‘I can’t imagine wearing anything else’: Goodbye to Old Town, the beloved Norfolk clothing company

Stylish but timeless, Old Town’s utility-inspired tailored clothes have won many fans among artists and celebrities. Now it’s to close, leaving devoted customers bereft

The premise of Old Town clothing was a simple one: choose from a limited range of designs and fabrics (cotton drill, canvas, linen or cord), provide your measurements and, a few weeks later, a box would arrive through the post containing your trousers, jacket or skirt, handmade in Norfolk by designer Will Brown, Marie Willey and their team of 10 seamstresses. But this year Old Town announced they are not taking any further orders and is winding down the main business – news greeted with anguish among their regular clients, including myself.

“We’re 68, we are tired,” Willey says. “We made a rod for our own backs because we’ve micromanaged things to the point it’s worn us out.” Each had clearly defined roles – Willey dealing with customers and ordering fabric, Brown the designing and making. In fact, he was the only person who knew how to operate the buttonhole sewing machine so he did them all himself, for years.