Larkspur EditFounding Story & Why We Started Writing
We started this journal because most fashion content online read like an advert wearing a trench coat, long on opinion and short on anything you could actually check. A few of us had spent years writing for regional papers and fashion desks, and we kept noticing the same gap: nobody was explaining fit and fabric in plain language without trying to sell something at the end of it.
So we built a small, independent team based in Birmingham, writing guides the way we'd want to read them ourselves. Every piece goes through a second pair of eyes before it's published, and we keep a running note of fabrics, fits and brands we've actually handled rather than guessed at from a press release.
We don't take payment to feature a brand inside a guide, and when we do run a labelled partnership, it's kept separate from the editorial advice. If we get a detail wrong, we say so and fix it, because the whole point of this site is being the kind of source we'd trust ourselves.
What Guides Our Writing
Written In-House
Every guide is written by our own small team, never bought from a content mill.
No Paid Features
Brands don't pay to appear in our guides, so the advice stays about fit and fabric, not sponsorship.
Local Birmingham Roots
We're based in Birmingham and test a lot of our advice against local shops and markets we actually visit.
Plain English Writing
We explain fabric and fit the way we'd explain it to a friend, without jargon for the sake of it.
Open About Mistakes
If we get something wrong, we correct it openly and note the change at the bottom of the article.
Reader Questions Welcome
Every guide links to a way of asking us a follow-up question, and we actually read the replies.
Honesty Over Hype
We'd rather say a piece is 'fine for the price' than oversell something to keep a brand happy. Readers notice the difference.
Plain Writing
We explain fit and fabric the way we'd explain it to a friend in the pub, without dressing it up in jargon.
Local Perspective
A lot of our examples and shop visits come from Birmingham and the surrounding area, because that's the city we actually know.
We check every fit and fabric claim against the actual garment before we let a guide go out under our name.
If I can't explain why a fabric behaves a certain way, the guide doesn't get published yet.