The Chiltern story
We're a small fashion design team spread over London and Berkshire. We're set on making excellent quality men's clothes which are impeccably designed.
Our mission is to prove that exceptional quality clothing which is made in England doesn't have to carry designer price tags. It's safe to say that our team is proving that.
Our suppliers along with our creative director, Prem Jethwa, has lived and worked in and around the Chiltern Hills region - which made Chiltern Clothing a fitting name for our brand.
We make a big effort to source the best suppliers we can at reasonable costs. We've found that smaller British manufacturers and suppliers often aren't as costly and this gives us savings that we pass on to our customers. Additionally, it means we're helping the British economy and other small businesses. We have a subscription model which means our customers stay with us way into the future. For us, this translates into a marketing budget which is much more cost-effective.
All this means we're able to provide our customers with exceptional quality clothing, designed and made in England using traditional methods. We're really proud of that.
Our fabrics
Our cotton is 100% organic and we only source from end-of-roll. This means we use fabric which is left over from another brand's production. This is just one of a few of our sustainable practices. We're always on a look out to find more ways of being sustainable as a business.
Design philosophy
A durable garment isn't just about high-grade fabric. It also needs to be designed to last. The Chiltern tailoring team use methods carried across from English tailoring - a craft that is centuries old and has always stood for quality the world over. There are also small details all over our garments which make them unique to us. We enjoy producing a level of detail that customers simply don't get from high-volume fast-fashion brands.
Our garment cuts are designed to produce a timeless silloute. That means our clothing isn't baggy nor is it too tight-fitting. For instance, our white t-shirt. Under a designer blazer, a leather jacket, or with a pair of shorts, our white t-shirt always looks good. Generally, we only design garments which transcend short-term fashion trends.
White t-shirt: the focal point
The white t-shirt has been our main garment and for good reason. In the 1900s the U.S. military got their first ever white cotton t-shirts. Lighter and more comfortable than the wool they replaced, they were soon seen everywhere from college campuses to construction sites.
The white t-shirt wasn’t seen too often in Britain until a new, young crop of US method actors made it the epitome of cool in the ’50s and ’60s. James Dean may have been a Rebel Without a Cause, but he did have a perfectly cut white t-shirt. So, too did Brando, McQueen and Newman and just about every cool actor and rock star with an attitude ever since. While the popularity of other wardrobe staples – a good pair of brogues, an Oxford button down – has waxed and waned, a white T has never gone out of fashion. That’s because no other garment is as versatile.
It is, however, also the garment that carries the highest risk to wear. ‘Fear of wearing white’ is a thing. Keeping your white T white used to be difficult. But not
anymore. Our customers enjoy having a new white t-shirt to wear all of the time. Come and join us.
Connecting with our customers
We want to foster deep relationships with our customers.If there's anything you would like to ask us, drop us an email at members@getchiltern.com.
You can also contact our creative director directly, Prem Jethwa, at prem@getchiltern.com.