Take a look at our Online Shop where you’ll find 3 styles of colourful cotton socks, made in the UK (Wales actually) from 100% long staple Egyptian cotton. They’re lovingly made specially for Dents by our sister company, Corgi Hosiery, at their factory in the beautiful Amman valley in Wales. 

You may be wondering what makes our socks different from the common or garden sock you usually see. A few things - firstly, they’re a 100% natural fibre so the fit is a little looser and more comfortable than a regular sock; secondly they have hand linked toes, the result of an incredibly skilled and intricate operation where the ends of yarn of the body of each sock are linked by hand to the ends of yarn in the toe pieces, to ensure a comfortable fit that a machine made sock will never match; and thirdly the cuffs of the socks are also finished by hand. I can personally vouch for all this, as I've seen them being made, AND they’re HUGE fun to wear!

From a style perspective, sales of brightly coloured socks have been shooting up recently. Maybe it’s because during tough times these socks add a touch of whimsy and allow men to express their personality. They’re the perfect foil to the classic navy blazer or dark denim jeans. Just because the economic outlook’s cloudy doesn’t mean your socks need to be!

Posted by Deborah, Dents Creative Director

At this time of year I’m really busy with new designs for Fall / Winter 2010, as well as a lot of travelling seeing customers to discuss how 2009 has gone (surprisingly well)!! Last week I stopped off in several Asian cities and managed to catch up with colleagues from Dents Australia. Now I’m packing my bags to go to the USA and Canada next week. Europe (again) is scheduled for January. How do I do it? Well, I must say the occasional margarita doesn’t hurt…

I’ve been having a first look at 2010 accessory trends. Studs have been the important detail this year, and it looks as though they’ll carry through to 2010.  There’s also a lot of interest in what we are calling our "French Sophisticate" look, which is a very ladylike look with lots of bow details etc. I can’t say too much more about our new designs for now, but expect a lot of them, and a lot of fabulous colours too.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to cheer yourself up as we work our way through this dreary November weather, take a peek at our collection for Spring / Summer 2010.

Dents have been making leather gloves since 1777, and in that time we’ve learned a thing or two about making them fit.

Our peccary gloves are made by hand in our Warminster factory here in England. Each one is individually hand cut and hand stitched. Due to the special nature of the leather we only make two pairs a day, and making just one pair involves 32 different operations, taking a total of around 6 hours. These particular gloves are normally lined with Scottish cashmere which has been specially knitted for us. In fact, they are made as two separate gloves: a lining, and an outer glove. We then fit the lining into the outer glove to create an exceptional fit.

Many styles of Dents gloves contain components and examples of the glovemaker’s craft not often found today – for example quirks, which are small diamond shaped pieces of leather sewn at the base of the fingers, where they are attached to the hand of the glove to improve the fit, or hand felling which involves stitching the hem of glove to the lining as well as the back of glove, helping the glove keep its shape.

 Dennis, our head leather cutter, has his own explanation for the fit. “It’s because of the ‘hidden fit’ - the amount of "stretch" the cutter puts into the leather before cutting. It allows the glove leather to stretch on your hand, but then due to this pre-stretching it retracts again keeping its shape and fit. It’s a skill that comes from years of experience. “

 Whatever the reason for the fit, it’s part of a commitment to quality which runs through the whole of our Collection…

Charlize's evening bag ... how small is too small? 

From Dents' Design Team - Posted by Laura

I just couldn’t help commenting on the decreasing size of evening bags - what exactly do you fit inside them?  When I go out for an evening I'm carrying my keys, my lipstick, my purse and my mobile, and I usually need a small suitcase to carry my items!  Maybe the answer is to have a partner with large enough pockets to carry everything for me instead … making me look even more dainty and petite with my tiny bag.....? 

 We’re finding studded accessories are the major fashion trend this season.  You literally cannot move on the high street without falling over shoes, handbags and gloves that are covered in them!  Some of our styles on the right…  

As we head towards the Christmas party season, this winter is all about sequin glamour - if you look through the fashion magazines, the high street stores and the internet you will see what a phenomenon sequins are!  We have many beautiful sparkly items available in stores now, so in this recession hit year, just grab your classic LBD (little black dress), update with a pair of sparkly gloves and handbag and make your way to the party!

Laura                                       

What a day we had at our media preview in London!  It was lovely catching up with so many old friends from the fashion world, but best of all was the reaction to our new Spring and Summer 2010 Collection. Many of London’s leading fashion journalists and stylists were there, they loved the new designs and colourways, and the new summer handbag collection especially attracted so much attention.

There was a lot of positive comment about our innovative bright animal print styles, and without doubt the new longer length shoulder bags are going to be hugely popular for the summer.

Many journalists couldn’t resist trying on some of our beautiful gloves – we all agreed that wearing fabulous gloves not only alters how you look but also how you feel. Summer gloves are going to be real fashion statements at all the best occasions next year and fun and stylish day gloves will also be seen everywhere.

Changing fashions also affected our catering – demand for champagne has gone right down and sparkling water was the order of the day. Other top fashion houses are reporting similar changes at their fashion events.

So now the Dents Spring Summer Collection is officially launched – look out for all the great new designs in department stores and fashion shops from the end of January onwards. 

Sally