Sunspel | Essential Pieces from the Century-Old British Men's Cotton Brand (Plus His New Wool Blazer)
Everyone who knows Sunspel probably knows their Made in Scotland men's underwear and West Indies Sea Island cotton and Cellular cotton T-shirts and Polo-Shirts(for knowledge about cotton types, check out Mauro Ottaviani's spring and summer fabrics). This article introduces this men's clothing brand through the newly purchased lightweight travel wool blazer. Although they also have a women's line (only launched in 2012), they still mainly focus on the men's market.
Additionally, brands like Brioni and Tom Ford also like to use Sea Island cotton for their cotton products.
Due to its mid-to-low-end price range, many young men like to buy it. For those who can't afford The Row, Agnona, or Gabriela Hearst menswear, you can check out this brand. Although the fabric quality isn't comparable, the price is truly affordable for the masses. Furthermore, after 100 years of menswear development, they have English literary men's clothing styling that's suitable for men who aren't so burly.
I think Sunspel is equivalent to Common Projects in footwear - both are high-quality, high-value classic men's brands (choose core collections). The designs are simple and basic, worth buying several pieces.
01
1860: Thomas Hill founded the brand in Newdigate, Nottingham, initially focusing on producing high-end knitwear made of cashmere, silk, and merino wool, establishing the core concept of "creating everyday luxury with premium fabrics."
1900: Introduced Caribbean Sea Island Cotton, one of the world's rarest cotton with the longest fibers, giving garments ultimate softness and luster, becoming the brand's signature material.
1908: Launched the world's first luxury T-shirt made of Sea Island cotton - thin, breathable, and designed specifically for tropical climates in the Far East, becoming an early export star product.
1914: Invented Cellular Cotton with horizontal grid texture, creating the Q14 fabric with breathable mesh by modifying lace-making technology, which remains the core material of the brand's classic series to this day.
1937: Due to trade contraction caused by the Great Depression, the brand was renamed "Sunspel" (inspired by the "sunny period" of the Caribbean) and relocated to a factory in Long Eaton near Nottingham, which remains the brand's production center to this day.
1947: The founder's great-grandson John Hill introduced the concept of boxer shorts from America, improved the design (adding back panels, flat seams) and using premium cotton to launch English boxer shorts, becoming the model for modern men's underwear.
1965: Rebuilt global reputation after the war, with products entering top department stores like Harrods, becoming synonymous with British luxury underwear.
1985: Gained fame through Levi's classic "Laundromat" advertisement — model Nick Kamen wearing only white Sunspel boxer shorts while taking off jeans in a laundromat, transforming the item from high-end niche to pop culture and becoming a symbol of sexiness.
The boxer shorts are amazing, just like ordinary home shorts. Eddy likes to wear these in summer when taking out the trash or picking up deliveries.
1990s: Facing the impact of fast fashion, the brand achieved revival by focusing on core product lines (such as T-shirts, boxer shorts) and upgrading craftsmanship, emphasizing the design philosophy that "classics are eternal."
2006: Collaborated with "007: Casino Royale," customizing Riviera Polo shirts for Daniel Craig. The Financial Times called this item "a shortcut to emulating Bond without requiring a tuxedo," further enhancing international recognition.
After all, 007 is a character in British comics, and the clothing choices tend toward British style, such as Tom Ford, N.Peal
2010: Opened their first independent store, later expanding to global cities including New York and Tokyo; 2012: Launched women's Sea Island cotton shirts and Cellular cotton underwear.
2017: Celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Long Eaton factory, emphasizing local manufacturing and artisan heritage, becoming one of the few brands still producing high-end T-shirts in the UK.
When buying clothes, check specifically: most of Sunspel's production lines have been moved to Portugal, with most products being Made in Portugal. Only a very small number are Made in Scotland, while most John Smedley products are still Made in England.
02
Sunspel brand is positioned at the mid-to-low end, so I only recommend buying the most expensive item in each category. The most classic categories are Sea Island cotton T-shirts and Polo T-shirts. Additionally, the most expensive wool items in the Jacket, Coat, and Trousers categories are also worth buying. Sunspel's menswear design and fit are on point.
For example, T-shirts range from £90 to £245, and you should go for those above £200. The expensive ones are made of Sea Island cotton, and some even have cotton + silk blends (this fabric is great, half silk and half cotton - Eddy has one made of this fabric, which is both durable and cool with some luster).
For Polo T-shirts, go for Sea Island Cotton and cashmere blends, or pure Sea Island cotton. With these mid-to-low-end non-cashmere specialty brands, don't buy cashmere - you can buy wool but not cashmere as it's not worth it. For cashmere, try to go to professional cashmere brands - I don't even recommend The Row's cashmere.
Skip Sunspel's knit series entirely - check out the cashmere brands I wrote about in my brands series.
For Sunspel's jacket & coat series, sorting by price from high to low, the most expensive are the suede and Harris tweed Harrington jackets.
The Harrington jacket is a British native jacket, all with Scottish tartan on the inside, generally made of cotton or blended materials, with elastic cuffs and hem, usually with a stand-up collar, and zippers or snap buttons in the front. The British brand Baracuta specializes in Harrington Jackets, with their famous G9 Jacket series.
However, Sunspel's Harrington Jacket doesn't have elastic cuffs and hem, so it's not entirely authentic.
For these larger pieces, the fabric quality is somewhat inferior compared to most mid-to-high-end brands I've written about - it's a bit scratchy. If you can accept that, take a look - the advantage is in price and fit. Although I haven't tried on the trench coats and overcoats in person, judging from the pictures and the suit I bought this time, Sunspel's design level for larger pieces is quite good.
What Eddy bought this time is Sunspel's lightweight travel wool Blazer, which is the most expensive suit item from Sunspel.
Besides navy blue, it also comes in coffee color. The model is too muscular and would be more suitable for Italian brand lookbooks.
This garment looks very good on slimmer men.
The last Sunspel category worth looking at is trousers - forget about shorts.
The most expensive wool trousers are very nice, made from the same fabric as the suit above - they're all called lightweight travel wool. The next few linen ones are also good, but I don't recommend the others.
Sunspel's trousers are very neat, crisp, and slim-fitting, while the previously introduced Agnona trousers have more of a curved trouser feel, which looks younger and more fashionable.
Epilogue
Another British brand that also uses West Indies Sea Island cotton is John Smedley, which overlaps significantly with Sunspel. Both focus on cotton, some wool, and a small amount of cashmere. You can check out both, but John Smedley is twice as expensive as Sunspel, with slightly lower name recognition but more "old money" feeling. However, note that you shouldn't consider buying cashmere from these brands - even if they offer it, I don't recommend buying it. Go to dedicated cashmere brands for cashmere. Every fashion brand has its own specialty.
Another Italian brand focusing on cotton knitwear, SVEVO, is also good. It's priced similarly to John Smedley. I'll see if I have a chance to write about it later: firstly, it's not convenient to purchase in China; secondly, I don't like cotton - I still prefer cashmere, silk, and super-fine suit wool. Although he has a greater tolerance for cotton, the main decision-making power still rests with me.
Sunspel has Taobao flagship stores in China, with continuously operating WeChat official accounts and Xiaohongshu. Many Xiaohongshu bloggers are also promoting it - please view rationally. I recommend buying the most expensive and best items, since the brand's overall prices are not expensive.
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