shared ownership], which runs in Au-
gust. But my interest in the clothing
side, and traditional clothing in gen-
eral, started with this old top hat I
purchased for £40. I wore it to a race,
and everyone was asking me about it,
so I realized there must be a market
for it – I took it to a shop in Jermyn
Street, famous for its gentlemen's
tailors, and sold it to them for £200.
"Not long after that, I started work-
ing in fashion and managed a shop
on Sloane Street. Oliver Brown was
based there too. It was founded in
1980, and I ended up buying it out of
liquidation in 1998. The name actu-
ally comes from the original owner's
dog, Oliver, who was brown in color
– quite simple, really. But we've done
very well with it and have recently
expanded our retail space. The show-
room is now double the size, and we
have a bespoke tailoring shop. As
much of our stock as possible is made
in the UK, and we use materials and
traditional craftsmen sourced from
around the country."
Part of the company's current suc-
cess is in part down to its Ascot con-
nections, with customers heading
to the store to buy clothing before
the event, and again when they at-
tend the race itself from The Ascot
Shop. "We have a special Royal As-
cot collection," Ferner Robson adds.
"That means a special range of brac-
es, socks, waistcoats, shirts and ties.
We've designed a very high-quality
