Finally! Made-to-order fashion you CAN afford
It’s the latest eco badge of honour — shops that only sell clothes you’ve bought in advance
4 MEGAN CROSBY
MEGAN CROSBY operates from her Portsmouth studio, where she started ‘the colourful, ethical label I was looking for’. Her gingham dresses plus coords are made to order from sustainable fabrics and unsold shop stock. Sizes range from XS to XL and she offers custommade. From £10 for a scrunchie to £200 for a jumpsuit.
Dress, £180, bymegancrosby.com
5 KIT.A COLLECTIVE
IngenIous label Kit.a Collective not only sells a fantastic range of made-to-order pieces — gingham wrap-tops, frill collars, face masks and tote bags, for example — but also offers you the opportunity to make these pieces yourself. Founded by two friends who took up sewing in lockdown, you can forget a long list of hard-to-follow instructions and instead sit down to simple video tutorials. The kit for their gingham wrap blouse costs £30.
6 BEFORE JULY
AS WELL as only making what’s needed, Before July founder Elisa Jaycott sources her fabrics from the UK to reduce the brand’s carbon footprint. It turns that fabric into simple, colourful cotton wrap tops and baby-doll dresses available in sizes 8-14 that have been featured in Vogue. Production is up to five weeks plus delivery. Prices range from £55 for a top to £110 for a dress.
7 Known
for its bold prints and eye-catching colours, this label isn’t exclusively pre-order, but they do produce limited runs so they can gauge a reaction to designs and then create waiting lists on previously soldout pieces.
This allows the contemporary brand to produce on demand, thereby eliminating waste and giving us the opportunity to snap up their most sought-after styles (like this puff-sleeve midi dress), guilt free!
8 OLIVIA ROSE THE LABEL
DESIGNER Olivia Rose’s collection is in a slightly higher price bracket — her midi Manon Dress, available to order in four sizes and prints, sells at £228. But every one of the 27-year-old’s romantic, puff-sleeved waist-cinching pieces is designed and made in her Edinburgh studio. The Chelsea College of Art graduate is a one woman show, and can only accept limited number of orders at any one time. No item is pre-made.
Top, £216, oliviarosethelabel.com