Label victims

According to a study carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a pair of £8 jeans has been found to be better made and longer wearing than a £123 pair.

Sceptical? Well, ten pairs of ladies' jeans and ten polo shirts underwent rigorous testing in fifteen different trials aimed at judging the garments’ colour-fastness, seam strength, shrinkage after washing and resistance to abrasion.

In general, the cheaper items fared better than their more expensive rivals, with the £8 pair of jeans coming out on top and the £123 pair lagging behind in fourth place. Full marks also went to a £12 polo shirt, while the £85 shirt came in fifth place.

Andy Garbutt, retail expert at PWC, said: 'We didn't test for fit, fashionability or brand. We purely looked at the quality of the clothes, how well made they were. And it is clear that there is no longer a link between quality and price. It may not have been the cheapest clothes that won, but it was often the second cheapest.'

While a £115 saving might seem appealing in the run-up to a credit crunch Christmas, unfortunately PWC has refused to reveal the names of the retailers tested for fear of 'damaging relationships' with clients.

Your pants offend me

Do nudists hate pants? It's a serious question. The British Naturism society are having their annual meeting at Alton Towers (Where else?! - all those rides, the fresh air, the queues...eh?) but, bizarrely, the event is being sponsored by an underwear company called Kiniki. Unsurprisingly the naturists are up in arms.

John Walker of Kiniki doesn't understand what the fuss is about though: “We’re not trying to be cheeky or step on anyone’s toes here. We simply thought it was a great event to be a part of. I can see how people who don’t like wearing clothes could get shirty about us being their sponsor. You could say it’s the equivalent of a butcher sponsoring a vegetarian event." An interesting analogy.

Established in 1976, Kiniki has grown from a backroom business for mail order men’s underwear to a company with more than 30 million sales under its belt (if the naturists were offered belts a riot could break out).

Suit up!

Going for a job interview can be a nervous experience, and as such anything you can do to make it less daunting is surely a good thing? A good, professional, suit is a great way to give you that boost of confidence; after all, clothes make the (wo)man.

So, it seems understandable to read that Job Centres are handing out almost £10m a year to job seekers for vouchers to enable them to buy suits at high street stores to help them get jobs.

Certainly we've written many times about the work that goes in to making top quality suits and, while high street suits may not be bespoke, or suitable (no pun) for working in the Bank of England, for those looking to get back in to work, a smart suit is a great way to put a spring in the step as those at the interview stage sit down behind a desk to those familiar words of "So, tell me why you think..."

There goes the sun

So summer's been and gone now - clocks change next weekend, sob. It was a good one though...well better than it seemed it was going to be at one point. With the summer gone it seems strange a group of scientists should choose now to publishing findings that dark clothing is better than Hawaiian shirts for sun protection.

Although dark clothing is usually shunned in hot weather for light, floaty, bright colours, Dr Ascension Riva, who led the study - published in the journal Industrial and Engineering Chemistry said, “The colour of cotton woven fabrics is a factor that has a remarkable influence on their protection against ultraviolet radiation." She added, "Clothing manufacturers could use information from this study to better design sun-protective clothing."

So, what are you waiting for, get to it - in time for next years heatwave!

Fighting off Swine Flu while looking suave

As we head into the winter months the risk of Swine Flu returns once more. The colder conditions, people staying indoors more, all leads to the possibility of catching the dreaded disease. Fighting back could involve washing hands regularly, avoiding people who have had the illness and so on - but also you could wear this suit, which claims to keep the disease at bay.

On The Telegraph the story says, "The suit is coated with the chemical titanium dioxide, which reacts to light to break down and kill the virus when it comes into contact with it, according to Junko Hirohata. The chemical is a common ingredient in toothpaste and cosmetics."

The suit retails at £365 but with 4,100 deaths already confirmed due to swine flue around the world, it wouldn't be surprising if it found a fair few customers.

Uniforms on stamps

The Royal Navy is to have its history of uniforms documented on a new set of six stamps that will feature all manner of uniforms, beginning with the gold-crested frock coat of an Admiral from 1795, through to the high visibility uniform of a 2009 Flight Deck Officer, reports the Daily Telegraph.

They also feature an 1805 Royal Marine, an Able Seaman from 1880, a 1918 Women's Royal Navy Service Officer and a Second World War Captain.

Julietta Edgar, head of special stamps at Royal Mail, said: 'Some of our most significant commemorative issues have highlighted the bravery and sacrifice of the UK's servicemen and women, and they continue to play a key role in the stamps that we issue.'

Vice Admiral Sir Alan Massey added: ''These stamps reflect the great history of the senior service and uniquely represent changes in the Royal Navy, from the development of the fleet air arm to the introduction of women at sea. The importance of mail to the morale of our personnel deployed around the world cannot be overstated, and Royal Mail continues to provide us with a terrific service.'

A decision on swimsuits

We've covered swim suits before here, here, here, and even here and now a decision has finally been made by the sports' governing body in the States. Watch a video about it on the BBC site here.

Tall tales

The BBC's top story today, ironically enough, is about the world's tallest man visiting London. A massive 2m 47 he is, or 8ft 1". Tall. Top shelf items, not a problem. Lightbulbs? Changed. Stars on Christmas trees? Placed.

Of course, for the chap himself, many things we all take for granted are suddenly made a lot harder. Clothing for instance. He has to have a lot of things specially made, such as his suit and even his bed is designed for him, and comes in at a massive three meters long. Talk about bespoke tailoring!

With his new found world record status though, perhaps the offers of specialist clothing will come flooding in, leaving him with a full wardrobe of clothing to choose from.

Scotland the brave

You can't have failed to notice the recent furor over events in Scotland concerning the Lockerbie bombing and the subsequent fallout. Part of this including people calling on others to boycott Scotland and products associated with them.

Harris Tweed, the famous clothing brand, was reportedly going to tone down its Scottishness, in order to avoid any adverse business arising from this boycott. However, Betty Davies, the Edinburgh-based designer and fashion consultant, said that any strategy downplaying the origins of the fabric would be a “serious mistake” and maintained that the claims could instead be motivated by an attempt to harm the Scottish government, said an article by The Times.

It's an interesting point. Any company or brand that uses its country of origin as a selling point does risk the (admittedly rare) chance the brand could become devalued in the eyes of the population. The Boycott Scotland movement doesn't seem like it will go far, and it would be harsh to subject hard-working people to a boycott over a decision they had no involvement in, but it's been enough of an issue that the company has become involved in the news in this way.

200 not out

Hello! We're very excited here today, *hic*, for you see - oh, slice of cake, don't mind if I do - this is our 200th blog post! Hooray!

A year after we first started and we've covered all manner of topics, gone through a global recession, hosted a star-studded awards, and had a website relaunch. Busy busy!

And blog 201 will be along later today...

It's a tie (or is it)

A fascinating article on the BBC Magazine website today about the ways in which school pupils undermine the wearing of a tie by coming up with weird and wonderful ways to make them look rebellious and, er, cool.

But, as you'd expect, teachers are not happy. Quoted in the article a principal called Ruth Harker at Shenley Court Academy in the West Midlands says that they they have made the decision to switch to clip-on ties. She said, "It is basically to ensure consistency in the way the ties were tied. It is also to try and avoid this half tied look."

Kids eh! What do you think? Willful defiance or just kids being kids?

The right look?

A woman with a prosthetic arm has been awarded £8,000 after winning an employment tribunal against clothing giant Abercrombie and Fitch. She claimed she was "diminished" for not fitting the "look policy" at the Savile Row store in central London.

We've often looked at the importance of having the right look for customer facing staff in high-street stores, after all they're representing a brand and need to convey a certain look. However, as this case shows, sometimes it can go too far. It would be hard to imagine that any shopper would really be so turned away from a shop by a worker with a fake arm. The thing any clothing company should be worrying about, from the smallest one-off shop to worldwide multi-nationals, is the quality of the clothing. Wouldn't you agree?

Barred?

A story on the front page of the Metro, and in the Daily Mail, reports that a group of soldiers were turned away from a pub because they were wearing their military uniforms.

This is not actually a new thing and in some instances you can understand why a bar or pub might ban a large group of drunk, uniformed soldiers. However, in this case it was just four people and they were having a drink after a funeral for a fellow soldier. Therefore, perhaps a little discretion was needed?

What do you think? A little too far or fair enough?

Whiter than white

When you've got a tan the best thing you can possibly do, to annoy those who remain white as a sheet at least, is wear a white shirt. Showing off your healthy, glowing skin (you've sun creamed and after-sunned correctly, etc) is augmented with a nice crisp white shirt.

And, perhaps that's why one shirt seller has reported a massive 50% increase in the sales of white shirts in 2009. Others though, suggest it's a way to appear professional (or go unnoticed) during these tough economic conditions. But other shops have reported no sharp increase. So why has this happened? Any ideas fair readers?

Under the cover of darkness

Some Friday fun as it's Friday.

A powercut in Lincolnshire has been blamed on underwear that was carried into pylon's on helium balloons. The underwear - a thong if you want to be specific - was attached to the balloon and then must have floated up into the transformer. The local polo club's summer party is thought to be the most likely place of origin for the offending article. Polo players are always the ones to blame aren't they?!

What a bizarre story. Have a nice weekend.

Drowning, not waving

We've covered swimsuit technology before, and the problems it's causing for the sport of swimming as it helps swimmers smash world records they might not otherwise have broken, and now, with the swimming world championships taking place, the debate has reared out of the water once again.

An in-depth piece on The Guardian underlines the extent of the problem, and the sports governing bodies indecision as to how best deal with it. It's hard to know which side to fall on. In many ways the evolution of technology is as much a part of sport as rule changes and nutritional improvements. If the suits are available to all then surely it's still a level playing field? But, then again, if the suits give an unnatural advantage against the very element that is supposed to make the sport what it is, then the essence of the sport, the competition and, at a basic level 'fair play' is scuppered.

It seems as if the suits will be scrapped for 2010, meaning the next Olympics will not be involved in this dispute. However, it seems unlikely, given the regularity with which this topic is covered, that 2010 will see all the problems simply washed away.

Hello hello hello

The importance of the correct clothing for those operating on behalf of the public is one Company Clothing has looked at before - from traffic wardens to police officers. However, while the correct PPE or right image if important, so too is it important to respect customs and beliefs of those you wish to talk to and engage with.

Consequently Avon and Somerset Police have provided their female officers with head scarves that will allow them to enter Mosques and talk to Muslims, without the risk of offence.

They have already been issued to eight PCSOs and seven police officers, including Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Roberts. Ms Roberts said, quoted in The Telegraph: "Producing head coverings for our officers and staff to wear in places of worship is part of our commitment to engage with all our communities. It recognises and respects the cultural and religious practices of our communities."

The Muslim response was such (again, from The Telegraph): Rashad Azami, Imam and director of the Bath Islamic Society, said: "It is highly pleasing to see that the Avon and Somerset Constabulary is introducing specially designed head coverings for female officers as part of their police uniform. This will go a long way in encouraging a trustful relationship between the police and the Muslim community."

The importance of the correct clothing once again being highlighted.

Caught on camera?

Technology and clothing go together a lot as we cover on both this blog and in the magazine on a regular basis. This latest story from the BBC News website underlines this with the potential for clothes being able to take photos a possibility.

Of course such technologies are only in the development stage and before any tangible end uses were discovered we'll have all aged several years. But it's a fascinating concept to consider: Police officers would have images of criminals, you'd never miss a perfect photo opportunity. The only problems is - where would you store everything?

Building a future

While economic conditions continue to be uncertain, some good news came from the government recently with the announcment that a £1.5bn building scheme would go ahead.

The news will be welcomed in the construction industry and in turn by clothing companies who provide all manner of garments and PPE in to these industries, ensuring future turnover. With many fearing public spending will be cut back in future years to pay back the government's debt, areas such as construction risked seeing budgets cut, but if the £1.5bn scheme goes ahead as planned, it should provide some much needed support.

What do you think? Is this enough, or is more need to safeguard industries such as construction - and in turn the sectors that provide to them - in the midst of the current climate.

UnBAAleviable

Sheep are shrinking?! What the Dickens. IS there no END to this madness in the world right now?!

With sheep shrinking wool shortages will become common, knitting will become a dark art, practicsed underground by knitting junkies looking for their next hit of wool to weave;, needle abuse will have a whole new meaning; nice thick jumpers to keep out the cold will become mythical, like a golden fleece, and we'll all be freezing.

Or maybe we won't, who knows.