… Other Scottish designers in Edinburgh are also starting to gain a following. While many are thrilled by the arrival of Harvey Nichols in the city centre and Sir Terence Conran’s Ocean Terminal (with international shops, restaurants, bars and a hotel) opening at Leith, there remains a quieter breed of Edinburgh residents for whom word of mouth is still the best recommendation.
That’s how I discovered Coburg House Studios, an old grain warehouse in the docklands which now houses a community of artists and craftspeople. From here, tailor Ruth Morris runs Roobedo, a successful madeto-measure clothing business without a retail outlet. Clients measure themselves and order their garments by mail or pop into the studio for a fitting.
Morris says her design style is influenced by “the aura of the Hebridean islands” and “civilian clothing, elegantly adapted and worn by British women in the 1940s”.
Hers is a collection of loose, wearable separates (wool “workskirt”, £85) in any fabric you choose, from swatches in the catalogue. No wonder these have caught on – but then so have her fitted suits of featherweight Harris tweed (from £300), which make even generously proportioned women look feminine and business-like, without the itch
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