Sunspel: luxury basics for the great outdoors

As much as one may associate Sunspel's (http://www.sunspel.com) fastidiously engineered quality clothing with fairly languid settings - perhaps the living room, where one of the Nottingham firm's drawstring trousers are a perfect match to a mug of freshly brewed coffee and a favourite broadsheet - the brand also has an irrevocable association with the great outdoors. That was only ever going to be a natural consequence of a steadfast commitment to the highest standards of traditional craftsmanship and fabric innovation.

This association began at an early stage, in a 19th century and early 20th century in which a widespread appetite for far-flung places was rapidly developing. But perhaps it took the outbreak of the bloody conflicts of the two World Wars, alongside the comparatively bloodless conflict of the ensuing Cold War, for it to truly embed itself in the Sunspel brand story. After all, both World Wars saw the company donating uniform items and underwear to troops and medical services, in conjunction with the Red Cross and military bodies.

The military link also had a curious part to play in the development of what is now one of Sunspel's undoubted icon products, the quality T-shirt, with veterans combining their uniform trousers with their undershirts and in the process, popularising this garment as a symbol of rebellion and freedom. While the Sunspel white T-shirt was reaching its iconic simplicity, other items of Sunspel luxury clothing were proving their worth in the most hostile outdoor environments, such as on Oxford University's 1963 Expedition to Northern Persia.

By this time, Sunspel had already reaffirmed its military connections, signing a contract with The War Office to provide the Royal Air Force with a special range of underwear. But with the passing of the subsequent decades, it is civilian contexts in which Sunspel's clothing has come to the fore outdoors. One only needs to look to such recent examples as polar explorer Ben Saunder's use of Sunspel thermals and merino base layers, renowned for their ability to insulate and trap moisture away from the skin, even in conditions that are the most extreme of the extreme. Indeed, a trip to India saw them being further flight tested by the actor Dominic West and James Mallinson, the international paragliding ace.

Sunspel even developed some  very special British clothing for some very special British sporting heroes: namely, four of the country's top rowers, Tom Solesbury, Steve Rowbotham, Sam Townsend and Bill Lucas. These rowers may be amateur, competing for non-existent or negligible financial rewards, but such a humble status only makes the intense training and sheer pluckiness of these sportsmen - with or without Sunspel's classic high quality Egyptian cotton clothing - all the more impressive.

Across the Sunspel (http://www.sunspel.com) product range, from its mens polo shirts and T-shirts to its knitwear, outerwear and trousers, there are impeccably crafted garments that make sense across the seasons, standing up to the most vigorous outdoor abuse - a signal of the company's considerable design and fabric expertise.

Editor’s Note: Sunspel UK (http://www.sunspel.com) are represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Email: info@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.