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How and why do we choose the clothes we live in? To fit into our surroundings at work? To stand out socially, or not? To identify with a certain group? Or for purely practical purposes, in which case, why do we gravitate towards certain styles and fabrics? And why should we care? Take decorating. We chose old clothes to carry out messy decorating or diy jobs, then live in those clothes each weekend, somethings for weekends on end. It makes practical sense, but what about how it makes us 'feel' about those jobs? Wearing our weekend uniform that we can't wait to change out of, does not get us in the mood for starting the job in the first place. I had this pair of baggy, horrible trousers for painting, I could get as much paint over them and it didn't matter. What I didn't notice was I wore those awful trousers more than any other item of clothing in my wardrobe and every photo had me in them. Then I had an 'oh, sod it' moment and put on an OK pair of stretchy jeans, got paint over them and never looked back. It made painting 'feel' better, I enjoyed it more. I like to think of it as, how much personal permission do we give ourselves to chose clothes that make us feel good? Are we worried we'll be judged? Are we allowed to indulge ourselves and do as we please? It's a purely personal thing. But it's certainly an interesting thought and only one, we alone can answer.

Why are the buttons on different sides for men and women? Seems daft, but there is a historic reason for this. Centuries ago men would traditionally dress themselves and being predominately right-handed, the buttons were located on the right side for ease of use. Women of status were dressed by their maid, so the buttons were located on the left so the maid could easily operate them. Who knew?!?

The autumn is now truly upon us and we are hunkering down to work with the rain and wind beating on workshop roof and it very cosy in here. Quiet excitement here at Porter Arbon, as we have just received a shipment of new fabrics which will be developed into new products over the next few weeks ready for an early winter launch. In the meantime, new products will be appearing on the website that have been in train for a while, over the next few weeks. We hope you will like them as much as we do!