Luxury knitwear for all
(except boys)
About Us
We have always loved the look and feel of luxury knitwear, and especially fine cashmere. But the very best has rarely been within our reach.
So, two years ago we set ourselves a challenge. Could we make beautiful knitwear at the same – or higher – standards than the luxury brands and sell them direct to you at a more sensible price? aethel is the result.
The finest yarns; knitted in London; sent direct to you from Islington N1.
Brand
Who is Aethel?
Gertrude Aethel Annie How was born in 1900 and started work in a Romsey clothes shop aged 16. She was my grandmother.
Gertrude had strong values written within her name. Aethel means ‘noble’ and ‘honourable’ in Anglo Saxon. She would remind her grandson that life should always be lived this way. We do our best to uphold these values now her name is also our brand.
Sourcing
Made in Blighty
We like to make in the UK. It’s our home.
We knit in Haringey, north London; our recycled boxes are made in Woolwich; and our labels in Leytonstone.
Only our cashmere yarn comes from beyond these shores since Italian yarn is simply the best we can find.
Product
Our yarns
Loro Piana spin our cashmere yarns. They are very fine indeed.
Loro Piana is part of the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy Group and their yarn is mostly used by their own luxury brands and a few others besides.
We are proud to work with Celine, Luana and the rest of the Loro Piana team.
Approach
Honest and Open
Aethel only sells direct to you, the customer.
We explain the cost of producing each item and the mark-up.
Luxury brands often mark up 8x or more. We mark up 2-2.5x. We are small so our overheads are low. Although our products are still expensive, we believe they remain good value for money.
