Alice Collins clothing has come from the same Yorkshire family business since 1988, and you tend to notice the colour before you notice the label. Knitwear leads this autumn. Ruby red, rich navy, blue smoke and emerald green run through the mock necks, roll necks and cardigans. Cotton shirts, pleated skirts and a pair of wellington boots fill in around them.
We stock Alice Collins in Fleet because it does the hardest thing in buying well, which is colour people actually reach for. The reds are true reds with no orange in them. The navies are deep rather than washed out. Put two pieces together off the same rail and they work, and that is why customers come back for it.
Knitwear is where the range starts: mock necks, roll necks, cowl necks, striped crews, and a pure wool overshirt cardigan cut closer to a jacket than a cardigan. Around it sit crisp cotton shirts in white, powder pink and blue smoke, and pull-on pleated midi skirts that travel well and come out of a case uncreased. Outerwear is louder. A pink leopard faux fur and a long aztec-print fleece, both short enough to wear over jeans. The Mayfair ankle wellington boots are new this season, in navy and chocolate brown, fully waterproof and cut for easy on and off.
Sizing across this season's range runs 10 to 18 on the clothing, depending on the style, and UK 3 to 7 on the boots. The fits are straightforward. Jumpers sit easy through the body at hip length, the Kim shirts are darted front and back for a proper waist, and the Maggie skirts pull on with a knitted elasticated band. Nothing here needs planning around. It suits a work day, a lunch out, a school run or a wet walk, and the Mayfairs handle the last one properly.
One Yorkshire family business, stocked by another family business on Fleet High Street. We buy it for the colour and we keep buying it for the fit.
