How We Make Your Clothes
Exclusive Designs
It all starts with you...
We design and make premium quality clothes especially for women over 50, so you can look and feel confident, comfortable and elegant in everything you wear. Every new collection starts with our customer, so we use special design techniques that flatter the mature figure.
Timeless looks, superb quality
Our talented design team travel the world, seeking out only those fabrics that drape beautifully and feel luxurious. We know our ladies are discerning and style conscious. We also know they love timeless looks and appreciate great quality. We keep all that in mind with every style we create.
Creating the Perfect Fit
Cut for comfort and elegance
Our sizing specialists make sure every outfit works beautifully. Our bodies change shape as we age, so we size our clothes according to our customers’ figures – not the market as a whole. Our team work out the exact proportions needed to make the paper pattern and perfect fit for every size.
Tried and tested by our own team
To see exactly how something will look when you wear it, we use in-house volunteers, as well as special mannequins that represent the real-life shape of our customers. All our styles are available in sizes 10-24. Because we make everything ourselves here in Derbyshire, we are very consistent in size and fit. We can also offer special sizes on a wide range of styles.
Made For You
Proudly made in England
We have an unwavering commitment to making quality clothes in Britain. A skilled team of over 100 seamstresses, cutters, dressmakers and knitters make your clothes right here in Derbyshire, using authentic skills and the latest techniques.
Committed to making quality clothes
We like to do things the traditional way, putting patience and pride into everything we make. Each garment is made with the very greatest of care for comfort and quality, then finished with a label proudly signed by the people who’ve made it. This is our hallmark of quality.
Take a look behind the scenes
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The World’s Finest Fabrics and Yarns
We select only the finest fabrics and yarns for our designs. Because of their beauty, durability and sustainability, we use natural fibres whenever we can. So you’ll find lots of pure cotton, cosy lambswool, sublime silk and luxurious cashmere in our collections. Every bolt of cloth or skein of yarn must look fabulous and feel comfortable against the skin – and be durable enough to give years of joyful wear.
Our Fabrics
The finest fabrics from around the world
Our Supreme Silk
Nothing beats the lavish feel of silk. These days, you’ll find silk in many high street shops, but we only choose the very finest for our designs. The quality of silk is measured in mommes, which reflect the density of the fibres. Our pure silk designs always have a very high momme count to ensure fabulous whisper-softness and incredible lustre.
Our Fine Velvets
We choose different kinds of velvet to give texture and richness to our designs. Velvet devoré is the epitome of glamour – ours is always made the traditional French way, by burning the velvet over a patterned stencil. We also choose the most strokably soft and cocooning velour, often for our luxurious loungewear and gowns – a David Nieper speciality.
Our Exceptional Jersey
Many of our wonderful jersey fabrics come from France and Italy. We love jersey as it’s versatile, comfortable and flattering. It also resists creasing, so you’ll look elegant all day. We only select the most luxurious of jerseys like naturally breathable pure cotton jersey. Or we choose a fine viscose mix that’s derived from natural sources – its lovely drape and movement is beyond compare.
Our Light-as-air Cotton
Cotton is soft, durable and easy to care for – and ours is very special. Much of it comes from East Africa where they grow the ‘Rolls Royce’ of cotton, called Tana Lawn. Our buyers choose family mills in the foothills of the Alps for their long expertise and for the unique way they condition their fabrics – using pure glacial water from the mountains.
Our Yarns
Natural yarns for softness and warmth
Our Light and Lovely Merino
Centuries ago, merino wool was often given as a gift between kings. Today, we choose merino from New Zealand’s Southern Alps, home to some of the world's most prized fleeces. Merino is light yet warm, so it’s ideal for layering. The pure white fibres absorb colour well, so we can offer a range of beautiful shades and patterns for you to wear.
Our Naturally Warm Lambswool
Our toasty lambswool is spun by a centuries-old family business in the Yorkshire Pennines that is one of the last remaining traditional spinners in England. We use it to make cosy knitwear that’s soft enough to be worn next to the skin. We sometimes mix it with other premium fibres, like angora, to create supremely soft and special knitwear.
Cashmere Like No Other
Lofty cashmere is such a sumptuous treat, and ours is particularly special. We select only super-fine, super-luxurious cashmere fibres for our knitwear. The result is truly supreme softness for you. We finish our wonderful Italian cashmere clothes in our pure Derbyshire water for a premium feel that you’ll treasure forever.
Our Cool Cotton Yarns
Cotton is a wonderful yarn for light, warm-weather knits. It’s naturally breathable, so you’ll stay warm when it’s cold, and cool when it’s hot. Of course, we choose only top quality cotton from trusted, traditional mills. Now and then we blend cotton with other premium yarns, such as silky viscose, to offer you something luxuriously different.
