The #buybritishthischristmas Gift Guide: Part I

Edit 01/2/2014

I had a few troubles with my ability to post my gift guide last week, a weekend condemned to work gave me very little opportunity to rectify, but the weekend that proceeded was Black Friday Weekend. Apparently named so because it’s the day of the year the brands go back into the black; a stolen tradition from the biggest consumerist on the planet, USA. It’s uncomfortable viewing. Scenes of brawls, fights and crowds, snatching items off the shelves. It’s made me question my own self, a temptation here, a temptation there (I resisted, I was working after all) but it’s made me wonder how we’re all wired. Wired with this almost primal instinct to grab a bargain, how and when did this happen. If I could take one thing to encourage you to shop this Christmas, if it’s not already too late, is not to over buy. Spend you’re hard earned cashed on the right people in the right places. Spend more time than money with your loved ones.

Cue epiphany from A Christmas Carol.

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When I incidentally hash tagged my gift guide tweet with #buybritishthischristmas, it hadn't even crossed my mind that such a saying wouldn't have been already utilised. Of course, it seems so obvious. I was just adding to the no doubt huge outpouring of tweets encouraging people to Buy British. But after a curious click I discovered it hadn't been tweeted out in over two years.

The synapses were probably not working up to scratch at 8 am on that Friday. But later on I had a light bulb moment. I'm a huge fan of hashtags. As in I actually use them. They’re like a filing system. You can find exactly what you’re looking for under a #. Numerous, if not the vast majority, of Made in Britain merchandise and brands, I have found searching the internet filing system. And whilst they are often abused (#girl #me #duh #yeah #pout #smile #happy #lfl), when used right, it’s like striking gold.

So I seized my opportunity to use a hashtag to create a collaborative modern day gift guide. All that was needed was a brand or shopper or wish-lister to tweet a link and or picture and the hashtag.  I could then easily find it and hey presto, gift guide.

What I wasn't, and rather naïvely, anticipating was just how relevant the hashtag would be. It’s not just about pushing more consumerism down people’s throats. It’s about the livelihoods of the little guys, the makers, the doers, earning their living. Not just the bag makers, the clothes makers, the jewellery makers etc. Not all the pretty things I often wish upon on these blog pages. It's also about the farmers, the food producers and even the indie shop owners! There’s an awful lot more to Buy British This Christmas.

Anyway, every week, I’ll be rounding up the best of the hashtag gift guide, and sharing on The Mibber. All you need to do is tag your picture, product link and I’ll find it!

 The first suggestions came from Ink and Thread, an indie based in Derby but also have an (Online store, take a gander!). This Striped jumper from Nancy Dee would be well received wrapped under the tree. As too this wonderful Scarf from Karen Mabon, fun and bright, sure to cheer up those grey days we have ahead of us.

Knitwear really is a recurring theme and the lovely Hilary Grant hashtagged this print on Instagram.

For the beauty lover in your life, perhaps not the most obvious answer, how about a hand-woven face mitt, from Minor Goods, I know, what am I suggesting? But seriously, any beauty nut would love a decent first step in the routine, it’s all about the double cleanse these days, and you can’t move for hot cloth facials. So you should probably get them a luxurious clensing oil too, like this one from AS.AP via Content Beauty.

Jewellery as a gift for Christmas is as essential as the box of miniature chocolates, so these delicate heart earrings by Nicola Hurst are a great choice and at a greater price point too. Alternatively this ceramic necklace from Luna and Curious would be a lovely addition to anyones jewellery box. 

It’s no secret I love Rianna Phillips use of print and it's has expanded to include small tech accessories. An abstract iPad case is ideal for fashion techy people. Yes, that’s a type of person. In contrast, Grace Gordon suggested this fab pinky nude backpack, clean lines and simple design add class to the school style shape, elevating it to a must have and we all know how practical one is.

The only suggestion this week for the men comes from Sweater Co. Their Trinity Sweater  made from cotton is affordably priced and comes in a variety of colours.

Finally, the other Gift Guides! Let’s face it, I am cheating, little leg work from me, so it seems only fair to link these great Made in Britain guides. Make it British, has something for everyone you could possibly need to buy for. Although not strictly a Christmas gift guide, Being Content, a beauty boutique, round up their MIB faves here.

Make sure you follow my Pinterest board which I'm updating daily with hashtagged suggestions and my own wishlist. And don’t forget to use #buybritishthischristmas. Please buy as much British as you can this Christmas. Next post goes live on next Thursday (EDIT as in 4th December!)

How many times have I said hashtag in this post.......

Andrea xx

Made in Britain: Part two.

It’s been 2 months since I originally wrote about Made in Britain fashion. Since, I have become completely obsessed with it. I’ve still only bought British clothes, well apart from one mishap involving something needed for an interview, and I’ve even got loved ones around me hooked on checking labels. I think it’s about time a bit more noise is made about manufacture in the UK. It’s become even more important to the economy and I really think it could kick start an awesome recovery. This recession is getting a little bit boring now.

10 reasons to buy British

Genuinely FAST fashion.

Ok, I’m not a fan of throw away fashion at all, but since falling for MIB clothes I’ve noticed if something sells out – it’s a matter of weeks before it’s restocked. Orders from overseas take months to fulfil. Orders from home – weeks. It just makes sense – if you love something and it sells out, it’s often over to eBay to find it because it’s not in a retailers best interests to re-order something which will be out of fashion by the time the order hits shelves. Where as if demand is high – they can be assured it’s worth restocking MIB clothing.

It’s not expensive.

If you want a Cambridge Satchel it is going to set you back £100 – but it’s worth it. It’s high quality and well made product and if you went to Zara you’d be buying something which cost a fraction of the retailing price to produce and probably spending near enough £70 on a replica – who’s really losing out here? Certainly isn’t the Brand –they are raking in the profits. I’ve bought dresses, jumpers, skirts, tee’s and none of these items have retailed above £30. How many people can say they spend that much less on clothes than me?

Staples.

There has been some items which I covert which are trend lead but actually the majority of items I’ve bought have been superb staples. Well made gorgeous classic shapes and fabrics. The throw on and go with anything kind of staple. I’m not one for Basic’s shopping – I tend to completely justify spending £40+ on a top that’s made of intricate lace and Made in China. Then squirm when my basic’s basket goes above £30 – silly eh! But the beauty of High Street retail is that to produce a range of clothes which come in at their usual price point but made in Britain means that design has to be a little more innovative. Rid of hideous over embellishment, and it’s back to basics, excellent cuts and the simplicity of the design of the garment shine because of this.

It’s on your High Street – waiting for you!

You don’t need to scour the internet, or research heavily into the market to find these gems, you just need to open your eyes and change the way you shop. It can be hard when you see an item which is lovely and you bypass it because you’re busy hunting out the MIB label. But it’s worth it when you think just how much that item means. I can guarantee at this moment in time there is a fashion garment hanging on the rails of your local high street which is Made in Britain. And you should proudly go forth and purchase it. High demand shows there is a market and desire to buy British. Therefore increasing British production. Don’t be afraid to look at the labels of what you’re buying. You do it in Sainsbury’s when you’re counting calories or salt – that’s why they started putting wheels on the packaging – see what you’re buying before committing, how to care for it, what it’s made of, where it’s made all this info is free for you see before you purchase – so have a look.  

Heirlooms.

The UK is swamped in heritage. If ever there is a reason to buy British and save and splurge – then it’s a high quality, beautifully crafted and timeless items. Now I’m talking your mulberry bags, churches brogues and Barbour jackets of the world. They’re expensive at first, yes, but cost per wear, the quality – will last a life time, become heirlooms and last the distance!

The British Fashion industry is directly worth £21bn to the UK economy.

We barely manufacture here, we outsource, and we call it British. If British brands, big and small acted more responsibly started to consider long term benefits of home-grown manufacture and were confident to make the move to home manufacture – imagine how much the industry would be worth to the UK economy. More jobs, more artisan skills, unique high quality and desirable products. And most importantly more money flooding into the economy. It’s ludicrous to thinks anyone is even stalling when it comes to this. The industry is worth so much already and with the increase in manufacture here there will be a direct knock on effect. Demand for jobs; for skills; for talent. This is something we already sell abroad, it’s time we started producing the goods to back it up.

Reputation.

Britain still has a renowned reputation for quality products, yet the skills are dying out and not being passed down through generations. Globally our homemade products are desirable and a sign of wealth and luxury. There is a culture of intellectual property in the country at the moment, you’re not a success unless you’re talking about stuff or selling stuff, unless you’ve got a investable idea, you’ve got a degree, you’re manager to a service, designing something virtual and creating something which – in reality doesn’t physically exist. 

What happened to doing stuff and doing it well? Making stuff, building stuff using your hands and being proud of producing high quality stuff, trial and error, not getting it right first time, learning, inspiring developing skills. Artisan skills. You really don’t need to be artistic in order to sew clothes, to build stuff and make stuff. Yet we’re all dying to be creative’s. Why? Surely creativity isn’t a state of mind but is actually the physical production of a creative idea? Being creative, to me is getting hand on, trying stuff out. There’s nothing theoretical about it, it’s about the end product and achieving that.

Intellectual property, sure it does exist, but all the Mickey Mouse degrees in the world (and yes, to some extend I am part of this) are producing an employment market which is over saturated, everyone is selling an idea, not a physical product. We all have ‘transferrable skills’, we need to be thinkers, analytical, problem solvers, strategists. These are desirable skills in the employment market.Everyone is being fed this idea, told they must further their education to get on in life. But what’s wrong with having a garment manufacturing degree? A search on UCAS shows just two courses which fall under garment manufacture in the whole of the UK. Neither of these are specialist. What’s wrong with saying I want to make clothes on your CV. Seems a bit taboo almost – is it anyone’s aspiration to do this? Why not? It’s an amazing talent. To put it bluntly we need to cut the fat. Encourage those 99 who simply can’t match up to 1 other applicants per job to consider another route, another option. Otherwise we’re going to turn into a country of drones all sitting behind desks and feasting on cakes and not getting much done. Frustrated because we haven’t ‘made it’. If you want to make it in the fashion industry, why not start making fashion happen? How about doing something, being proud because the next time you go shopping you see something you’ve made/manufactured hanging in rails and Grazia picking it up as the must have item of the week. Won’t that fill you with pride and achievement? We need to lose this culture of making an individual name for ourselves, being famous for no reason.

Responsible and SUSTAINABLE.

By manufacturing here – we can start responsibly sourcing too – we can be assured that the raw products we are using can be ethical, sustainable and offer clarity of the supply chain. As well as peace of mind that the working conditions are of a high standard that people are being paid fairly and that health and safety in the workplace is a high priority. None of this H&S gone mad, it’ll actually have a point! Imagine that! We can ensure that factories have an excellent environmental impact and that corporate social responsibility is of high priority. Regenerating towns, income, economy. Fashion is a constant. There will always be demand and there will always be orders as a result. It’s not a dying industry by any way shape or form.

Designers do it.

Mary Katrantzou does it. Peter Pilotto does it. JW Anderson does it. Mulberry does it. Paul Smith does it. Victoria Beckham even does it. In fact so many British young and heritage designers do it with much higher overheads, price points, slimmer profit margins and strict quality control – it really is any wonder why the big brands aren't doing it too!

Change is a foot.

Seriously you’d be surprised how many brands are engaging in British manufacture and if we all go out and buy this stuff –  not only will other places take note – but these brands will also listen and rise to demand. Philip Green, Arcadia boss, announced yesterday that they currently use 47 different British factories which is a 20% increase on last year. John Lewis, ASOS, Matalan, Asda, River Island, Jaeger, Topshop (and the rest of Arcadia of course!).. the list goes on.. but also there is a bubbling industry of smaller designers/brands, dead set on producing at home. And it’s fantastic. We need to buy British and support our own. The bottom line is – we’re looking after and investing in our nations future. Our greatest achievements as a nation are vast and wide. One thing is for sure – being British is being curious – we were a nation of doers – and we need to carry on our nature of doing. Often our perception of our little nation is twee, old and overly polite. But if 77-year-old Beatrice can be enlisted by Mulberry to hand knit one of their new season, £995, scarves – don’t you think we’re going about this all wrong?

Let’s get inspired by Beatrice, hone our skills and put the Great and United back into our country. So I’m asking anyone who reads this - to share this – maybe not in my words but in your own. Agree to start changing the way you shop being a more conscientious shopper, you don’t need to commit to only buying British unless you feel it’s something you can easily switch to. Start building the demand. Creating a voice of young, responsible and fashion conscious shoppers. Start being the reason we’re out of recession. Don’t rely on banks, the next big thing to hopefully come along or technology to start rebuilding the economy but to start thinking what is your actual skill, what can you contribute to our nation, what can you bring to make us stand out, be different and unique? Highly proficient is MS Office doesn’t need to be desirable skill. We really should change the way we do things. We’re just one country, one island, and in terms of BRIC nations and other manufacturing hubs, they won’t suffer without our business, they will evolve and move on – it’s time to start looking closer to home and looking after ourselves. 

Hoorah!

Andrea x

Made in Britain

Rather quietly I decided to embark on a quest to only buy British made clothing. It’s killer. Do you know how friggin’ hard it is to find clothes only manufactured in the UK.. yup bloody hard. Quietly also because I thought I’d fail. It all started when I went on a vintage spree with my sister back in March. We bought a ridiculous amount of stuff all second hand and cheap. And it got me thinking, I can dress fashionably and sustainable – really easily.

This really is Made in Britain AND affordable!
Image: topshop.com

Now I’ve always been an advocate for British manufacture and often got into debates about my views of the dark side of the fashion industry. I’ve often been quoted as saying ‘I want to get into the fashion industry to make a difference’ and I still do. I admire and I am inspired by the industry and I respect it – but there is a hell of a lot wrong with it too and I suppose I want to be a bit of a fashion crusader and promote good and best practice. I disagree with fast fashion and cheap clothes. I rather spend a little more to get something that lasts a bit longer. I believe you get what you pay for, and that couldn't be more of the case in fashion. I don’t want to be ‘in’ fashion for a week; I want to remain constantly stylish.

Many of my friends have wardrobes bulging with clothes and often forget what they even own. I am, or was, just as guilty of this. Yet I was a massive contradiction – although always believing in this and stating my morals of the industry – I too would buy into £3.99 vests from H&M and never looked at the label before purchase. I’m not sure when the epiphany was that made me decide to only buy British was but since I’ve felt nothing but a twang of guilt for clothes which aren’t manufactured in the UK.

I’ve turned into my own worst enemy and all righteous and stuff and riddled with guilt for liking stuff manufactured in Romania and China. So basically, I haven’t been shopping in months. Well, that’s not completely true. I’m still happy to buy second hand regardless of where it’s made and I have bought a few new things since March too! Apparently you can buy British on the high street – just not very much.

My favourite buy came in June when I was in Whitstable for a weekend away. I had seen this dress in River Island. It was a nice cut and fit and most importantly it was Made in Britain! Winner! And only £30. I took a chance hoping that it’d be in the Canterbury store and the last one in my size was there – fate! Since I have discover River Island do quite a bit of stuff Made in Britain. Mainly simple cuts and printed fabrics but that’s brilliant really it makes me want to shop there again! And for my birthday I asked for this skirt and I love it!!

I also discovered Oh My Love, a label I had no idea about – but I stumbled across them during a sample sale. It’s a bit hit and miss as to whether they manufacture it all in Britain (I did e-mail them to ask – but they never replied!) but I have discovered if in the bio it says “Made With Love in East London” it’s a good’n! So far I’ve bought this and this and a couple of things they only had at the sample sale.

Finally, I am massively lusting over the Topshop’s Made in Britain range. It’s perfect; it’s everything I want and more; and it is expensive. I am yet to take the plunge even though the clothes are beautiful. And timeless. And I’d wear them forever (exaggerating and justifying obvs!). Top of my wish list are this, this!

I’ve also been discovering small, young and independent labels – places like Etsy and Big Cartel offer the chance for young designers to sell their goods online and affordably and the vast majority of them are manufactured here, in their bedrooms at 2am in the morning (or y’know 3pm in the arvo, no insinuating illegal stuff or anything!) and maybe this is exactly who I should be spending my money with, not the big high street stores doing it to look good and PR – whilst still happily manufacturing the vast majority of their products in Bangladesh.

There are the classics which are still made here like Barbour jackets and the odd Mulberry Bayswater (which is still top of my made in Brit list ahem) but what I’ve mostly struggled with are shoes and undies. Portas piped up a bit and made a good three part documentary about making kecks in the UK and I praise her for highlighting this! But where do you buy a British made bra? I can’t seem to find the store which Underworld on Coronation Street supplies. Secondly, shoes! I love shoes I own probably dozens of pairs. Brogues make me weak, in glitter and patent and leather and print -  I love them. I can’t afford Churches. Maybe one day. But where else make affordable shoes? And sandals? Luckily without a summer I’ve survived w/o investing in a pair and managed to survive on old battered pairs.  I’ve had to bend the rules a tad too, for example, Zara is Spanish. So should I support their economy and only buy Spanish made goods from them and so on and so forth? I can’t find a basic tee to save my life! Where in the UK manufacture sweatshirts and tee’s? How do I get around that one? I’ve toyed with American Apparel but can I justify using them? I mean they freely promote sweatshop free manufacture. But they still have to ship in. Nightmare.

Finally, and this is the biggest problem. Apart from Topshop’s specific collection and the bit on Oh My Love – no brands actually freely admit where they manufacture garments in online descriptions. I literally cannot internet shop! It’s funny how they have to put it on clothing labels but there is clearly no requirement to list it on t’internet. I know that the vast majority of people wouldn’t check the labels of the garment before buying something in store but I do and it’s has massively changed the way in which I shop. I would like to think if it’s clearly marked on a garment people would be able to make an informed judgement on what they are buying – and therefore if it’s listed online the same would apply – but I’m being self-righteous and annoying myself again – no one else shops like that – and that’s ok, but I really think that if it’s on the label of the garment it should be on the listing of the garment online – it’s only fair.

Do you think you could only buy British? Would you even want to try? Or more importantly do you know any brands which are UK manufactures or carry UK manufactured goods – if you do – please let me know. It would be great to be able to list them all together!

Andrea x