The monsoon weather across the South of England last week was a million miles from the magical sunshine we found in Cumbria where we went to shoot the Brora Summer 2011 catalogue. Fashion is a mad game, and we are always out of kilter with the seasons, but this time we were lucky.

The team was eclectic and versatile from the word go and the gorgeous collection as well as the weather put a smile of breezy happiness on our faces. Model Lauren was fresh as a daisy and showing her dimples in every shot.

In search of nature stripped back to the essence of smooth branches, soft rinsed out skies and the clearest water to splash through, we headed to the Rockliffe Marshes on the English Scottish border.

Wellies were the uniform of the day to help us beat the tide, and even our youngest assistant was ready to stride through the mud to catch the numinous light.

Victoria is always her own guinea pig with every outfit, and here we give you a quick peek at next spring’s beautiful rustic panama, and Victoria focussing fully on the styling file, to bring you the looks you will love. Oh, and a younger take on that wonderful hat works too….

All the family learn to multi-task early, and Victoria’s daughter Nancy is a brilliant human wardrobe and camera assistant – she has even found a great prop.

The magic continues, and into the middle of our shoot stalks a real wild beauty –we all stare in amazement and suddenly our models are running for the make up department to try and find eyelashes as long as these!

All this rich variety and no one had to get on a plane to be there. At Brora we love the British Isles, and sometimes the weather seems to love us right back.

Our fabulous new Autumn collection has hit the September big fashion issues running, and we are very excited to be so in demand.

Cool and sassy Elle runs a feminine and edgy story called “She is Always a Woman”. Here is a fairy tale with an urban smoulder. Fifties style dresses in gorgeous textured fabrics are teamed with our funky folk cropped cashmere cardigan and our nostalgic softly softly vintage cashmere cardigan in rosebud pink.

We love the shrugged on look and the sweet swing of a cropped cardi on the shoulders.

Make the mood your own and add a sweet silk scarf round the waist or in your hair and don’t forget a pair of some cashmere bed socks for the midnight moment when you lose your Cinderella slipper…………

The heat is on, the Edinburgh Tattoo this summer is the best in living memory and the fabulous Edinburgh Festival is in full swing. Scotland is the home of the finest cashmere in the world, and a few days rushing to events such as the superb “Brazil Brazil Brazil”, a mixture of dance, capoeira and football at the Festival reminds us why. The sun shines, but there is always a gust of wind round the corner on the Royal Mile, or a dash of rain in the air as we wrap a cashmere bolero around us to see the late Pina Bausa’s mesmerising choreography.

First things first though and a bit of planning. Stash tickets and maps in our gorgeous cowhide and leather pouch and dive in to culture. Comedy is the hot ticket of course; don’t miss 19 year old Bo Burnham, a young American runaway success on Facebook and now hitting the spot at the Fringe.

And take the children to “Lights Camera Improvise” where you the audience decide what the show will be, from a spy thriller, to a romantic comedy or sci fi, and then you choose the decade and the theme. Dress the family in cashmere Fair Isle and make your story Enid Blyton with a twist!

Snatch a moment in the National Gallery of Scotland with a beautiful exhibition of Impressionist Gardens. And with that as inspiration rush into Brora for a Liberty print bow blouse. From the Brora shop, the Edinburgh Book festival is just a moment away, and Scottish writer AL Kennedy hosts a nightly cabaret that is great fun, while literary events such as Michael Frayne and Alan Warner are talking points for weeks.

So much to see, so much to absorb. Best of all is to cosy up with a cashmere scarf and our funky felt trilby and spend an hour or two on the Royal Mile where all the talent comes to tempt you to their shows. Then back to Cowgate for free comedy all around you, and Frederick Street to the calm oasis of Brora for a restorative purchase. A reminder of some of the finest elements of Scotland, cashmere, colour and character…….have fun with Brora.

And as the dog days of summer catch us up, our Brora staff in Edinburgh have been fired with literary enthusiasm by the fabulous Edinburgh Book Festival and by our romantic and alluring Autumn collection…Curl up in a cashmere gauzy wrap and read on…

In the way of such stories, the tall and inevitably dark and handsome stranger was to become a regular visitor to Windy Corner, where he shot smouldering glances at Cecily folding piles of the softest cashmere chartouches and day dreaming. She smouldered back, until one day a spark of bravery lit her as she crammed beautiful bundles of Liberty print knickers onto their shelf, and Cecily boldly asked, “Would you care to accompany me to Betty’s tea room?” Well, what man could possibly resist a pink macaroon and charming company?

Two months later, the nervous couple at a Betty’s table that first day had become a happy item. Inevitably, a weekend away beckoned, and so the dashing and handsome musician asked Cecily (his heart fluttering) if she would care for a few days of cultural abandon at the world famous Edinburgh Festival.

Quick as a flash she agreed, and they were off on the train to magical Scotland. Edinburgh buzzed with a huge variety of characters. Fun was everywhere though rain spat and the wind was chilly for month of August. Cecily was no fool; she headed straight for Brora’s Edinburgh shop on Frederick Street just a stone’s throw from all the festival action.

The latest collection had well and truly arrived – the shop was filled with wild and wonderful colours from deep cassis to bright gold. Irresistible! Cecily loved everything. Scotland with its crystal bright morning light or even a stormy cloud, the heather and the soft mist of evening inspired her. She quickly wrapped herself in an almond aran knit jumper and a hawthorn check puckered plaid chartouche, and felt Edinburgh in her blood. Cecily was reluctant to part from such a luxurious Scottish outfit but there was no time to buy – they were already late to see a play. It’s so easy to loose track of time in Brora!

Too soon the exhausted pair were back on the train. There on Cecily’s seat was a beautifully wrapped present. What could it be? Written on the box was a note from her gorgeous musician, “A little something to remember our Scottish adventure by”. Who could ask for a better ending to the perfect weekend! Sure enough, the softest Aran Knit jumper and sweetest Brora tartan scarf imaginable. How thoughtful!

The train journey home flew by, and Cecily revelled in it through a haze of finest cashmere in tumbling autumn colours. But as she turned to smile at her musician, a tremor of anxiety ran through her. He was sitting opposite her. His face, as he suddenly noticed someone coming down the carriage behind her, became steel hard, and colder than the North Wind. Cecily cinched in her gorgeous snakeskin belt to give herself backbone and wondered what on earth she was about to discover……

As the New Season kicks in and the last of the sale disappears into Brora lovers’ wardrobes, we want to celebrate the zest, humour and steely determination we find running through our customers. So here is a correspondence we have been having with a lady who needs to remain anonymous to preserve her addiction…

Hello Brora,

I have lost all of what little self control I have when it comes to shopping in your sales and placed yet another order.

As I am not, until I win the lottery in the next couple of weeks, at all flush, please would you consider waiving the postage so I can buy even more from you next season. Talking of which, please could you tell me when the new season will be on-line/brochure as I am looking forward to seeing the new colour swatch. I should get out more!

Thank you

Yours happily living on beans on toast but looking very well dressed

From here the correspondence, and her wardrobe flourished:

Hi Brora,

Glad to have received the lovely Cranberry bolero and what amazing luck that delivery could be arranged to my mums’ house, who I was visiting last week.

I wouldn’t wish to describe myself as furtive, particularly as I work to fund my Brora addiction, but the tolerance level of a certain person to the increasingly regular appearance of the City Link van had been somewhat stretched these past few weeks due to all the amazing sale purchases I have made!

Dear Brora,

Our autumnal menu is being devised in order to accommodate my new wish list based on your early Autumn collection. Lentil soup (green Continental lentils, onion, Celery or carrots, tinned tomatoes and garlic). Very filling and cheap. Enough of this and jacket spuds/pasta enables me to secure the ribbed shawl cardigan in black (long awaited), whilst it is still in stock. My three teenage sons protest a little, but never mind.

Next on my wish list is the textured knit cardigan, probably Bronze although the Kelp is also coveted. Me thinks a trip to a Brora store to see the colours first hand would be in order by October. By then Betty’s tea rooms in Harrogate and a Rascal bun will add to the delight of exploring your new store, and viewing the liberty print skirts/dresses there. Simple pleasures…..

Am off to smoke and drink now and dream about gorgeous cashmere clad men, whoops! No! I am going to bed to dream of the Autumn collection.

P.S. Brilliant to see Fair Trade products creeping in, I must sound like a selfish materialistic beast with all I covet, but am also actually quite caring! (And modest).

PPS No lottery win last week, but work started a syndicate which I am a member of as of yesterday, and have bought a euro million ticket for tomorrow, so will keep you posted.

We do not yet know the euro million result.

Simple pleasures and lots of laughing…we thank this fabulous customer for sharing her recipes and her wish list with us…. we love both, and look forward to hearing more cashmere dreams and adventures from resourceful Brora lovers everywhere….