There’s a lot to be said for dressing from the ground up. Get the foundations right and it should be smooth sailing – because shoes are, after all, the window to the soul. I grew up with the ‘shoes worth wearing, are worth repairing’ mantra, inherited from my late grandfather – who wore the same pair of well-loved and carefully looked-after brogues for almost half a century. What’s beautiful about this, is how those classic shoes transcended trends and always looked the part. Sure, good shoes cost more than your average sneakers, but buy cheaply and you’ll certainly buy twice; better instead to invest in a piece of footwear history.

Every great outfit should be built from the trousers upwards. The shape, feel and proportion of your entire ensemble should flow naturally from the correct pair of strides. But for too many men, this has meant limited options and narrow perspectives, and a reluctance to embrace the full glory of a wider leg.

British lambswool. What could be more sustainable? Extracting hardy fibres to make yarns for knitting is an ancient ritual that humans have been undertaking for centuries. Clipping the dense, winter coats from healthy flocks of sheep is all part of standard animal husbandry and by committing to buy wool from British farmers, Studio Nicholson are helping the crofting communities to thrive.

The manufacturing side of the fashion industry exists, for the most part, behind closed doors. Garment production commonly takes place overseas, and it’s rare for a designer to have hands-on access to every part of the sampling and production process. Sometimes nuances are lost in translation – which isn’t surprising when you’re creating entire collections by email. Thankfully, this isn’t the case for Studio Nicholson, where provenance is key.

Nick Wakeman thinks about clothing in the same way as most people consider architecture. She's never been one for fuss or flounce, preferring to concentrate instead on the dynamics of the human body, and how we inhabit the things we wear. The seams and structures she is careful to include in every garment aren't there to look pretty - they're the supporting beams that allow for playful movement and act as a framework for fluidity.

Functionality, modernity and playfulness are the inherent elements we believe in as a brand; they are the sacrosanct foundations of each collection. I believe that Studio Nicholson’s magic lies in making the everyday and common place garment exceptionally beautiful and flawlessly modern. I am infatuated with the idea of the ordinary and conventional in place of any kind of fantasy.

Sometimes it’s good to let your trousers do the talking. The second you walk into a room they’re communicating data about you, even before you’ve said a single word. Pants drive your entire outfit, which is why it makes sense to avoid transient trends and search out a style you can stick with. If you choose wisely, these two-legged friends will do all the thinking for you; simply slide both legs in, button up and get ready to seize the day.

Never one for a logo emblazoned chest, I steered clear of tracksuit tops in the 1980s. Kicking against the trend tide singled me out as the class nerd, and whilst everyone else was hellbent on dressing like a football casual (or Madonna) after school, I was happy to keep my shirt and tie on until bedtime. This habit lasted until I was 18, and to some extent, still continues today. Life is stressful enough without having to worry about what to wear; best to nail a formula and stick to it. Uniforms are popular for a reason – it’s because they work.