Sutherby Lane

The items are lovely and well made but they are not made in Australia and I do not believe the fabrics are exclusive. One of their Christmas releases used the exact same fabric as a princess highway dress and when I asked about it my comment was deleted on instagram

Fine, but absolutely not made in Australia – I bought a Christmas outfit for my child. The clothes themselves are fine, I didn’t buy anything smocked as many items are within the range, so my purchase was of a fairly simply made garment. However, it all appears to be fine and it will be really cute for Christmas photos. My issue is this. As at 1 November 2023, the dressmaking section of the website states as follows:

‘We operate using a female-led production process, with the majority of our hand-smocked and embroidered garments crafted by a small network of women, from the comfort of their own homes. Lucy works with these women directly, which allows the garments to be sold to customers at an accessible price point while still offering a reliable source of employment to the seamstresses. This process grants both Lucy & her dressmakers the opportunity to indulge in their love of clothing design & sewing, whilst financially supporting their families & raising young children - Mothers Supporting Mothers!

Once a garment has been completed, Lucy then lovingly packs & sends the item from her small country farmhouse. It is then driven along the rugged country roads to the local rural post office (often in the back of her farmer husband's ute!), to be soon united with its proud new owner.’

I, and two of my friends who’ve also purchased from this brand, were thus under the impression that these clothes were made in Australia. Use your own judgement, but my impression is that this narrative is deliberately crafted to give the impression that they are made here. The website does not, for example, say ‘when a garment has been made in China or Vietnam* and then arrives back in Australia, it is lovingly packed in the small country farmhouse…’ I asked the owner of the brand about all of this and she vehemently maintained that the clothes are made ethically. I don’t know if they are, I have no evidence one way or another. Regardless of whether they are or aren’t, they are not made in Australia, as I believe the website intends for me to believe. It’s a lot of lovely words about where orders are packed and sent, but total silence about where they’re MADE.

So support the brand by all means, but do so in the knowledge that they’re not made here. I would have no issues buying again knowing they’re made offshore, it can of course be very difficult to buy and support Australian made. However, it’s what I perceive to be deliberate dishonesty that will stop a repeat purchase from me.

* where my items purchased were made, per the manufacturing tags.