Last weekend was our weekend of fun with my niece, but the weekend got off to a great start with the arrival of a parcel of new clothes from The Emperor’s Old Clothes. Afterall, who doesn’t love a new outfit (or two) for a weekend of fun?!

Having made to measure clothes feels like such a luxury, but having given up fast fashion a couple of years ago this is the best way to buy clothes. The individual items may be more expensive (and rightly so) but I’m sure I don’t spend any more on clothes now than I did when I bought far too much from some well known, online fast fashion brands – which for a long time was the only way I could find clothes that I both liked and that fitted (albeit not perfectly).

Now I know my money goes to support a small business, which puts sustainability at the heart of what they do as they only use deadstock and vintage fabric. And the clothes fit like they were made for me – because they were! Oh and I won’t see anyone else wearing exactly the same item, though I do love seeing what others create with the same fabric when there’s enough for multiple outfits. As I commented on one of their recent lives, twinning with Louisa, their head of production and one of the co-owners, is a life goal!

Each week when they drop new fabrics, the temptation to treat myself to something new is strong, but every now and then an absolute banger gets released that I can’t resist – that was the case with both of these and I was so lucky to get in there first!

I ordered these back in April and it was well worth the wait for them to arrive. I’m so happy with how these dresses look. It’s my first time going with the puff sleeve (on the fabulous floral dress) and it was definitely the right decision. Which one is your favourite?

I won’t lie, choosing between the fabrics, the styles and the various options they have available isn’t easy, but every item of clothing I’ve received has always worked perfectly. The customer service is second to none, and they are an all round lovely team of people,

I went down to their open studio last summer, and it was so lovely to meet some of them in person. Afterall it’s not normal to be able to meet the people who make your clothes and see behind the scenes. When I was going for my booster jab in December, I was stuck in a queue in the cold for over an hour, and it was them doing one of their fabric lives that kept me company while I waited. You wouldn’t get that from a fast fashion brand.

I have a growing collection of dresses in this style, all in fab fabrics, as well as a number of their other styles. I’ve got a pair of culottes currently on order, and I’m very excited that this week they’ve launched some new designs for coats! I’m still considering my options there though – I keep flitting between a cosy winter jacket in a wool fabric and a light autumn / spring jacket in a bold print with a vibrant lining. Anyone who knows me well knows how hard I find decisions, and they don’t get much harder than this!

I don’t remember exactly how I discovered them via Instagram, but I’m so glad I did. It’s completely changed the way I shop for clothes and, in many ways, how I dress. I may not go far from home on days when I work from home, but that doesn’t prevent me from putting my glad rags on.

As someone who for a long time hid behind the camera, I didn’t expect to end up on the grid of a fashion brand’s Instagram account, but that’s exactly what happened a couple of months ago along with a testimonial. It’s testament to how good the clothes make me feel that I want to be photographed wearing them (and I’m lucky that Adam is happy to oblige with the photography).

I firmly believe that slow, sustainable fashion is the way forward and we should all be supporting smaller companies where we can. If you are looking for some new gems for your wardrobe I assure you that you can’t go wrong with The Emperor’s Old Clothes – you can find them on Instagram at @emperorscloth and they share all their available fabrics via @emperorsfabrics.