Paul Smith

Paul Smith opened his first shop in 1970 at 6 Byard Lane in Nottingham. It measured three metres by three, had no window and opened only on Fridays and Saturdays. The label's stripe came out of the seventies, when yarn was wound round a bit of card to work out the colours. The current stripe runs to forty of them. "Classic with a twist" is Smith's own phrase for the approach. The brand describes itself as Britain's foremost designer, and sells men's and women's clothing, from suits and shirts to t-shirts and jeans, plus shoes and accessories. Oi Polloi stocks a relaxed blue short-sleeve shirt and a green shirt jacket.