John, ‘How I love thee, let me count the ways!’
John Smedley and I go way back, in fact for the majority of my adult life!
You could say he is the third wheel in my marriage!
But don’t worry, my husband knows all about him and he loves him too!
Of course I’m talking about the iconic British knitwear brand John Smedley.
Smedley knits have formed the basis of my wardrobe and accompanied me through my life’s greatest moments, for the past twenty years.
Meeting my husband, moving and working overseas, having my children – John was there for all of it. He has been one of the constants in my life
These days as my sewing hobby builds momentum and I’m making more and more of my own clothes, John Smedley knitwear is probably one of the only ready-made items other than jeans and footwear, that I still go out and buy.
The simple, clean lines of the pieces and the classic styles make this knitwear timeless and endlessly versatile and so it’s easy to use it as the backbone of my hand-made wardrobe.
I would be hard-pushed to find a better outfit partner than John!
Whatever new item of clothing I make, I can always find a Smedley knit to complement my look and create my own style, whether it be in sumptuous Sea Island cotton or fine Merino wool.
It’s not only the versatility of the range that has kept me loyal over the decades though, it’s the brand’s dedication to only using the highest quality materials.
As a mother of young children, I can say this with confidence because my Smedley knits are tested to the limit on a daily basis.
They’re all machine-washable so they are low maintenance and they always manage to live to see another day! My oldest John Smedley jumper is a classic black rollneck that is a ripe twenty years old and it is still going strong! In fact it’s hard to tell which of my John Smedley knitwear collection is the most recent because it all still looks like new.
Even more incredibly, John Smedley products are still made in the original mill that the brand was founded in well over two hundred years ago, in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside in Britain. I love this.
I grew up in an era when there was a pride for things that were made in Britain. The high street was full of British made goods and this was seen as a mark of quality.
Sadly many British clothing retailers have now turned to overseas production. So the fact that John Smedley have continued to produce in Britain and the company is thriving, is testament that this is a high quality brand in it for the long haul.
Is it any wonder that I’ve stayed faithful to these woolies for all these years, they are truly investment pieces!
BTW all the clothes shown in this post apart from the jeans, a t-shirt and John Smedley knitwear, were all made by me. Also I am not sponsored by John Smedley, I just genuinely like their stuff.
Have you got any favourite brands or clothes that you couldn’t live without?
It sounds like a really good brand, especially since it is machine washable! There is a shop in Aus/NZ called JayJays that I buy all my jeans from, their jeans fit me better than any other shop and they cost under $100 and my oldest ones have lasted for 5 years + 🙂
Thanks so much for commenting Zoe. JayJays also sound good. Well fitting jeans are not easy to come by and if they are long lasting as well as being fairly priced, it sounds like you’ve struck jeans-gold!
I found a Smedley “sweater” (US for jumper) in a Goodwill shop (Goodwill is like Oxfam). I had never heard of the brand and was imsprseed by the lack of logo. So hard to find to find here in pathetic logo obsessed US. What really imsprseed me however was the quality of the garment. It is my favorite sweater and I only wear it a few times a year in the hopes it will last forever or longer than me anyway. If clothing can be willed I submit anything by this maker. A truly fine piece of clothing. Thanks for the update.
So glad you’ve discovered Smedley knitwear! Hope you enjoy wearing your sweater!