At Brora we really love our dogs, so much so that this season we celebrate them in cashmere, taking our inspiration from the graceful whippets Victoria adores.

No one, not even the minxiest cat woman could turn her nose up at our chic and funky whippet jumper, and we find wearing it kick starts all sorts of conversations, it’s a twist on the old fashioned notion of wearing your heart on your sleeve….

Honey Bee and Flee Fly, Victoria’s beautiful dogs are Brora super models, and have been appearing in our shoots since they were puppies. Most of the time they are very professional and don’t accept bribes

But sometimes they can’t resist temptation – here is Honey Bee poised and waiting for our young model’s hot dog!

Most of all though the whippets love to loll about on a soft and pretty Brora rug; do look out for our excellent value lambswool blanket as the best present for your home (and your dogs) this season. The whippets love luxury and they are always curled up somewhere cosy by the fire or in the kitchen.

We think they have the right idea – if it’s a dogs life with Brora, there’s nowhere we’d rather be.

Look out! London Fashion Week is hitting the runways and the big news is that Brora has been leading a trend for the return to British manufacture in this fabulous, eccentric and fun industry. The British Fashion Council chairman, Harold Tillman told the Sunday Times, “A Made in Britain label is important” and that every truly British brand thrives on having some manufacture based in the UK.

At Brora we agree wholeheartedly. Since we began selling cashmere cardigans from a small mail order catalogue 18 years ago, our philosophy has been to manufacture as far as possible in Britain. We use the precious handed down expertise available to us from centuries of cashmere and wool production in the mills of Scotland.

We are proud that much of our Fair Isle childrens’ cashmere is hand made in crofts and cottages by knitters who learned their skills from their grandmothers. Every piece we make is hand finished, and we go to great lengths to design patterns that team traditional technique and with contemporary colour and shape.

Brora lovers, and those who enjoy our British contemporaries Mulberry and Jaeger, already know what the rest of the fashion world is about to discover – made in Britain brings you fashion of the highest quality to love and wear for years.

So place your orders, pop on a pom pom scarf and a smile, and bring British manufacturing back to the London Fashion Week cat walks to stay….

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….

Suffering from summer inertia? Here’s a wake up call for all our favourite cashmere lovers! It’s time to have some fun and get voting for Brora knitwear please.

Fashionista website Sheerluxe is holding their first ever online shopping awards and it has just been announced that Brora is a hot finalist in the ‘Best For Knitwear Online’ Fashion category. The winners will be chosen by you, the customers so register now and dive in to shopping heaven.

We are thrilled to be rubbing cosy cashmere shoulders with fabulous finalists in other shopping categories too, from Net A Porter and Eve Lom, to Jane Packer Flowers and Jo Malone.

With our Early Autumn collection humming with beautiful colours and the lasting luxury of cashmere in myriad patterns and shapes, we aim to show Brora lovers a winning piece on every web and catalogue page. Have a browse, make a choice and cast your vote………..