My cashmere hoody in ‘safari’ has been on a little adventure of its own, soaking up the Mediterranean heat, taking in the scenery, dabbling in some local delights and generally providing  me with some much needed shelter from the bitter aeroplane A.C.

Turkish delight & pretty trinkets…presents for the guys and girls back at the office; shoes, hats and sweet treats for everyone!

NAME: Justine Young
POSITION: Online Content Writer
UNOFFICIAL ROLE: Office clown
YEARS AT BRORA: 1.5 years

LOVES: “Why cashmere of course. Cheese, shoes, family time, online-shopping, and cocktails with the girls…exactly in that order!”
HATES: “Being cold!” (Said with a scowl).

BEST BRORA MOMENT: “I guess everyone else would say the time when I dramatically fell off my chair. I had a sore behind, but even I had to laugh; it was pretty funny”.

Not content with just a summer holiday to Mexico in July, an impulsive and fairly last minute need for a spring getaway took myself and my family to sunny Turkey. Whilst a city break to Istanbul was attractive, the promise of warm weather, evergreen mountainous views and turquoise blue waters made Marmaris a far superior choice.

Although not the typical climate you’d initially think suited to cashmere, a popular tourist haunt in Marmaris is the marina, located in the old town. Restaurants; both traditional and contemporary, sit alongside the seafront, and whilst you appreciate the cool sea breeze, it quickly becomes a bit nippy.

Always looking to stay warm and fearful of a strong, chilly gust of wind, I’m therefore never one to be without a cashmere comforter or two, and knew that the perfect vacation companion would be my beloved cashmere hoody.

It was for this reason that I stylishly carried ‘Henry’ – that’s what I call my cashmere hoody by the way – everywhere I went, just in case. Ideal when standing on the side of a mountain, taking in the fresh air and surrounding landscape, as well as posing for a twitter pic.

And if I still haven’t convinced you that I’m not entirely crazy, and that there is space in your suitcase for a bit of summer cashmere, at least you’ll find it a cosy way of relaxing on the plane; particularly when having a quick snooze, cashmere is the best way to do it!

I imagined it as the-morning-after-the night-before – a woman, on an empty English beach at dawn, walking home with her shoes in her hands…smudgy eye makeup and tousled hair with a cotton sweater slung over a party dress… that kind of vibe.

The Lost Weekend is a collection of vintage inspired pieces that conjure up pin up girls with a bit of old fashioned British irreverence thrown into the mix.

I have always loved the shapes and patterns of  the1940′s and 50′s and wanted to create clothes that were a modern love letter to that era. First inspired by a Cecil Beaton illustration, The Lost Weekend began as a colour palette, with tones that were soft and washed out, like a blowsy English garden after the rain.  I created a mood board with swatches and photographs; Emily Lloyd, cheeky on a bicycle in “Wish You Were Here”, Marilyn Monroe laughing and windswept in a chunky oversized cardigan on a California beach, Brigitte Bardot, fresh out of the sea, in the ultimate shirt dress from And God Created Woman.

There was Jean Seberg; elfin and smiling over The New York times, Corinne Day pictures of a teenage Kate Moss with feathers in her hair, and Tim Walker‘s iconic shoot of a summer festival. All contributed to the mood I wanted to capture; something  sweet and nostalgic, effortless and easy to wear, and above all, celebrating summer.

Clearance is back! Yet this time price reductions have dropped even LOWER than during the winter sale! It’s time we cleared all stocks and made space for the delights of the seasons ahead. Pieces are already moving fast from the site, and the warehouse is looking pretty vacant. So buy it now, or regret it later! 

Happy Shopping!

Founder and creative director at Brora since 1993, Victoria Stapleton is the original cashmere queen. Through an immense love of scenic country colours, and a passion for rich Scottish textiles, Victoria created a luxury British brand dedicated to U.K manufacturing, unrivaled quality cashmere and classic clothing for the entire family.

I didn’t realise I would feel quite so emotional about our 20th anniversary; even now, as four weeks have passed, I’m truly moved by all that the business has accomplished. Looking back to that Friday 1st March, as I arrived at the Symons street flagship store to be welcomed by lovely 20th birthday windows, balloons, flowers, prosecco and delightful party cakes; it felt like the day we first opened again!

There were lots of lovely customers flicking through the rails of our bright new collection, chatting, happy, all ages. Mothers with toddlers, husbands with wives, customers with tales of their first ever Brora purchase, old and young eager to find a gem to buy with the contribution of their £20 for 20 years vouchers. I met a customer from Melbourne, a lady from Brussels and another from Argentina!

I’d like to say a very special thank you to all of the birthday bloggers who took part in celebrating this momentous occasion. The time they’ve put in, as well as the wonderful thought behind each and every post is amazing, and the relationships made are truly valued!

It has been such a great 20 years and I in turn would like to further thank all our wonderful suppliers and my brilliant Brora gang who make it all happen! I’ve received emails and calls from work colleagues congratulating me on this moment, from manufacturers I’ve worked with for as many years and other people in similar businesses, all wishing Brora well. And most importantly, thank you to you the customers! I appreciate you joining us in celebrating twenty wonderful years of Brora…here’s to another twenty!

- Victoria

When she’s not busy with the design team, creative product manager here at Brora, our much-loved Martsie Gomez has many talents, but with the recent launch of her website, Martsie’s has been taking centre stage in all Brora shops across the U.K.

We all have passions in our lives.  They are essential to our happiness and give us reasons to live our lives to the full. One of my biggest passions, amongst several others, is colour! It is an essential element of my day to day. Not only do I visualize, observe and appreciate it everywhere I go, I also have the privilege of being able to be creative with it through my work at Brora and in my art studio at home.

Colour is pervasive; it enriches our emotions, our relationships and our lives. Colour has inspired me since I was a little girl, I still remember my Dad’s outcry of surprise when I painted my bedroom walls bright yellow. My hunger and interest in colour have never stopped evolving since.

Brora has increased my passion and knowledge of colour over the past 10 years. Having the privilege of working very closely with Victoria, Brora’s creative director, has opened an infinite array of subtle and rich colours; enhancing my knowledge and inspiring me to discover new tints & shades, building up a vast vocabulary of colour names. The inspiration for a new colour can originate from a unique source, being it the colour of a Moroccan pottery bowl, an old vintage ribbon from a flea market, the colour of a pair of nineteen forties shoes picked up at a vintage shop or a chip of wood from an old derelict door, these inspiring objects often end up on our table prior to a colour meeting.

Each cashmere colour consists out of up to 7 blends of various shades, each unique tone carefully selected and christened with a descriptive name. Our objective is to offer you a mouth-watering colour palette at your fingertips. My favourite colour this season is pistachio featured above in  the cashmere pointelle cropped cardigan, and don’t we adore those buttons?

I was very pleased when a few months ago Victoria commissioned me to create 23 art pieces to form part of Brora’s window display. My colour palette for this exhibition consisted out of our St. Ives story palette.  Cobalt, pistachio, turquoise, mimosa, meadow, summer black, zinc and white…and the nautical theme of St. Ives; all working together to inspire me to create this series called The Brink of Blue.

Below, one of the pieces called Harbour Lights. The highlight colours used here, of mimosa and white are fighting against each other, and create the illusion of light forming the focal point. Pistachio and meadow mix together to create a hazy sky. The turquoise background creates a frame around the scene and with the use of the summer black, an illusion of dimension and depth is formed.

Take the colour plunge and surround yourself with colour this summer, be it a new painting or a mouth-watering colour in a Brora knit, you deserve a visual treat…

Love Martsie x