Shirt Story, Rye (2026)

31/12/2020

2020 brought new meaning to the saying “window shopping”! But there is a more serious message to share our gratitude this year ...

You guys, our customers, are simply awesome 🤩! When you buy a Shirt Story shirt not only do we do a little small business dance but it is more importantly supporting artisans in India who make these beautiful garments. Keeping this textiles heritage alive is a wonderful thing that we all appreciate in the shirts we wear. However, purchasing a shirt also provides work for artisans which is in many cases a lifeline for entire families (especially through a pandemic) which is just remarkable. Thank you, thank you, thank you 🙏🏻

We are so grateful to all of our loyal customers for evolving in these new times and supporting the launch of the new Shirt Story online store. This was never on our small business road map (we always planned on being a wholesale brand to boutiques and museums) so we are super proud to be where we are today. We found a new use for our off cuts too (we never waste anything!)! Launching 3 layers of fine organic cotton off cuts to make covid safe face masks was another project 2020 gave us that we would have never imagined being part of our brand this time last year.

We will be working hard into 2021 to keep a steady demand for Shirt Story to support our artisan supply chain. For now we wish you all a Happy New Year and peace to you and your families.

Some New Years resolution inspo for you:
- support small businesses
- shop sustainably
- know who made your clothes
- buy less, buy better!

16/12/2020

✨Seasons Greetings from Shirt Story ✨

The Vanani shirt is our play on a Forrest with the “upside down” triangles and with the festive period in full swing this dark green beauty is a stunning sustainable gift with a Christmas twist for someone you love! 💕

Have a very merry and safe Christmas everyone and let’s all look forward to 2021! 🎄🥂🌟

*** last Christmas orders for the UK Saturday 19th December ***

27/10/2020

Fashion Curator .laire_wilcox wearing Shirt Story in The Observer on Sunday. Perfectly styled with layering for this autumnal weather. A true appreciation for the threads of slow fashion and the story behind our clothes

27/09/2020

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(available online now)

Handmade from off cuts and end of the roll material by Shirt Story. Available in 2 sizes to ensure a safe, snug fit with strong elastic ear loops for durability.

😷 wear a mask
🧵 support artisans
♻️ reduce PPE waste
🌍 save our planet

30/07/2020

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7 - “Iconic American Textile Designer Buys one of our Shirts”

The visionary American textile designer, Jack Larsen, loved his shirt so much that he bought from the V&A Shop when he visited London that he tracked us down asked us to make some for his LongHouse Reserve museum shop in East Hampton.

Jack has been a hero of mine since my 20's. This is all VERY exciting!

📸 Samvit Sarabhai with Jack Lenor Larsen in LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton, New York

28/06/2020

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6 - “THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE YOUR SHIRT” ⠀

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Our supply chain of people, skills and materials is strong. Everyone is working under difficult restrictions and environmental challenges due to the global pandemic and high temperatures in India (can be as high as 46 degrees in the daytime!). Jo and I are in touch with Rajka on a weekly basis and together we are committed to supporting long term sustainable livelihoods for the families of dedicated spinners, weavers, dyers and tailors making our beautiful handmade shirts.
We will post more news of our Shirt Stories and hope to hear some of yours in return. We would love to hear how you are enjoying wearing your very special shirt. Do send pictures too if you feel inclined to so!

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18/06/2020

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5 - “GRANDMOTHER GRANDDAUGHTER TEAM” ⠀

This next best chapter begins when my lovely very smart granddaughter Josephine and I become partners in this small business. And our little business was soon named "Shirt Story" !
We have fun travelling to India together and I discover that Jo not only has a brilliant eye for colour and design, she is super tech savvy and great at business management! I never have to learn how to do spread sheets (phew!) but I do have to master the art of disciplines Instagram posting.... thank you for bearing with me!

08/06/2020

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4 - “AHMEDABAD” ⠀

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In 2013 I flew again to Ahmedabad to see Raju, Samvit and Ritu Sarabhai at Rajka Designs. We share similar values and with their skilled network of spinners, dyers, weavers and tailors we worked together at Rajka for several weeks to create samples. Our creative process is fluid, intuitive, iterative and generous. We explore and draw each other’s ideas. We feel cloth samples to arrive at the right weight, thread count, texture and drape. Tailors make samples as if by magic in the next few days. We agree on the construction of our cotton cloth which remains the same for every collection. We decide on the cut, stitching details and hand-made buttons which remain the same for each collection . The samples look and feel great. I bring some home to try, to wash and wear again and again and to see what discerning friends think.
In 2014 I am excited to show my first collection to V&A buyers and the legendary London antique textile dealer Joss Graham. They all loved them!
Our company didn’t even have a name at that point but by spring of 2015 Shirt Story had secured a few small orders which sold out very quickly. More and bigger orders followed. Because our shirts can be worn all year round we were not bound by seasonal deadlines. If stocks were running low at the V&A the buyers ordered more. Our biggest surprise was to discover that both Men and Women of ALL ages loved our shirts!
Shirt Story as a brand was soon to be born!
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29/05/2020

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3 - “MY SIMPLE WARDROBE” ⠀

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Over the years I collected Khadi shirts made by expert Indian tailors who adapted the classic shape from a favourite French men’s work shirt. These shirts were made to last and I felt so good in them in any situation. My friends liked them too so I made some for them.

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I did some research on the history of Khadi cloth and Ikat pattern making in London's Victoria and Albert museum. The V&A has a number of study rooms where it is possible to view textiles from their Reference Collections to conduct private research. This treasure trove is an incredible resource for students and scholars outside of India. I wanted to understand more about how this thousand year old Khadi story is being told today and to bring it to the attention of a wider public in a practical way.

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And this is now my beautiful wardrobe of shirts, which has inspired our collection at Shirt Story.

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24/05/2020

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2 - “A PLACE TO DREAM” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I flew to India to visit old friends to dream.
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In my suitcase were treasured cotton Khadi shirts given to me many years before by the dynamic patron of Indian arts, crafts and architecture, Manorama Sarabhai. ‘Mani’ as we called her was introduced to me when I was a 19 year old textile design student at the Royal College of Art in London. She lived in a wonderful 'inside out' house in a wild garden in Ahmedabad. She and her son Anand invited artists to work in a studio there. Mani always wore Khadi as a mark of respect for Gandhi’s Freedom struggle against the British. I loved her infectious curiosity and generosity. I loved her Khadi cloth and stories about Indian textile making.
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60 years later I am STILL wearing the first cotton ‘kurta’ she gave me…in burnt orange it still glows like the setting sun and is as soft as a handkerchief. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Photograph: The Retreat - Manorama Sarabhai's Corbusier House in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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21/05/2020

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LATE LIFE CRISIS ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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On my 75th birthday I ‘retired’. I never had a career plan. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

One decade at a time opportunities evolved: designing textiles, publishing children’s books, international photographic assignments. In 1989 I started a non-profit arts organisation called Performing Arts Labs. Over two and a half decades small groups of talented writers, composers, directors, actors and singers were brought together to develop original works for stage and screen and each exciting ‘Lab’ led to another. 150 exhilarating productive workshops happened across Europe and in India and Africa. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Then ‘retirement’. I panicked. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

I needed a ‘Lab’ of my own to figure out what to do next! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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20/05/2020

• O U R • S T O R Y •
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It’s difficult to know where to start with our story as the journey has been evolving for over 30 years. Co-founder Susan will be posting short stories in the coming weeks to share with you some of the highlights! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Shirt Story

31/12/2020

16/12/2020

27/10/2020

27/09/2020

30/07/2020

28/06/2020

18/06/2020

08/06/2020

29/05/2020

24/05/2020

21/05/2020

20/05/2020

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