Menswear
Formal British-Made Men's Knitwear — Voted by the Community
This directory lists 8 brands that make formal men's knitwear in the UK. They are most often based in London. Prices run from premium to luxury. Ranked by community upvotes.
Kinloch Anderson
Kinloch Anderson is a prestigious Scottish textile company founded in 1868 by William Anderson in Edinburgh, specialising in kilts, tartans, and Highland dress.
- Formal
- Heritage
- Highland
Shop to visit- Formal
- Heritage
- Highland
Phoebe English
Clothing made in England attempting a variety of solutions towards less extractive fashion systems. Est 2011.
- Bridal
- Casual
- Classic
Shop to visit- Bridal
- Casual
- Classic
See these brands on the map14 places from 7 brands, 8 of them shops you can visit.Open the map
Hemingsworth
Hemingsworth is a British-made menswear brand founded on a lifetime of travel, offering timeless, versatile garments engineered for the modern globetrotter.
- Casual
- Classic
- Formal
- Casual
- Classic
- Formal
Turnbull & Asser
Turnbull & Asser is a distinguished British shirtmaker founded in 1885, renowned for timeless style, exceptional quality, and sartorial elegance.
- Classic
- Formal
- Heritage
Shop to visit- Classic
- Formal
- Heritage
Udeshi
Udeshi is a British menswear brand offering bespoke, made-to-measure and ready-to-wear clothing for the discerning gentleman.
- Classic
- Contemporary
- Formal
- Classic
- Contemporary
- Formal
Budd Shirts
Budd Shirts, founded in 1910, is a cornerstone of British menswear, renowned for bespoke and ready-to-wear shirts, ties, and accessories.
- Classic
- Formal
- Heritage
Shop to visit- Classic
- Formal
- Heritage
Herring Shoes
Herring Shoes offers expertly crafted footwear through partnerships with renowned Northampton manufacturers, ensuring exceptional British craftsmanship since 1966.
- Classic
- Formal
- Classic
- Formal
Barrington Ayre
Barrington Ayre is a British bespoke shirtmaker and tailor founded in 2010 in Cirencester, offering personalised tailoring in a relaxed showroom with a full UK travelling service.
- Formal
Shop to visit- Formal
Shops run by brands that make formal men's knitwear
5 of the 8 brands that make formal men's knitwear have a shop you can visit: 3 in London, others in Cirencester, Edinburgh and St Andrews.
Cirencester
St Andrews
This independent directory lists UK-made clothing brands, and marks those that make only some items here.Why choose British-made?
A Brief History of British Made Knitwear
Knitting in Britain long predates the factory. Knitted woollen caps were made at Monmouth by the fifteenth century, and hand-knitted stockings were available during the sixteenth. Mechanisation came early. In 1589 William Lee, curate of Calverton in Nottinghamshire, invented the stocking frame, the first knitting machine. Framework knitting spread across the East Midlands, and by 1851 Leicester and Nottingham each had thousands of frames. The trade moved into factories in the second half of the nineteenth century. Lea Mills in Derbyshire was founded in 1784 by Peter Nightingale and John Smedley to spin cotton, and moved into knitting towards the end of the eighteenth century. John Smedley still makes knitwear there, and the company describes it as the world's longest-running factory. Regional styles added variety. The guernsey, or gansey, a fisherman's jumper named after the Channel Island, was knitted in fishing communities around the British coast. Fair Isle colourwork from Shetland became fashionable after the Prince of Wales wore it in public in 1921. British-made knitwear today draws on both these hand and machine traditions.