this legacy, offering products that blend seamlessly with modern life. From leather and waxed cotton to denim and embroidery, these crafts remind us that true style endures. Explore how these materials continue to influence fashion with their lasting heritage.