Drake's
East London haberdasher turned full menswear house, built on 'relaxed elegance' and a genuine manufacturing heritage.
- Founded
- 1977
- Founder
- Michael Drake
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Made In
- Portugal (outerwear); UK (ties, shirts); Italy (tailoring)
- Price Range
- Upper Mid
- Stance
- 8 / 10
- Coverage
- 11 products
Member ratings will fold into this score, coming with Loopwheel membership.
Drake's was founded in 1977 by Michael Drake in East London, a short walk from the silk weaving roots of Spitalfields. What began as scarves, shawls, and handmade ties grew into one of Britain's most respected menswear houses — still the largest independent producer of handmade ties in England. In 2010, Michael Hill (Drake's longtime understudy) and Mark Cho (co-founder of The Armoury) acquired the brand, keeping the ethos intact while expanding into soft tailoring, knitwear, outerwear, and selvedge denim. Today Drake's produces tailoring in Italy, knitwear in Scotland, shirts at their own factory in Chard, Somerset, and sources Japanese fabrics for their denim and outerwear. The brand's guiding philosophy — 'relaxed elegance' — is less a marketing line than a genuine design constraint: clothes that are refined without being stiff, and built to be worn for years.
Founded 1977 by Michael Drake.
Products from Drake's
Stone Wash Cotton Chambray Button-Down Collar Popover Shirt
Reviewed Jun 2026
Navy Cotton-Linen Camp Collar Three Pocket Short Sleeve Shirt
Reviewed Jun 2026
Red Stripe Cotton Fatigue Jacket
Reviewed Jun 2026
Mayumi Y. for Drake's Cotton Tote Bag
Reviewed Jun 2026
Mayumi Y. for Drake's Navy Cotton Twill Baseball Cap
Reviewed Jun 2026
Mayumi Y. for Drake's Stripe Cotton Camp Collar Short Sleeve Shirt
Reviewed Jun 2026
Mayumi Y. for Drake's Print Cotton Camp Collar Short Sleeve Shirt
Reviewed Jun 2026
Mayumi Y. for Drake's Stripe Cotton Embroidered Rugby Shirt
Reviewed Jun 2026
Khaki Linen Short Sleeve Camp Collar Military Shirt
Reviewed Jun 2026
Indigo Stripe Denim Field Jacket
Reviewed Jun 2026
Ecru Cotton-Hemp Smock Sweatshirt
Reviewed May 2026
// Within the lineup
Brand average: 7.8/10 · across 11 scored products
Best of the lineup
Below the line
Variance vs the brand’s make-quality average. Outliers sit ≥ 1.5 points above or below the mean — the kind of spread worth knowing before you click buy.
Return policy
14-day returns from date of delivery. Items must be unworn, unwashed, with tags attached. Return shipping cost is deducted from refund; exchanges and store credit get a complimentary return label. Online orders cannot be returned in-store.
Is Drake's Worth It?
Drake's earns its prices more consistently than almost any brand at this tier, averaging 8.3/10 across 11 reviewed pieces. The shirts, made at their own factory in Chard, Somerset, are the clearest argument for buying here: the Stone Wash Cotton Chambray Popover scored 9.1 and the Navy Cotton-Linen Camp Collar hit 9.0, both at prices that sting but hold up under scrutiny. If you can stomach the spend, this is a brand that rewards it.
Across 11 reviewed pieces, Drake's averages 8.3/10, with the Stone Wash Cotton Chambray Button-Down Collar Popover Shirt leading at 9.1.
The man who buys fewer things, better, and wants a shirt he can still wear in ten years without apologizing for it.
The price floor is real: even their entry shirts run $345, and the Indigo Stripe Denim Field Jacket sits at $895. This is not a brand you browse casually without consequence.
The make
Drake's manufacturing story is not marketing copy. Shirts come out of their own factory in Chard, Somerset. Ties are still handmade in England, where the brand remains the largest independent producer. Tailoring is cut in Italy, knitwear in Scotland, and the denim and outerwear draw on Japanese fabrics. That geographic specificity matters because it's verifiable, and because it shows up in the finished product. The Stone Wash Cotton Chambray Popover at $345 and the Navy Cotton-Linen Camp Collar at $375 both scored in the nines, which is not a coincidence when the factory is your own.
The lineup
Shirts are where Drake's is most convincing. Four of the five highest-scored pieces in our coverage are shirts, ranging from 8.5 to 9.1, and the construction detail at those price points is genuinely hard to argue with. The Indigo Stripe Denim Field Jacket at $895 scored 8.5, which is a reasonable result for outerwear made in Portugal from Japanese denim, but it is the kind of purchase that requires a clear head and a specific need. The Mayumi Y. collaboration rugby shirt at 8.5 is worth noting too: it shows the brand can take a creative swing without losing the thread of what they do well.
The context
Drake's sits in a narrow category: brands with a real manufacturing heritage that have successfully expanded beyond their original category without diluting it. That is harder than it sounds, and most brands attempting it fail somewhere in the lineup. Drake's hasn't, at least not across the pieces we've reviewed. The honest caveat is that the prices assume you're buying for keeps. If you're shopping for something to wear a season and move on, there are better places to spend $350. If you're not, there aren't many.
Im a huge fan of brands that can stick to their traditions and manufacture closer to home. I do my best to support brands like these and give it a harder look. While Drake's likely on the higher end for most shoppers (including myself), i will absolutely indulge on a quality product if it speaks to me. Keep this brand on your radar, you're going to cave and splurge eventually.
Ties, scarves and pocket squares are handmade at Drake's own factory at 3 Haberdasher Street in East London (per brand About page and Wikipedia). Shirts are made at the brand's own shirt factory in Chard, Somerset, the former Rayner and Sturges factory acquired in July 2013. Per the brand's About page, soft tailoring is produced in Italy and knitwear in Scotland. Per Michael Hill in a Merchant & Makers interview, grenadine silk for ties is woven in Como, Italy on shuttle looms.
Drake's owns its own tie factory in London and shirt factory in Somerset and emphasizes natural fibres and long-lasting design in interviews, but holds no third-party certifications and publishes no measurable sustainability targets.
- 1977Foundedhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake's_(haberdashers)
- 2010Acquired by Michael Hill and Mark Chohttps://www.merchantandmakers.com/tie-making-with-drakes/
- 2013Acquired by Drake's (acquired Rayner and Sturges shirt factory)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake's_(haberdashers)
Ranked by archetype overlap, editorial stance, price tier, and ethos — not just “same archetype, three random.”
Wax London
A London-based fabric-first menswear label making characterful, accessible clothing that blends British heritage with Mediterranean sensibility and Indian craftsmanship.
Portuguese Flannel
A fourth-generation Portuguese textile family making honest, beautifully crafted shirts from the mills of northern Portugal.
Farer
British-designed, Swiss-made mechanical watches that put colour and personality back into classic horological archetypes.