The Interview: The Shirt Company founder Donna Middleton on reinventing the classic shirt, customer insights and expansion

The Shirt Company is a British womenswear label that focuses on high-quality shirts and blouses, combining traditional tailoring with modern design elements. Founded by Donna Middleton in 2010, the brand aims to offer a refined approach to everyday and occasion wear - providing versatile shirting solutions for a variety of settings.

Designed in London and made from carefully selected fabrics, each collection features details such as pin-tucks, frills, and pleats, reflecting a focus on craftsmanship and considered design. It is also committed to sustainability, encouraging women to invest in high-quality wardrobe staples that endure season after season.

In this interview with TheIndustry.fashion, Middleton discusses the inspiration behind The Shirt Company, how customer insights influence her creative direction, the ways she continually reimagines the classic shirt each season, how the brand’s "buy less, buy better" philosophy is reflected in its design and production processes, and expansion plans to mark its 15th anniversary.

What inspired you to start The Shirt Company? Was there a particular gap in the market you were trying to fill?

The Shirt Company was born from my passion for simplicity and a clear vision: to create one essential wardrobe piece that effortlessly meets the needs of the modern woman without encouraging over-consumption.

Smart, well-cut tailored shirts for women represent a significantly under-served category in the fashion market. Too often, the options available lean heavily toward either trend-driven styles or overly masculine silhouettes, leaving a gap for designs that balance and excellent fit, elegance, and versatility. There is a clear demand for trans-seasonal, ageless shirting that can effortlessly move between settings and seasons, offering women polished, timeless options.

Recognising this glaring absence of high-quality, expertly tailored shirts designed specifically for women, I set out to craft pieces that seamlessly blend timeless design with feminine elegance and impeccable tailoring. Rooted in the rich tradition of London craftsmanship, our brand fills a vital gap in the market, offering beautiful, versatile shirts that women can trust to elevate their style, season after season.

Why focus exclusively on shirts? What’s the story behind that decision?

Focusing exclusively on shirts is a deliberate decision rooted in the belief that narrowing in on one category allows us to do it exceptionally well. The shirt is a timeless wardrobe essential - versatile, enduring, and universally relevant - yet often overlooked when it comes to thoughtful design. Our mission is to elevate this staple through refined tailoring and signature detailing like pleats, ruffles, and pin-tucks that add quiet distinction. By blending simplicity with craftsmanship, we’re reimagining the shirt as more than just a basic as it becomes a statement of understated elegance and everyday luxury.

Who is your core customer, and has that changed over time?

Our core customer has always been the professional woman: style-conscious, discerning, and self-assured, who values quality over quantity and seeks pieces that effortlessly support her multifaceted life. She deeply values versatility in her wardrobe and the kind of woman who looks effortlessly pulled together without appearing overdone. Drawn to shirts that create a defined silhouette, with sharp shoulders, a nipped-in waist and thoughtful detailing, she gravitates toward pieces that make her feel powerful, feminine, refined, and a touch glamorous. While our community has grown more diverse over time, this woman remains at the heart of everything we do.

How has your branding and product offering evolved since the company started?

Since the company’s early days, our branding and product offering have evolved to thoughtfully meet the needs of modern women, both in style and function. We now cover all bases in women’s shirting, from sharply tailored to relaxed semi-tailored and oversized fits, offering versatile options for every wardrobe. Our fittings have also progressed and continue to do so, with particular attention to accommodating larger busts, crafting shirts that are long enough in the body, and always ensuring perfect-fitting collars. In 2023, we introduced highly wearable and versatile shirt dresses, quickly becoming staples for busy women on the go. We remain dedicated to sourcing the best fabrics, such as breathable jerseys and crease-resistant options that suit the fast pace of modern life. Alongside these product innovations, we’ve expanded our size offering with the launch of our Curve Range, and embraced more inclusive, contemporary brand messaging, all while integrating sustainable practices at thecore of our operations.

Can you tell us more about your new curve range, how you created it and why it’s important?

Our new Curve Range, available in UK sizes 20–28, was born from a genuine desire to close the extended sizing gap in the market for tailored shirts and to do so without compromise. We knew from the start that this couldn’t simply be a case of resizing existing styles; each piece has been completely re-engineered and fit-tested on real women to ensure the perfect balance of structure, comfort, and silhouette at every size. It’s about inclusive design that celebrates all body types while maintaining the same sharp style, refined details, and powerful presence our brand is known for. We believe that great fit is transformative, and this range is about empowering more women to feel confident, comfortable, and beautifully put-together every single day.

What has the initial response to the range been like?

It’s still early days, but the initial response to our new Curve Range has been overwhelmingly positive - a resounding yes from women who have long felt underrepresented in the world of beautifully tailored, glamorous shirting. We've heard from ladies who are genuinely moved to finally find shirts that fit their bodies properly without sacrificing style or structure. For too long, women above a certain size have been offered only loose, ill-fitting options that fail to celebrate their shape or their personal style. Our Curve Range challenges that norm, proving that every woman, regardless of size, deserves clothing that makes her feel powerful, polished, and truly seen.

From business shirts to casual wear, you offer shirting options for every occasion. What is most popular and why do you think this is? Has this changed over the years?

While versatile yet elevated styles like our wrap and classic cotton shirts remain wardrobe staples, often purchased as essentials, it’s our statement blouses that consistently lead the way in popularity. Their unique, glamorous, and empowering designs, paired with a reasonable price point, make them attractive for women looking to stand out with ease. Since the pandemic, we've seen a notable shift in customer preferences: there’s now greater demand for elevated everyday wear, and a strong return to tailored, waist-defining silhouettes, which have recently overtaken relaxed boyfriend and oversized styles in sales. This evolution speaks to a renewed desire among women to feel both polished and powerful in their daily dressing.

Your collections continually reinvent the classic shirt - how do you keep it fresh each season?

Reinventing the classic shirt and shirt dress each season is both our passion and our signature. We keep it fresh by blending timeless tailoring with a sense of modern femininity, constantly exploring innovative silhouettes that feel new yet wearable, along with adding fashion colours and fresh stripes to elevate everyday dressing. Each collection is built on refined detailing - think unexpected pleats, elegant flares, sharp asymmetry that adds depth and personality to every piece. Most importantly, we stay closely connected to our customer, listening to what she wants, how she feels, and how her lifestyle is evolving. Her needs inspire our creativity, allowing us to design shirts that feel powerful, current, and uniquely hers season after season.

How do you gather customer insights and how do they inform your next steps?

Customer insight is fundamental, and we’ve built a responsive feedback loop that informs every decision from design to delivery. Return and sizing data is analysed daily, with my returns manager reporting directly to me, ensuring that any issues are immediately addressed and improvements are actioned across design, production, and tech. This attention to detail has helped us achieve an impressively low returns rate of just 13%. We also hold bi-weekly discussions around conversations happening via email and social media, making sure we stay connected to our community and their evolving needs. It’s through truly listening to women that some of our most impactful developments, like the launch of our Curve Range, have taken shape. We see our customers as co-creators, and we’re proud to evolve alongside them.

The Shirt Company promotes a "buy less, buy better" philosophy - how do you translate that into your design and production process?

At The Shirt Company, our "buy less, buy better" philosophy is deeply embedded in every stage of our design and production process. We focus on small production runs to maintain exceptional quality and reduce waste, reflecting a slow fashion mindset that values longevity over fleeting trends. Our designs prioritise timelessness - classic yet contemporary pieces crafted to endure both style and wear. With around 80% of our collection made in Europe, we ensure responsible sourcing and meticulous attention to fit, materials, and craftsmanship. This commitment means our customers invest in shirts that not only look beautiful but also stand the test of time, empowering them to build a wardrobe that’s thoughtful, sustainable, and truly worth cherishing.

What’s next for The Shirt Company?

As we approach our 15th year anniversary, The Shirt Company is excited to embark on the next chapter of our journey with a fresh rebranding launch that reflects our commitment to premier women's shirting, and modern elegance. We remain dedicated to advancing our social and environmental standards, prioritising transparency, and accountability at every level of our business. Looking ahead, we plan to grow our range thoughtfully expanding beyond shirting to include accessories that complement our core ethos of timeless, versatile style. Our mission is clear: to continue empowering women of all shapes and sizes with beautiful, responsible fashion that evolves alongside their lives.