Our Story

SIRPLUS is based on a simple idea: that throwing away fabric that's no longer wanted or isn't "cool" anymore isn't, well...cool anymore.

Every high street fashion brand has a story about their environmental credentials. But for us, it's at the core of everything we do and where we began.

Our origin was simple to start with. Henry Hales, our founder, discovered that London's shirt-makers often ended up with surplus fabric after making their garments. Usually that fabric was just thrown away, considered no longer sellable or useful.

So, SIRPLUS was born. 

We started life in Spitalfields Market with an armful of boxers made from off cuts of shirt fabric. Eventually we wound our way westward to Portobello Market, becoming a regular fixture on a stall outside No.306A (where our first London store is now located, one of six!)

We maybe have started with boxers, but over the years we've turned our attention to growing our range with considered and purposeful pieces for the wardrobe. We soon discovered a calling for the collarless and so Nehru jackets, grandad shirts and a very British take on the Parisian workwear chore jacket joined the SIRPLUS family. Never one for blending in, every SIRPLUS garment has something unique about it, from upcycled limited edition pieces made from surplus, premium knitwear to waistcoats perfectly suited for weddings.

SIRPLUS works with a talented bunch of creatives to design, manufacture and deliver our clothes, based in London.

We partner with causes like Solar Aid, Vauxhall City Farm & Sapling Spirits who plant trees to name a few and pave the way for brighter futures.

And the materials? Well, they've grown in number over the years. Sadly (or perhaps luckily) there isn't enough surplus material around for us to make every single piece of clothing we sell, but that gives us the opportunity to use some of the most exciting sustainable, technical and organic fabrics around. We've began working with experts in Europe and further afield to manufacture our collections - widening our supply chain and always working with the best. It's about working with craft and skill, not sweat shops or mass producers.

We work only with suppliers who share our values. We make sure that every piece of clothing we sell is made in the most environmentally -friendly way, finding and using clever fabrics.

It's why so many of our pieces are limited editions. Around half of our collection is still made from surplus fabrics. Unlike high street fashion brands who pump out tens of thousands of the same garments using artificial materials, our materials come from limited sources with only handfuls made in some occasions - so when they are gone, they are really gone.

What does the future hold?

We aren't about rushing here at SIRPLUS - it's life in the slow and considered lane for us. We're excited to find out what is coming ahead. We just celebrated our 10th anniversary in 2021, and we're bursting with ideas of what to do and where we want to go next.

We’ll continue to design with a vision of your clothes lasting longer, being worn more often and adapting to a variety of seasons. We just opened a new flagship store in Marylebone and we are now open across six stores the city that we call home, London. We’ll continue to partner with causes to create positive change in the world. We’ll continue to listen to our local communities and our customers on how we can serve you best. Oh, and we still make our boxers from surplus fabric ten years on... some things are too good to change!