One True Demise

Founded in 2000 by the Good North (not me) boys in Nottinghamshire, OTS set out with the mantra of making quality clobber for chaps like us, and us in turn reassuringly knowing that the gear was designed and styled by chaps like us - obsessed with quality, integrity, honesty and throwing in a good dose of British humour to the mix. Now though One True Saxon is slowly coming to an end some twelve years on. Owners Pentland Brands have pulled the plug citing a 'difficult market' and in two days time, on the 24th of August 2012, OTS online store will cease trading.

The brand have come a long way in just over a decade from cool cult terrace label, before selling out to the man and rapidly imploding. It's staggering to think it's only been ten years. They were the cream of the crop around 2003 with some quality bits of jacketing - The Rifle club Camo, Supply Parka, Jungle Marsh etc. Some real pieces of eye catching beauty. Then OTS stalwart Ian Paley left for Garbstore and things went down hill. The masses of the classes got into it as it started appearing in Littlewoods catalogues and creeping onto TK Maxx's rails around 2007. The quality and fit went sideways too (XXXL polo shirts to fit an XL anyone?) Although time was spent in 2010/11 trying to get the brand back to where it used to be, it was an effort made in vain. And now the company is now facing closure and if the label is to continue then it's suspected it'll be exclusively in the likes of JD Sports (part of Pentland too), devaluing the Good North name even further and condeming it to a lifetime of dressing the underclass.

But I'll remember the good times. The first piece I ever owned was one of the Supply Parkas in black. A stunning coat. Screamed out class. Plenty pockets and a lovely big hood. It went the way on eBay after I, ahem, out grew it. But I've trawled eBay ever since and will pay through the nose to get one again - don't care if it's in ten years time and by then the OTS name is the worst of the worst and being sold in Primark. It really was that good a jacket.

I've also had a couple of Cats & Dogs in my time. Choc full of pullstrings and drawstrings, pockets in weird places and in surprisingly bright colours, they saw me right on the odd awayday. Red and Lime saw eventful days out at Middlesbrough and Derby County (back in the day when I went away with Sunderland semi regularly). These too have gone the way of fleabay as I prefer the darker colours now, but they were very important to me at the time.

Red Cats/Dogs enroute to Boro

Most recently have snapped up a couple of OTS bits for peanuts - which highlights just how the brand has gone. A pair of Edwa trotters for the princely sum of 99p and a Jungle Marsh Parka for less than a score. Madness. Both old school (if you can call something post 2000 old school) OTS when they were at their prime. And one thing I can't do without is their dogwalker jeans. OTS did denim better than anyone and I practically still live in any one of the three identical pairs of dogwalkers I own. Nowt fits or looks better on me, from M&S to Edwin.

OTS Camo Edwa shoes

 So I personally will be sad to see OTS go. It seems to have so much history given the influence it had some ten years ago, providing top notch gear with the ideal template - set up by regular blokes obsessed with good quality decent clothing. It was perfect. In theory. It just hasn't worked out as they'd have planned. But people can sit around and criticize about what it was, what it became and where it's going. But at least the OTS lads had a go.

Lime Cats/Dogs & thumbs up for OTS